Chapter NineteenCalista
Chapter Nineteen
Calista
Ian’s out with his brother working on some mafia shit. He kissed me roughly before he left this morning with a goodbye warning, “Be a good girl and be fucking careful. You’re everything to me, minx.”
“Same to you, Ian. I almost lost you once.” I dragged my lips against his delaying his departure and earning an eyeroll from Jack.
“I’m always coming home to you,” he whispered against my lips, kissing me deeply before leaving. I close my eyes and relive that kiss before getting ready for my day.
After he left, I spent the morning on a video call with my mother, planning the wedding. We scheduled it for next week. We are having it in New York in our family’s usual Cathedral where they attend services. Everything has been prepared, and invitations have been sent out. The reception will be held at my father’s country club where Ian proposed. Claudia, Nora, and I are picking out my wedding dress and their bridesmaid dresses tomorrow.
My phone rang, and it’s Maggie. “Dudette, it’s me. Are you ready?”
“Yes, I am.” I ended the call and then buzzed at the front gate, letting her in. She drives up to our home per my directions, and I meet her out front of the house.
“Holy shit, you live like a damn queen.”
“Um…thanks.” I forget that most people are shocked by it. I lived pretty much like this with my father. Even my home with my grandparents was a mansion. I come from wealth, even though I work extremely hard.
“Well, let’s get this show on the road. It’s not like Dr. Fisher is going to wait forever for you.”
“I know. I’m so glad he’s giving me another shot, although I’m surprised he didn’t call me personally or send me an email.”
“He said that it had to be done in person. He didn’t want to make it formal until he spoke to you. I think he doesn’t want to make an ass of himself. Ego and all. He’s a doctor, after all. You know how they are.” She rolls her eyes like that’s not what we’re trying to be. I laughed and then climbed into the passenger side of her vehicle. We head to the gate, and I wave to the guards. “Ms. Vitale, did Mr. MacNamara approve your departure without your guards?”
“Of course he did. I wouldn’t leave without his approval. No offense, but I’m my father’s daughter. Besides, some of them are meeting me at the hospital.” I didn’t tell him it would be today just that I would go to the hospital without guards in the future.
“Very well. Ms. Vitale, you must be careful.”
“Of course, Nick.” He opens it and lets us go. I told a little lie, but I need a little freedom. I’ve questioned my father’s men before and he said there has never been a problem. My guards have never had to intervene. The issue with Jack being the only time they reacted to a situation which was a misunderstanding.
This is the first time I have gotten out of the house without a herd of security since Ian and I got engaged. It’s probably not the wisest move I’ve made, but I need to speak with the doctors without big goons hovering.
Besides, Ian’s dad doesn’t know Maggie’s car. The surveillance around the estate proves he isn’t lurking nearby. If anything, he’s watching the dock, which scares me more than anything because it leaves Ian vulnerable. “Thanks for picking me up, Maggie.”
“No problem, girlie. I'm so excited for you to come back to the program. You have totally been missed.” She looks through her rearview several times like she’s expecting to see something in it, and then says, “I'm surprised they let you come out—without supervision, I mean.”
“Oh I'm sure there's someone lurking.” That explains why she’s looking. It’s clear behind us. “Besides, I told Ian the other day that I was going to the hospital to speak with Dr. Fisher about getting my job back and that I needed to go without his guards because of all the drama that they caused the first time.”
“That's cool,” she mutters as if she’s not really listening.
She turns on the music to a low volume, which annoys me. It’s like, why bother? It’s like having a fly buzzing around your ear. Either you have the volume cranked up, or turn it off. I personally hate conversation in the car when we’re listening to music. She steals a glance and frowns. Maybe she can sense my annoyance, so I fix my face and try to appear less grouchy.
“How did you get so lucky to get that guy?” she asks with a bit of a temper. Where did that question come from?
“I'm not sure.”
She sighs and grumbles, “All the guys fall at your feet.”
“Excuse me?” I ask.
“Oh, nothing.” I drop it because I don’t want to pick a fight, but I may ask one of my guards to come and pick me up. I’ll shoot Claudia a text as soon as we arrive. I should tell Ian to get me, but I don’t want him to freak out over nothing on my first outing.
We’re about halfway there when she says, “I need to stop at my apartment really quick. I totally forgot my ID.”
“Are you serious?” I sigh.
“I’m sorry. It’s not going to take more than two minutes. I’ll be in and out.”
“Fine.”
It’s crazy, but we’re literally a block from her house. It’s as if she knew she forgot it and intentionally didn’t tell me so I wouldn’t demand we go in separate vehicles again. That was my plan from the start, but she said she wanted some time to hang out.
