Chapter Two
Aurora
Gabriel wrenches my father from his cell and drags him towards the stairs.
“What are you doing?” I gasp.
“I’m setting your father free.” He shoves my dad up the stairs but my father tries to run back towards me. He manages to pull me into a quick hug before Gabriel grabs him again.
“Please,” Dad begs. “Please don’t do this. Don’t do this!”
Gabriel shows no mercy as he drags my father up the stairs. I follow right behind, watching in horror, and knowing there’s nothing I can do. I already did everything I could do.
I saved my father’s life and yet… it doesn’t seem like it. It seems like I only broke my father down even more by making this decision.
Gabriel is a strong man and easily picks up my father, despite my dad’s kicking and flailing limbs.
“Please!” Dad sobs. The sound of it breaks my heart.
I follow right behind as Gabriel carries my dad to the front door and tosses him outside. My dad lands hard on the stone steps.
“Be careful,” I say. When I try to run towards my dad, Gabriel grabs my arm, stopping me.
“You don’t get to leave this house,” he growls. “You’re my prisoner now. You took your father’s place. Accept it.” He slams the heavy door shut, closing me off from my father forever.
The last look I get of my dad is him on his knees, in the pouring rain, sobbing.
In the lighter foyer, I get an even better look at Gabriel. The ugly scar on his face looks like it wasn’t properly healed. It’s red and intense. Huge. I wonder what happened but I’m too afraid of him to ask. Who exactly is this man, other than him working for the mafia?
The mafia.
My father’s story rocks me to my core. I had no idea he belonged to that world and by extension, myself. I knew nothing and it makes me feel like an utter idiot. It makes me feel betrayed.
Gabriel turns to me, placing all of his attention onto me in a way that makes me recoil. He scoffs. “You must find me hideous, don’t you?”
“You kidnapped my father. I’m terrified of you.”
“As you should be. You’re my prisoner now, Aurora.” The way he says my name makes me flinch. It’s like a gunshot to my heart. “You will not leave this mansion. It’s your home now. You have to pay off your father’s debt.”
What Gabriel doesn’t know is that I’ve been paying off my father’s debt for years by helping him with money. By helping both of us survive.
“What are you going to do to me?” I whisper. I want to sound more brave but it’s tough when an intense, scary man is glaring down at me.
“Are you worried I’m going to torture you? Rape you? I had no interest in doing that to your father. Keeping him locked away to die in my cell was good enough.”
I swallow hard. “And me? Is that good enough for me?”
“For you…” His eyes flick down my body and it takes everything in me to not cross my arms over my chest. “For you, I don’t want to keep you in my cell to rot. It would be unfortunate for a beautiful woman like you.”
“You think I’m beautiful?” I’m not sure why I ask. It’s more out of incredulousness given the situation.
“You’re pretty enough to fuck.” His harsh words make me recoil. “Now, come along. I’ll take you to your room.”
My head jerks up. “My room?”
“Did you think I was going to make you stay in that cell forever?”
“Well… yes. You were going to do that to my father.”
His only response is the curling of his lips before he walks towards the large front stairway. My eyes flick to the front door and before I know what I’m doing, my legs are running right for it.
But Gabriel comes rushing back to me and grabs my arm, pulling me flush against him. “If you try to leave, I will find your father and kill him. I will have my punishment.”
I gasp. “But all my father did was steal from you. Does that warrant you killing him?”
“If it gets you to stay, then yes. I will end his life. So I suggest you don’t run.” His hard body is made of strong muscle. He’s a man who could easily snap me in half if he wanted to.
I stumble after he lets me go. With no other choice, I follow Gabriel towards the front stairs. They’re decorated in dark, red carpet, making everything seem more gothic. More terrifying, like blood.
I’m going to die here. That revelation hits me in the stomach.
Gabriel leads me down the upstairs hallway. Just like in the hallway down stairs, this one also has mirrors covered with fabric over them. My eyes flick to Gabriel’s face. Does this have to do with his scar?
I know better than to ask though. I have to do what I have to do to survive here.
He stops in front of one of the doors. It’s a simple wood door.
Nothing special. But when he opens it to reveal the room on the other side, I become breathless.
The room itself is beautiful. A large white bed with a white canopy over it.
The rug is an ornate red design, blending well with the white of the bed.
The walls are decorated in a soft brown, giving the room a warm vibe.
It’s so different from the rest of the house I’ve seen so far.
