Chapter 3 | Bianca
Bianca
Ispent every minute of the next five days contemplating Michael’s proposal. It presented a vexing conundrum filled with much anxiety and fear on my part. But for all the fear, there was also an undeniable kernel of hope that rested deep in my heart, and part of me wondered if we could pull it off.
Would I truly be able to hide in Italy? If so, would I be more miserable than if I stayed? What if Michael forgot me or grew tired of me. Our meeting had been so brief, yet it was extremely profound...for me, at least.
Michael had brought me to my first orgasm, and I found myself daydreaming constantly about what it would be like to make love to him. Would he look at me with those gorgeous eyes as he loomed over me, claiming me as his?
I knew it was utterly insane to fall into lust with someone I’d barely met, but he was right about our attraction. It was passionate and undeniable. Could it turn into love if I gave it a chance?
Sliding my hand over my heart as I stood in my bedroom on Thursday evening, I whispered one word. “Yes.”
Staring out into the dark courtyard of my father’s home, I admitted how easily I could fall for Michael. The man who’d vowed to save me, and who’d touched me so passionately.
Throwing caution to the wind, I picked up the bag I’d carefully packed and sneaked down the stairs, knowing my father’s guards were outside on the front porch and aiming to avoid them at all costs.
I tiptoed to the dark kitchen and unlatched the door. Earlier, I’d turned off the camera that captured the back yard so my father’s men who sat watch in the guest house wouldn’t see me sneaking across the grass.
I stealthily moved toward the back gate, thankful the moon had settled into a crescent that wasn’t quite as bright as it had been several nights ago when Michael kissed me under the dock.
After easing through the back gate, I latched it and headed down the driveway to the main road. My sneakers were soft on the pavement, barely making any sound as I approached the street where the cab would meet me.
Once I saw the white cab, I quickly rushed toward it and slit into the back seat.
“1600 Atlantic Ave?” the driver asked.
“Yes, sir.”
With a nod, he began to drive. I settled into the seat, clutching my throat in an effort to calm the pulse that throbbed beneath my hand. Twenty minutes later, we arrived, and I paid the driver in cash before exiting the car.
Glancing at my watch, I noted the time: ten-fifty p.m. If Michael kept his word, he would arrive any moment.
Doubts rushed through my head as I questioned for the thousandth time what in the hell I was doing.
Was I really going to marry a man I’d only met for moments and allow him to whisk me away to a secluded village in Italy?
Stepping inside the warehouse, I acknowledged that I’d made my decision and it was time to stick to it.
A lone chair sat in one corner of the warehouse, and I sat down, lowering my bag to the floor and trying not to count the minutes.
Silence surrounded me as the clock turned eleven, and still, no one appeared. Seconds turned to minutes as I waited in the darkness, dread washing over me as realization set in.
Michael wasn’t coming.
My chin trembled as the ramifications of my actions set in.
If my father or Victor discovered my failed attempt to leave, I had no doubt I would be punished incessantly; made to remember that disloyalty demanded retribution.
Fear rose in my throat as I tried to remain strong.
Eventually, I glanced at my watch, noting it was twenty-three minutes past the hour.
No one was coming to save me.
Gathering my bag, I headed back outside and walked several warehouses down before slipping behind a corner and calling a cab. When it arrived, I scurried inside and prayed my father and his men hadn’t discovered I was gone.
Slipping inside the back gate, I zipped across the back yard and entered the kitchen. Walking over to the mechanical box that sat inside the pantry, I turned the back yard camera back on.
I gingerly walked through the house and up the stairs before pressing my shaking hand to my doorknob.
“Bianca?” my father called and I gasped before quickly turning my head to see his silhouette in the doorframe at the end of the hall.
“I’m fine, Father. Just needed a snack. Good night.”
Pushing open the door, I rushed inside and closed the door tightly behind me, making sure to click the lock.
Tossing the bag aside, I kicked off my shoes and climbed into bed.
I pulled the pillow close, burying my face in the soft cushion as I cried.
Long, hopeless sobs tore from my throat as I realized that no one was going to save me.
Not even the kind man who’d looked at me with such longing only nights ago.
It was time to let go of fairy tales and dreams of happy endings. I was going to marry Victor and would have to learn to save myself.
