Chapter 22
Chapter Twenty-Two
Alicia
I'm still handcuffed to the bed, and the longer I'm stuck here, the more infuriated I'm becoming.
I've been awake for at least an hour now. I know that arsehole was banging around on purpose because as soon as I stirred and grumbled at him to shut up, he stopped being so noisy, grabbed his clothes, and stormed out of the room.
He ignored the questions I was hurling at him, acting as if I wasn't even here as he went about his morning routine downstairs.
About ten minutes after, he shouted up the stairs to remind me his sister would be here in an hour to keep an eye on me, and then he left. I've been drowning in silence ever since.
Jellybean has been keeping me company for the past few minutes, and although she usually comforts me and helps me remain calm, she doesn't seem to have that effect on me at the moment.
She's buried herself under Dom's duvet and has gone to sleep, leaving me to sit here with my murderous thoughts as I continue yanking at the cuff, turning my wrist red raw.
Grumbling in defeat, I flop back down against the bed and stare up at the ceiling, impatiently waiting as the minutes tick by. I hear the distinct sound of the elevator whirring to life again, and then the soft ding as the doors open.
"Alicia?"
The feminine voice filtering through the apartment—which I assume comes from Dom's sister, Sophia—sends hope soaring through my body, and I sit up, rubbing at my chest as I feel a sob of relief threatening to bubble out of me.
"I'm up here," I call out, my voice loud, but meek as I realise she's going to come up here and see me in this humiliating situation.
Although I saw her at the wedding, we didn't actually speak, and no one introduced us to each other, so her first initial impression of me is going to be seeing me handcuffed to her brother's bedframe.
My cheeks flame, and I drop my gaze to the bed as Jellybean perks up from where she's lying. Her head twists towards the doorway before she hops down off the bed and runs out of the room, barking down the hallway.
"Hey, baby!" Sophia coos, her voice closer than it was moments ago. "Aren't you a little cutie pie."
Squeezing my eyes shut, I take a deep breath and then straighten my shoulders, lifting my gaze to the door and steeling myself for whatever reaction she may have as she walks in here.
I hear a knocking sound which has me frowning for a moment before I realise she's knocking on the door that leads to my bedroom… which I'm not in.
"I'm in here," I tell her, keeping my sights fixed on the doorway. A few seconds later, her blonde head of hair pops around the doorframe as she peeks into the room with a look of uncertainty on her face.
When her eyes meet mine, her brows raise in surprise, and her lips slowly lift into a smile as she walks into the room, hands on her rounded stomach.
Her mouth pops open, but before any words come out, her eyes trail from my face and down to the cuffed hand at my side.
I shake my arm, causing the metal around my wrist to bang against the bedframe, and Sophia's jaw drops as her eyes widen.
"What the fuck?"
She walks over to me, her eyes darting back and forth between my face and my captured hand.
"Please tell me there's some kinky reason for this…"
My face scrunches up in disgust, and I shake my head.
"Unfortunately, there's not."
She stares at me for a moment before she bursts out laughing, one hand slapping over her mouth as her eyes begin to shine with tears.
"I'm sorry," she says, lowering her hand to her chest as she takes a few calming breaths. "I'm not laughing at the situation, and I promise I'll help you, but first, I have to take a picture and send it to Kaleb and my cousins."
Now it's my turn to gape at her as she pulls her phone from the bag slung over her shoulder and snaps a picture of me.
"Are you serious?" I ask, dumbfounded by what is happening.
"Yes. We've all been convinced Dom would turn into a crazy bastard while married to you, and this is proof of that, so I need to document it.
Plus, Jaylen and I had a bet on how long it would take for him to start displaying these crazy tendencies.
I said a week, and Jaylen said a month. So I'm closest because it's literally been like… three days."
I'm too shocked to even speak.
"He owes me two grand now. But I'll split it with you to make up for the further embarrassment I've probably caused you by sending a picture of you in this predicament."
"I'll accept that, along with your help to get me out of these things," I grumble, yanking at the cuffs again, even though I know for sure by now they're pretty damn indestructible.
She nods and starts typing away on her phone again.
"I'll get Kaleb to come up. I'm sure he can figure something out."
I cringe, and my shoulders slump. "Great, so not only does he get to see me like this in a picture, he gets to experience it first-hand as well. I can't believe I'm meeting you both properly under these circumstances."
"Oh, honey, this is nothing," she says, chuckling as she sits on the bed down by my feet. "The first time I met Kaleb was at a club a few nights before I was married off to his brother, and he knew that, so he purposely came to the club that night, and we ended up sleeping together."