Gabriel motions for me to step inside first. Slowly, I do. My eyes turn away from the bed. If I don’t see it, then Gabriel can’t hurt me on it.
But he doesn’t step into the room like I’m expecting. “This is your home from now on. You’ll stay in here until I announce you’re allowed to leave. There’s an ensuite bathroom for you to use and my housekeeper, Maria, will tend to you. You will join me for dinner tomorrow night.”
I startle at his words. “Join you for… dinner? As if this is some sort of party? I’m your prisoner. Why would you want me to join you for dinner?”
No emotion on his face. “Because I am in charge of this house and I said so. You may be my prisoner but you’re also a beautiful woman. I would like to have conversation with a beautiful woman.”
“Don’t you meet countless beautiful women?” A man like him with money must get around. Even with his scar on his face, he’s still handsome.
Gabriel’s lips twitch. “That’s not the point.
You’ll join me for dinner tomorrow night.
Until then, you’ll stay in this room. Maria will bring you breakfast. This door doesn’t lock so I cannot force you to stay inside this room.
But for the sake of your father, I would suggest you do as I say.
” He shuts the door behind him. Even though he can’t physically lock me in here, I’m still stuck.
The last thing I can let happen is for my father to get killed.
So despite my urge to run, I force my body to stay and remain here as Gabriel’s prisoner.
Gabriel
Making a beautiful woman my prisoner was not on my agenda for the day. But a twist of fate made it happen.
Aurora Rossi. Andrew Rossi’s daughter. The man I heard about growing up. The one who managed to leave the mafia behind after stealing money from his boss – the same man who was my boss once.
The man who did this to my face. Giovanni Greco. My face turns into the sneer at the memory of him. I’m my own mafia boss now, much to his hate I’m sure.
I push thoughts of Giovanni aside and march into my home office. I call my right hand man, Leo. “I have news to inform you about.” I explain to him about Andrew and Aurora.
“That’s some news,” he responds with. “So you’re just going to keep her as your prisoner?”
“Yes.”
“Are you going to fuck her?”
Leo’s question startles me but I should have figured he would ask. He’s always been bold.
“Why would I fuck her? She’s my prisoner.”
“You keep yourself to your mansion most of the time. I really only see you when I come over there. When is the last time you’ve tasted pussy?”
“Just last week,” I snap. “I had a woman over.”
“A prostitute doesn’t count. I mean a woman you actually picked up at a club. Someone like that.”
“I don’t need to explain myself to you, Leo. And it wasn’t a prostitute. I was just calling to inform you. Keep an eye on Andrew for me. Make sure he doesn’t fuck anything up.”
“Will do, boss.”
I hang up before Leo can ask me even more personal questions.
The woman who came by a week ago was a wife of another mafia man.
She was looking for a fun time away from her old, ugly husband.
I gave it to her and sent her on her way.
As head of the mafia in Florence, I have a lot of power.
It makes women want to be with me, despite my scarred face.
But it’s always quick easy fucks. Someone I don’t have to give a shit about. Emotional connection means letting people in and I hate letting people in. That’s how you get hurt in this world.
My mind flashes to Aurora. How she selflessly saved her father’s life. I’ll be honest… I’ve never seen anyone be that selfless before. It makes her effortlessly beautiful face even more beautiful.
Soft brown hair and wide doe eyes. Fair complexion. Petite, like she doesn’t eat enough. She looked like she would snap in half when I touched her and yet, she didn’t. She remained strong.
A powerful presence in such a small package.
Why did I invite Aurora to dinner? I’m not quite sure but what I do know is that I want to keep looking at her face longer. I want to hold onto the softness she possesses.
Maybe her goodness will rub off on me, a mafia man trapped in darkness.
Aurora
I wake up to the sound of my door opening. The same woman as before comes inside with a tray full of food.
“Hello, dear. I’m Maria.” She sets the tray on the bed. “I brought you breakfast. Mr. Romano told me to take care of you.” With a shake of her head, she steps away from me. “I thought I told you to hurry. You were supposed to get your father and leave.”
I stare at the food on the tray. Pastries filled with jam. Warm, brown coffee. Pasta mixed with green vegetables. I haven’t seen this much food for breakfast… ever.
“I tried to get him to leave,” I respond. “But he wouldn’t come with me.”
“So you took your father’s place? The entire house is talking about it. Child, how na?ve could you be?”
“I was trying to save my father’s life.”
“And now you’re stuck here forever. Like the rest of us.”