Page 34 of Kidnapped By the Mafia

The door closes behind us with a finality that makes my stomach drop. I’m back in the cage, and there’s no telling what’s going to happen next.

“I fired the doorman for refusing to let you up. I fired the cleaners for leaving the door open. You’re causing me a hell of a recruitment crisis.”

He releases me, and I stumble slightly, catching myself on the back of a chair. The silence between us is suffocating, and I force myself to look up at him, trying to gauge his mood. His face is a mask of cold fury, but there’s something else in his eyes—something I can’t quite read.

“Do you have any idea the danger you were in?” he asks, his voice low and controlled, but there’s an edge to it that sends a shiver down my spine.

I open my mouth to respond, but the words don’t come. What can I possibly say? That I’m sorry? That I didn’t mean to cause trouble? I know better than to think that will make a difference. I’ve seen what Lucas is capable of, and I know that apologies won’t fix this.

He takes a step closer, his eyes locked onto mine. “Do you understand what could have happened? That cop wasn’t going to take you to safety. This isn’t a world of roses and puppies. He was waiting outside for you to escape. He was going to deliver you straight to Albrecht. As ordered.”

The name sends a chill through me. Albrecht. I’ve heard bits and pieces about him from Lucas, from the conversations he has with his men when he thinks I’m not listening.

He’s the rival, the one who’s been trying to undermine Lucas’s power, the one who won’t stop until he’s taken everything Lucas has—including me.

“He was going to use you, Emily,” Lucas continues, his voice rising with barely restrained anger. “Albrecht would have used you to get to me. Do you have any idea what he would have done to you?”

The thought of it, of being in the hands of someone even more ruthless than Lucas, makes my blood run cold. I shake my head, my voice trembling as I finally find the words.

“I didn’t know. I just wanted to get out. I can’t stay here, Lucas. I can’t be trapped like this. I can’t find work, I can’t do anything.”

“What work do you need? I’m paying for everything, aren’t I?”

“It’s not about money. I want to be a journalist. I want to submit articles but your firewall treats me like a porn obsessed teenager with a crypto problem.”

His expression softens, just for a moment, and I see something flicker in his eyes—something almost like regret. But it’s gone as quickly as it appeared, replaced by that steely resolve I’ve come to associate with him.

“I’m doing this to protect you,” he says, his voice firm. “I don’t care if you hate me for it, but you need to understand that everything I do is to keep you safe.”

I let out a shaky breath, trying to process what he’s saying. “Safe? You think keeping me locked up in this penthouse is keeping me safe? It’s suffocating, Lucas. I can’t breathe in here. I can’t live like this.”

He takes another step closer, his presence overwhelming. “You think I want this?” he asks, his voice rough with emotion. “You think I enjoy keeping you here, watching you suffer? I’m doing what I have to do, Emily. If you leave, if you get caught, I won’t be able to protect you. And I can’t—” He stops, as if the words are too difficult to say, then forces them out. “I can’t lose you.”

“What? Because of your heir?”

“No,” he says darkly. “Because of you.”

The intensity in his voice, the way his eyes flash fire with that admission, makes my heart skip a beat. He’s not just angry—he’s scared. Scared of losing control, of losing me. It’s a side of Lucas I haven’t seen before, a vulnerability that I didn’t think he was capable of. It throws me off balance, making me see him in a different light.

But I can’t let myself be swayed. I can’t forget that this man has kept me prisoner, that he’s done terrible things in the name of protecting me. I take a deep breath, summoning the courage to speak my mind.

“You can’t keep me locked up forever, Lucas. I need more than this. I need to feel the sun on my face, to breathe fresh air. I’ll go crazy if I stay here, and I’ll keep trying to escape if you don’t give me something—anything.”

He’s silent for a long moment, his eyes searching mine as if trying to decide whether to trust me. Finally, he nods, but there’s a hard edge to it. “Fine. I’ll give you more freedom, but there will be limits. You can go outside, but only with me, and only in places I know are safe. I won’t risk your life, Emily. Not for anything.”

“What about work?”

“You can submit articles as long as I check where they’re going and what they’re about.”

“Controlling much?”

“It’s to keep you safe. The wrong thing to the wrong people and we’re all fucked.”

I nod slowly, relief washing over me even as the reality of my situation sinks in. I’m still a prisoner, but at least now there’s a glimmer of hope, a chance to taste the freedom I’ve been craving.

It’s not everything I want, but it’s a start.

The tension between us eases slightly, and I can feel the shift in the air. It’s subtle, but it’s there—a growing trust, a fragile connection that wasn’t there before.

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