Page 32 of Angel's Forever

All I could think about was praying that everything would be fine and that we all came out of this unscathed. Only time would tell.

Chapter Seventeen

GABRIELLA-ROSE

AS I STIRRED FROM my slumber, I could tell that I was in a moving vehicle. I tried to move my arms and legs, but found they were bound together. I realized that I was lying down in the back seat of a car.

I tried to sit up, but without the use of my hands and arms, it was difficult. My anxiety was rising again as I started to recollect the events of the afternoon after I had left the clinic.

Gino’s lifeless body, covered in blood, lying on the ground.

The voice from my recent past ringing in my ears.

I jolted fully awake at the realization that I was back in the clutches of Vincent.

I started to struggle in the backseat. Desperate to release myself from the bindings that held me. Vincent must have realized that I had come to, as he started to speak.

“Ella, my darling, I see you are finally awake. No matter how hard you struggle, you won’t get free from those ties. I made sure that you wouldn’t escape me again.”

“What do you want from me, Vincent?”

I knew what he wanted, but I couldn’t help myself from spitting out the obvious question. I was met with a malevolent laugh that sent shivers through my entire being.

“Now there is a question, my dearest Angel. You left me with nothing. You took the money that was mine. I gave you everything you could want for all those years, and you just walked out on me with the first person who showed you love. What did you think? The grass was greener on the other side? And now, like a whore, you’re sleeping with not two, but three guys! I want what’s mine and always has been. You, Angel!”

I could feel the anger building inside me. There was a time when he would have reduced me to tears with his words. But no more. Now I had seen what it was to be loved and cherished. There was a time when, as Vincent’s sub, I would have believed that I was his possession. That no one else would love and care for me the way he did. Now I realized that he had never cared for me at all. I was just an object that he had used and pimped out for his own vulgar means. To get his daily kick.

Well, I wasn’t going to go down without a fight this time. There was more than just my own life to save. I had to save the precious cargo I was carrying, and I would do it at all costs.

“I was never your possession, Vincent. I most definitely do not belong to you now. There was a time when you owned my heart, but not anymore. That time has long since passed. As for the money….well, you can have it. I don’t need or want it. Take me to a bank, and I will transfer the money to your account. Then you can go and live whatever life you want and I can live mine, with the men I love and the child I am carrying inside me.”

As soon as the words left my lips, I realized the mistake I had made. All of a sudden, the car jolted to the side and came to an abrupt stop. I looked up to see Vincent quickly turn in his seat to face me, an angry expression on his face.

“I do own you. I always have. I don’t just want the money. I want you where you deserve to be: under my control. You will never get to see those men again, and no one will ever find you. As for the brat you are carrying inside you, we will see if that ever sees the light of day, won’t we? Now, do you understand me?”

I looked at him in shock. He had always been a forceful person, but never like this. Something had changed in him in the past six months, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to know exactly what it was.

“Do you understand me, Angel?”

His voice grew louder when I didn’t answer him the first time, startling me with an immediate answer.

“Yes.”

“Yes, what?”

“Yes, master.”

I hated saying those words again. However, I started to realize that if I was going to make it out of this alive, I had to do things I didn’t want to do. I didn’t need to antagonize him to get my way. In fact, I needed to do the exact opposite as I had done for the years that I lived with him. To calm the atmosphere in the car, I decided to ask where we were going.

“May I ask where we are going, master? After all, I do not have my phone or even my bag to contact anyone.”

He looked at me for a while with slight confusion on his face. He was probably wondering why I had gone from attacking him to submitting to him. He sat there for a while in silence before he spoke.

“I guess there is no issue in telling you. We are heading to Old Orchard Beach, to a cottage I have on rent. We can stay there as long as we want. It’s tucked away so no one can see it from the road. No one will find us, and more importantly, we will be totally alone. No one will be able to hear you scream, Angel.”

A wave of nausea came over me, but I managed to fight it back. I wasn’t going to let him see me cry or break down in front of him. I was going to stay strong and calm for the sake of my child. I was a completely different woman from the one who had left him just over six months ago, and I wasn’t going to let him drag me back down. I would play the part to keep him placated, but I would hold firm to the belief that I would be found.

I had no idea how long it would take to get to our destination. The only trip I had taken before now was the relocation from Detroit to New York. Until then, I had spent my entire life in Detroit because I was either too young to travel or Vincent had me under lock and key. Vincent had started the car again and pulled out onto the highway. I dared to ask just one more question and then vowed to stay silent unless spoken to.