So she pulls up to the curb and then parks, jumping out of the car in a mad dash to her apartment building. I watch her walk up the steps, and that’s when I realize she didn’t lock the car. I’m about to hit the locks when someone opens the back door. “Ahh,” I screech, turning my head, and then I see it’s Jacob.
“Oh shit. I didn’t mean to scare you,” he says, putting his hands up.
“No biggie.” I try to act cool, but I’m anything but. Something doesn’t seem right. I take out my phone and shoot Claudia a message. Something isn’t right. Send help. No calls.
“It’s been a long time. How are you?” he asks.
“I’m good.” I try to steady my breathing. My blade is on me, so I can access it if I reach just right, but I’d rather just create some distance. It’s not like he’s doing anything to me. Maybe he’s just catching a ride with us.
“Maggie said you were. She said you were getting married to that thug that was supposed to be dying in the hospital. Did he force you to marry him?” he questioned with a venom so deadly, I’d swear he was part of a family as well.
“No. Why would you say something like that? I love Ian.”
“He’s not good enough for you.” He can’t be jealous. Jacob fucks everything that walks.
“Excuse me.” I move swiftly to unlock the door and jump out. Fuck it. I’ll contact the hospital myself. Quickly, I hustled down the street with my phone hitting Ian’s number. It barely rings once when a sharp pain hits the back of my head and everything goes dark.
****
My eyes flutter open, and yet it’s completely dark. I stretch out my hands, reaching for something, and find a wall and then another and another. My feet are met with another. I’m confined in a tiny box. My heart rate speeds up as my situation hits me. I have no idea where I am, but I know that I’m trapped and that Maggie and Jacob are involved.
What an idiot. I trusted them instead of trusting my gut. I should have Ian to protect me like he insisted.
I try to take a calming breath, but my thoughts are just eating at me. I want Ian to find me so bad. I need him to find me. Tears stream down my face as I consider how different life had been hours ago. My heart’s heavy, and my hands are shaking. I’d been hit so hard from behind that I’d blacked out instantly, so it had to have been Jacob, but they were bold enough to do it in broad daylight.
Shit—the pain is so intense I feel like there’s a pounding on my head. My eyeballs ache so badly I want to cry just from that alone. I’m somewhere dark. I keep pushing and pushing, but nothing moves; there’s no give. Wherever I am, I’m here until someone comes to let me out, or I die.
“I’m so sorry, Ian,” I sob. He loves me so much and tells me every single minute of every day that we are together and every time he sends me a message. Damn it, my phone. They must have it. No, they would have tossed it, and now he can’t track me. My chest hurts, and it feels like I can’t breathe, so I call out. “I need you,” I whisper as my eyes closed.
****
Cold water splashes in my face, and my eyes squint as I try to open them. The light is so bright that it takes me a moment to adjust my vision. Finally, someone has opened my prison. When I see the face of the man in front of me, I’m regretting that he opened it. “Come on, you little bitch. Get out of there.”
My legs have been cramped for I don’t know how many hours. Does he think I’m just going to get out of here easily? He points a gun at me. I try to get up, but my legs are numb from being in the position, and I nearly fall over twice, stumbling as I try to get out of the box.
“Don’t fucking play dumb with me. Do you think I’m going to fall for that innocent shit?” he hollers at me, shakily waving his gun at me. I don’t like that he doesn’t have control.
Still, I can’t fight my own nature. “No, my fucking legs are asleep, you piece of shit. Why did you kidnap me?”
“You have to fucking know why. You can’t be that dumb. I know you got kicked out of medical school, but wow—I didn’t realize that piece of shit got himself with a dumb broad.”
“Oh, you’re an asshole,” I hiss at him.
“I wouldn’t talk shit to a man with a gun.”
“Well, you’re going to kill me regardless of whether I’m fucking kissing your ass or not.” My head hurts, my throat is raw, and my legs are numb. “Please spare me the bullshit. You kidnapped me to summon Ian? Do you think he’s going to be that dumb to come after you to get me? We hardly know each other.”
He grabs my hand. “Oh, yeah? What the fuck is this?”
“It’s a ring. My daddy gave it to me.”
“You lying little bitch.” He smacks me across the face, and I fall to the floor, banging my elbow and side.
“Wow, you always beat up women? No wonder your wife couldn’t fucking stand you.”
“Bitch, she is so close… so close.”
“I know what you’re waiting for—Ian—and that’s not going to happen.”
He chuckles. “Yes it is. You’re not just some whore. You’re the woman he selected to marry,” he says with a teasing tone, mocking the relationship between Ian and me. “That piece-of-shit bastard gave you the ring from his whore of a mother that she got from another man. If they all thought I wouldn’t recognize that ring, they are foolish. She believed I never knew about that piece of jewelry. I warned her, but she didn’t learn. It was supposed to be destroyed. One way or another, it will be.”