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.
“How long before we arrive, master?”
He quickly looked in his rear-view mirror at me before he spoke. “About another four hours. You have been out of it for an hour. I don’t really want to stop if we can help it. However, if you really need to, then let me know.”
I wasn’t sure if I would make it for four hours, but I would give it a good go. The thought of trying to act like a loving couple in public made me feel sick.
“I will try to wait. I’ll just get comfortable and try to get some more rest.”
He didn’t say a word as I desperately tried to get as comfortable as I could with my hands and feet tied together. At least my hands were in front of me and I could speak to my little one in my head.
Don’t worry, precious one. Your daddies will come for us, and I’m sure Granddad Viktor will also come. They will save us, I’m sure of it.
The thing was, I wasn’t sure that they would. I knew they would try, but would they be able to find us?
I lay there for a while listening to the noise of the road as we travelled along. It wasn’t long before I drifted to sleep again.
I SUDDENLY WOKE AS the car came to a stop. I wasn’t sure if we had gotten to our destination or if Vincent had decided to make a stop on the way. I decided to stay exactly where I was, pretending to be asleep on the off chance that we had just made an unscheduled stop. I hoped that if Vincent left me in the car, I could create enough noise for someone to notice me and come to my rescue.
I heard the driver's door open and then close again. I lay there, my heart beating in my chest, waiting to see what would happen next. To my dismay, the door next to me opened and Vincent reached in and lifted me out of the car.
I stirred, pretending that I was just waking up, not wanting him to think he could do whatever he wanted to me while I was asleep. He had done it before, so I was sure that he would do it again given half the chance.
I spoke in a voice that I hoped sounded as if I had just woken up. “Where are we?”
I tried to look around me, but Vincent held me close to his chest. If it had been any of the other men in my life, I would have felt cherished and protected. However, right now, I felt far from that.
“We are at the house. You slept the whole way here.”
That meant there was no escape. I was his prisoner. I was sure he would keep me under lock and key here. He carried me up the path to the front door before gently placing me down on my feet.
I was starting to wonder who this guy was standing next to me. He was being far more careful with me than I had expected. It was as though telling him I was pregnant had made a switch flick in his head. I was positive it wouldn’t last, but for now, I would take it.
He opened the door and gestured for me to go inside. I had to admit the cottage looked very homely and was not furnished by him. If I was to guess, I would have said he had rented it pre-furnished because none of the furniture in here would have been to his taste.
I jumped slightly as the door behind me closed, startling me. I turned around quickly to see Vincent standing there with a smirk on his face. I knew his kindness wouldn’t last long.
“Welcome home, Angel .”
The sarcasm in his voice wasn’t lost on me. He wanted me to know in no uncertain terms that he was the one in charge and I should be afraid. Very afraid.
I tried desperately to hold my head high as he stared at me. However, the more he looked at me, the more I wanted to cast my eyes down and submit to him.
He didn’t say a word as he took a step toward me. I continued to look into his eyes until he took one more step so he was nearly within touching distance of me. I cast my eyes to the floor and saw his feet stop directly in front of me.
“That’s better. You should know never to directly look at me unless I tell you to. Now, I am going to break up our happy reunion for a while. I’m tired and would like some rest, but I don’t want you to try to escape, so I am going to have to request that you stay in your room. Follow me.”
He started to walk around me, and I turned to follow him. We walked up the stairs, and he opened the door to one of the bedrooms.
“This will be your room. It has a bathroom in it so you won’t have to leave if you need to use it. I will get you some clothes, but there are some that you left behind in there. I will come and get you when dinner has arrived.”
I should have known that he wouldn’t cook. He had never cooked for me when we were at home. Not like Hudson and Nico. Gino would always order in for us. Vincent, on the other hand, expected his dinner to be waiting for him at seven in the evening sharp. I suspected that after a day or so, we would go back to that old routine.
He started to turn and leave the room. I needed to know what he expected of me. I knew I was risking his wrath, but I asked anyway.
“Master, before you leave me, could I ask what is expected of me while I am here?”
He spun around quickly, and I thought for a moment I was going to regret asking.
“For now, I expect you to just do as I say and stay in this room. I need a few days to acclimate to having you back in my life. After that…well, we shall see, won’t we. It’s been a long while since you subbed for me, and I know you have been with another Dom for the last few months, so I suspect you have forgotten everything I taught you. I may have to retrain you.”
The smirk that came over his face sent shivers through my body and touched my very soul. I knew that meant I could expect much of the same as before I left. Only this time, he had no reason not to hit me.
He didn’t say another word as he turned again and walked out of the room, shut the door, and locked it behind him.
Finally alone, I fell onto the bed and started to break down. I had learned a long time ago how to cry without ever being heard, for fear of the repercussions.
I lay there on the bed holding my stomach, trying to convince myself that everything would be okay, but try as I might, I just couldn’t. All I could think of was this was where I would spend my final days. With the monster that I had tried so desperately to escape.
A wave of fatigue came over me again, and I allowed it to take me into a happy place where Vincent didn’t exist. I slowly closed my eyes and imagined my three men here with me. Within minutes, I was asleep with their faces in my dreams.