I choke on my own spit as she tells the story so casually.
"Holy shit. I knew you were married to Jericho before you got with Kaleb, but I didn't know the details of how it all went down."
"Are you telling stories about me investigating you again, dolcezza?"
I literally jump in surprise when Kaleb Rossi walks into the room, not having heard him enter the apartment or come up the stairs. Even Jellybean didn't react to him.
"Firstly, it's stalking, I won't continue to explain this to you. Secondly, I wasn't actually talking about your stalking habits," she shoots back, staring up at him with a wide, lovestruck smile on her face.
I clear my throat, not wanting to be sat here with these two staring into each other's souls.
"Can someone please help me now?"
Kaleb's gaze meets mine, and I suppress the fearful shiver that wants to run through my body when he takes a steps towards me.
"You know where he put the key to those?" he asks, glancing around the room before I even have a chance to answer him.
"I'm pretty sure he took the key with him," I state, rolling my eyes.
Kaleb moves over to Dom's wardrobe, opening up the doors and rummaging around.
"So, am I allowed to ask why my brother decided to handcuff you to his bed?" Sophia asks, watching me with curiosity as Kaleb exits the room, Jellybean tentatively following after him.
"I left the apartment when he told me not to."
She scoffs and nods. "Okay, yeah. That makes sense."
"Well, I don't appreciate being told what to do. So, I bribed Leo to walk around the streets of London with me for a little while."
"Hold on," she says, sitting up straighter and leaning closer to me. "You managed to convince Leo to take you out around London when he wasn't supposed to?"
I bob my head up and down, flicking my eyes away from her intense stare.
"How did you manage that?"
I shrug, not wanting to tell her. Although I'm still unsure about him, I don't want to go spilling his secrets to everyone.
Thankfully, Kaleb walks back into the room, something small and metal between his fingertips as he moves towards me and crouches down, eyeing the cuff around my wrist.
"So, has my brother given you instructions on what to do today as well?"
I shake my head.
"He didn't talk to me this morning, apart from when he told me to expect you."
"Great. You can come out with us then."
Kaleb grumbles as he fiddles with the cuff, and a second later, it unlatches from around my wrist. I squeal as I snatch my hand away from the bedframe, cradling it against my chest as I rub at the sore skin.
"We're meant to be going back home so you can rest," Kaleb adds, turning to Sophia with his hardened gaze and stoic face.
She shrugs and pats her swollen stomach. "This little one is craving a triple cheeseburger. You can't deny her of the things she wants, Kaleb."
She softens her eyes and pouts slightly, and the scary man in front of me physically melts, smirking down at her as his eyes light up.
"You said her," he mutters, winking. "I told you I'd get you saying it, too."
"And I'll keep reminding you, you're gonna be sorely disappointed when I give birth to a boy. Now, go get the car warmed up so that Alicia can get ready, and then we're going to get food."
He mock salutes her before swooping down to press a kiss against her lips and saunters out of the room.
"Congratulations, by the way," I say. She looks over at me, and I nod to her stomach. "I haven't really had the chance to say it to you yet.
"Thank you." She smiles at me brightly and then lifts herself from the bed, huffing as it takes her a few tries.
"Have you got your phone on you?"
I shake my head. "No, I think it's still in my room from this morning. Why?"
"I'll add my number into it. That way, if this ever happens again, or if you find yourself wanting to get out and my brother tries to stop you, you can call me," she says, walking through the bathroom and into my room, returning with my phone in her hand.
"You've got a few messages from someone saved as Satan. "
Although she chuckles, I frown, and my heart drops into my stomach.
Hesitantly taking my phone from her, I peer down at the screen to see she's right, and panic automatically shoots through my veins.
"Do you mind giving me a minute?"
She glances at my face, observing me for a moment before smiling softly and nodding.
"Yeah, sure. I'll go downstairs and wait for you to get ready. I'll add my number to your phone then." She walks to the door and then looks at me over her shoulder. "Take your time. I don't mind waiting."
As soon as she's out of the room and has closed the door behind her, I unlock my phone and click on my text thread with Lenny as my heart pounds violently in my chest.
Satan:
How's the British bastard treating you?
My brows furrow deeper, and I sit down on the edge of my bed, staring down at my phone in bewilderment before I type out a reply.
Alicia:
What do you want?
When three dots appear within a matter of seconds, my breathing grows quicker, and my muscles tighten.
Satan:
Who said I want anything?
Alicia:
We both know you couldn't care less about how he's treating me, so I'll ask again. What do you want, Lenny?
Satan:
I have a proposition for you…