Page 27 of Unwanted Marriage with the Mafia Boss

I should look away. There’s no reason for me to keep staring at him while he... drops the towel to the floor. But I don’t look away. I can’t. Warmth spreads through me, and I hate it.

Adriano isn’t Blue. I have to remind myself of that. I tear my gaze away from him just as he looks over his shoulder. As I close my eyes, I take a deep breath. If I pretend I’m asleep, maybe he’ll go away. I just need him as far away as possible from me right now. I hear his footsteps coming closer, and I tense. But then I hear the door open and close. I open my eyes. He’s gone. I breathe out a sigh of relief.

At some point,I must’ve dozed off because when I wake up Adriano and Rocco are in the room. Adriano removes my cuff.

“If she tries anything, just shoot her,” he says to Rocco, who has his gun out.

“Go to the bathroom and get ready,” Adriano says to me. “And hurry.”

Hurry for what? Is he taking me somewhere? Rocco’s gun is pointed at me as I get to my feet, and Adriano is already halfway across the room and out of the door before I can ask anything.

Should I try to talk to Rocco? Get him on my side and beg him to help me? I don’t think he’d do that. If he’s here, that means Adriano trusts him. Rocco must be one of his most loyal men.

As I close the bathroom door behind me, I catch Rocco’s gaze. I hope he’s as trustworthy as Adriano believes him to be.

Once I’mout of the bathroom, Rocco trains his gun on me again.

“Walk,” he says. “Through the door.”

I step outside into the hallway.

“Right,” Rocco barks.

I enter a big room to our right. There’s a huge table for maybe a dozen people, and Adriano is sitting in one of the chairs. The table is filled with food, and there are two empty plates.

“Take a seat,” Adriano says.

I glance at the windows. They’re huge too, and I can see some buildings through them. We’re somewhere in the city. Somewhere high up. Jumping out of the window is out of the question then, unless I want to die.

As I sit down across from Adriano, the whiff of food makes my stomach rumble. It suddenly seems like ages since I last ate something. My stomach is a hollow pit, and everything on the table looks appetizing. But I don’t move. Filippo’s face fills my mind.

“Don’t touch it! I fucking paid for it! You eat when I tell you you can!” he screams at me, the artery in his neck pulsing.

A shiver runs down my spine as I return back to the present. Adriano watches me with interest as he gets some food on his plate.

“I hope there’s something on this table that you like,” he says. “You must be hungry.”

Starving, more like it. I’m going to need my energy, so I fill my plate with a little bit of everything. Adriano chews his food, but he keeps staring at me as if I’m some kind of exhibit, or a puzzle that he has to solve.

“What do you want from me?” I dare to ask after I’ve eaten half of my food.

If he gets mad at me and sends me back to his room, at least I won’t be hungry.

“I’m sorry about all this. I know it must be frustrating and scary, but I need you to get what I want. You’re just a pawn on a big chessboard.”

“Then why don’t you let me go? I’m no one important. I’m sure you can get everything you want without me.”

“Your father is in an area without phone service, so until he answers my call, you’re stuck with me.”

“You want to get your hands on my house and my dad’s restaurant?”

“Don’t take it personally.” He smiles. “I want to build something bigger and better there. Why would you want to live the rest of your life in that old, boring neighborhood?”

“Because it’s my home!” I raise my voice without meaning to.

“You can get a new home somewhere else. Your father should’ve just agreed to sell. With the money—”

“You don’t understand. Not everything is about money!”

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