Page 23 of Daddy's Stowaway
His words emboldened me.
“I was taken by the mafia when I was sixteen years old and was a drug mule for them for years. If I wanted to eat, I had to steal food or the money to buy food. I got good at lifting wallets.” I don’t know what they were expecting, but Johnathan gave me an appreciative look while Simone looked horrified. Alex kept his expression casually blank, which meant he was hiding his feelings.
“Could you give me a demonstration?” Johnathan asked with a smirk.
“You mean like this?” I said, holding up his watch. His look of shock was well worth any objection Alex may have offered. I’d had a feeling about Johnathan, and I was right. He would test me, and I think I’d just passed. He helped Alex discover who he was and wouldn’t let his friend down by not putting his potential match through her paces.
Alex laughed, and it was infectious, the rest of us joining in. When our wine arrived, Johnathan picked up his glass, saidtouché,and clinked my glass. After that, the evening was as joyful as it was seamless. We were four friends out for the night and enjoying ourselves. It was a first for me, and I hoped the four of us would have more nights just like it.
Chapter 12
Alexander
Antonia wasthe yin to my yang, a perfect complement to me and who I was. Those years of watching my grandfather and father work with people and studying character traits were my birthright. Little Antonia had been pushed into a world where she had to learn to stay alive, and I had nothing but the utmost respect for her. Her ability to read Johnathan so well resulted from her street training and my admiration for her increased exponentially.
“Some are born to it, and some are forced to it; either way, reading people is a gift,”my grandfather always said. Was he ever right. I would love to get her into my casinos to point out all the thieves. I almost got hard imagining her in my electronics room telling my guards what to do.
“Earth to Daddy.”
I had been lost in my fantastical imaginings of Antonia in my world and found there wasn’t one place where she wouldn’t fit. I pulled up outside of my house and parked the golf cart.
“Let’s get married,” I said, turning toward her.
Antonia’s eyes widened with shock. “You can’t be serious. We’ve known each other for like all of five days. Don’t you want to get to know me better first?”
I narrowed my eyes at her. “Are you telling Daddy that he doesn’t know his own mind? I hope that’s not what you’re saying because if it is, I will have to punish you, Antonia.” I watched as her pupils dilated. She was a perfect submissive for my Daddy Dom side with how she made me hard when the thought of being punished by me made her excited.
I watched as her heart rate spiked, her breaths coming in little pants.
“I would never want to, uh, question your mind, sir.” Her eyes glinted with mischief. “But to be fair to you, I would like you to rescind your offer for a bit. There are many… In fact, just about any woman would be a better choice for you than me.”
Despite how desperately she wanted me, she was still putting me first, giving me a first-class ticket to not choosing her. Whether she realized it or not, Antonia was the very epitome of love, offering me the world and asking for nothing in exchange. But I knew better as I’d witnessed her breakdown on the gangplank to the restaurant. She needed and wanted me, and I realized I needed and wanted her. But at this moment, giving me a way out, I fell head over heels in love with her.
“I think you need some reminding how I feel about you, little girl. I want you in the house, naked and draped over the bed.”
Antonia hurried off to make herself ready while I called Carl, my concierge.
“Do you still have connections at Black Pearl Jewelers?”
“Yes, sir, Mr. Savage.”
“Carl, can you call in a favor for me? I need a black cultured pearl with an iridescent green hue, cradled in rose gold coral with a dozen, ten-millimeter black diamonds scattered throughout the coral band. I want an inscription, but I will go by and see it first to ensure it is perfect. If you can have this done by early tomorrow afternoon, there is a two-week vacation in it for you, and tell your friend I’ll pay whatever I need to have it done by tomorrow.”
“Yes, sir, Mr. Savage. And may I say, all of us here are happy for you and your newfound happiness.”
“Thank you, Carl; we’ll speak tomorrow.” I hung up and rubbed my hands together with gleeful anticipation. She would be mine, and I knew she wouldn’t be offering any more takebacks once she saw the ring. Simone had let it slip that Antonia had been eyeing a coral ring in the store but hadn’t bought it yet. The one I wanted gracing her delicate hand would be significantly more detailed than anything she’d see in my store.
I entered the house and took my time, selecting champagne and washing fresh strawberries. Grabbing two crystal flutes, I went upstairs with my items to find the bedroom eerily quiet.
“Antonia? Where are you?” If she thought this was the way to get a reward, she would be sorely corrected. But this wasn’t her style, and a sliver of fear spiked through my chest. I crept slowly, placing my items down on the carpeted bedroom floor and making my way over to the nightstand. I punched in the code to open the lockbox hidden inside and grabbed my Glock. I walked silently out of the room and heard some commotion down the hallway that led away from the front door.
Not wishing to trade speed for stealth, I still quickened my pace determined not to allow panic to cause me to make a mistake. I needed to sneak up on whatever was going on. Past the theatre room was a door to the garage, which had a direct pathway to the boat launch. When I arrived, I saw Antonia tossed over a man’s shoulder, bucking for her life, despite having her arms tied behind her back. A second man was tying her feet, and I fired without hesitation, shooting him point-blank in the back of the head. He crumpled to the ground while the first assailant, not waiting to see if his friend was alive or dead, took off with Antonia still on his shoulder. I shot him in the leg, and he went down, Antonia flying over his shoulder and landing on the tiled flooring of the hallway.
Fuck! I checked her vitals. They were steady, but she had hit her head and was unconscious.
“If she dies,” I said to her kidnapper, “I will enjoy torturing you for days.” I called our hotel’s resident doctor while I held a gun at my prisoner’s temple. The doctor arrived within five minutes, along with Johnathan and the security detail. After the doctor bandaged his wound, they took him away to a more secure location as there was no way in hell I was handing him over to the local authorities.
A few minutes later, Simone came over at my request to stay with Antonia while I interrogated the prisoner.