I had no idea what the future held, but there, in the last room I’d inhabit before I lost my freedom, I knew the truth: I was my only savior, and it was time I started acting like it.
Michael
On Thursday evening, I set out with two of my father’s top capos. I trusted them completely and knew they would help me protect Bianca. I’d promised them very generous compensation to accompany her to Italy and protect her until I could bring her home.
Once I rebuilt my father’s empire, I would proudly introduce Bianca as my wife to the world.
Many would think I married her because she was a Santoro, but in reality, I just wanted her.
The woman was an obsession I didn’t understand, but I was a man who trusted my instincts, and this time would be no different.
Never in my life had I felt such a magnetic pull toward a woman. I wasn’t an impulsive man, but when I knew something deep in my bones, I followed that intuition. And I knew without a shadow of a doubt that Bianca was meant to be mine.
The black town car I was in came to a stop, and my eyebrows drew together as I noticed we weren’t in front of the warehouse where I was supposed to meet Bianca.
“Wrong place, Grady,” I said to the driver. “We’re supposed to be at 1600 Atlantic Avenue.”
Suddenly, a gun cocked next to me, and I turned to see Frank, one of the men I’d entrusted to help me, holding a gun on his thigh.
“Out,” Frank snapped, his voice cold as he reached over and opened my door.
Anger filled my veins as I realized his deception. My gaze swerved to James, and he flashed the gun in his hand so it glinted in the dim light. I had been betrayed by my own men.
Furious at their disloyalty, I stepped out of the car and reached for my gun.
“I wouldn’t do that,” Frank said, aiming straight at my heart from inside the car. “Hands up, Michael.”
Knowing that I needed to be alive to get myself out of the situation, I lifted my hands and James quickly rushed over to disarm me. Once he’d removed my gun, he pushed me to stand on the sidewalk, and they both pointed their guns at me as they spoke.
“How much did Victor pay you?” I asked through clenched teeth.
“Much more than you,” Frank said. “He was quite angry at your dalliance with his fiancé on the beach last Saturday.”
Shit. I knew I’d lingered with Bianca too long, but the woman was an addiction I couldn’t deny.
“She’s too young for him, and he won’t be kind to her. We all know this. There was a time when our families stood for the honor of women. Now, Victor exploits young girls to make a profit. It makes me sick, and it should disgust you too.”
“I’m not a fan of the trafficking, but money talks, Michael. Victor paid us to teach you a lesson.”
Arching an eyebrow, I contemplated them. “So, you’re going to torture me? And then kill me?”
“We’ve been instructed to remind you never to cross Victor,” Frank said before his lips curved into a sinister smile. “He wants you to remain alive so you can fully observe his marriage to Bianca. He wants to savor knowing he owns something you want so badly and will never have.”
“He’ll never own her,” I gritted as anger filled my chest. “And he must know that antagonizing me will only make me more determined to save her and end his hold on the families. The Caruso family is rebuilding, and I won’t be the heir forever.
When I become the boss and achieve my goal, I’ll kill him. ”
“He looks forward to the challenge,” Frank said with a dismissive nod.
“For now, we’ve been instructed to take you into that warehouse, dispense with your fingernails and toenails, and rough you up a bit.
We’ll hold you there for several days so you can’t approach Bianca.
It’s imperative she believes you betrayed her. ”
“You fucking bastards!” I screamed. “I’ll tell her the first second I see her—”
“Come within fifty feet of her, and she’s dead,” Frank said, his tone void of emotion. “Victor was very clear on that directive.”
I searched my brain for some way out of the mess I’d created; some way to save Bianca even though I knew it was futile.
A shaft of pain shot through my heart at the knowledge that she would believe I hadn’t shown up for her; that I hadn’t come to save her.
God, she would most likely hate me. What a clusterfuck.
Understanding that I couldn’t do anything about that at the present moment, I sighed with resignation as my shoulders drooped.
“Let’s get this over with so we can all get back to our lives. I’m not particularly fond of my fingernails anyway.”
Frank’s lips twitched in a humorless laugh. “Fair enough. Come on.”
Mentally preparing myself for the torture that awaited, I sent a silent apology to Bianca, hoping she might sense it somewhere in her young, innocent heart.
Sadly, she wouldn’t be innocent for much longer.
That bastard would strip it away, and she would learn the harsh realities I’d wished to save her from.