Page 122 of Captive Souls

How such an evil man could live somewhere so seemingly pristine and magical was beyond me. The pretty walls contained revolting memories, blood that had been wiped clean. Of that I was sure.

Stone had handed me off to men in suits who obviously didn’t know of my past with Knox and weren’t aware that their mighty leader would kill them in a heartbeat if they so much as overheard the wrong information. I wanted to tell them that, but I doubted they’d listen to the word of a captive.

I wasn’t under any false illusions that Stone was actually going to marry me. How could he? He was a man of a certain code, and him knowing I’d been with Knox was him thinking that his property—me—was tarnished in some way. An absolutely absurd way of thinking but there I was, feeling like I was back in the 1800s where women were property to powerful men.

I was sure he was going to play with me, torture me maybe, rape me, but not marry me. I didn’t plan on any of those things happening, not that anyone who was raped or tortured wasplanningon it.

No one told me anything as I was walked through the hallways of the home, without a speck of dust to be seen, decorated in rich reds and reminding me of an old Italian villa with the furnishings to match. Everything was tasteful, elegant.

The ogre had good taste. Or enough money to pay someone who did.

The men in suits didn’t speak to me, and I didn’t attempt to make conversation. There was no point; I wouldn’t make friends there. I was alone.

The thought was distinctly terrifying but also … empowering. I wasn’t weak or simpering, and I was unwilling to give up and wait to be saved. Knox had showed me the power I had inside me, the strength, coiled and waiting for me to let it out. My mother was a victim to a man who took everything from her, and I’d learn from her fate.

I’d make my grandmother proud.

I’d make Knox proud.

Most importantly, I’d makemyselfproud.

The room I’d been shown to was lovely. An enormous bedroom with a wooden, four-poster bed, a fireplace, a balcony that jutted out with a view of the pool and courtyard below. The smell of roses swept into the room through the open doors. A seemingly tempting escape—it wasn’t that high, and there didn’t appear to be any armed guards patrolling the perimeter, but I wasn’t technically a captive, was I? I’d gone there of my own volition and had said I’d wanted this.

Stone was smart enough to see through my lie, or at least suspect it. The balcony was some kind of test, I was sure. Or maybe a taunt.

I went to the ornate marble bathroom to splash water on my face until I remembered it was covered in a thick layer of makeup. I blinked through the heavy false lashes, wanting to rip them off.

But I didn’t. Couldn’t. I had to be this poised, false woman in white, standing in a marble bathroom with no allies for miles.

I jumped as the sound of ringing echoed from the bedroom. Following the sound, I was surprised to see a phone on the nightstand beside the bed. Who still had landlines? Mafia Dons needed to communicate with their captive fiancées somehow, I guessed.

Figuring it was for me, I answered it.

“Piper, I trust your accommodations are to your satisfaction.” Stone’s tone was warm, as if he hadn’t just murdered two men in front of me hours before.

I clutched the phone tighter. “My … accommodations?” I repeated. “You’re not expecting me to sleep with you?”

I’d known upon first glance that I wasn’t in Stone’s bedroom. There were no personal effects, nothing male about it, and the large closet was empty. No shrines to the horned god or stone slabs with chains for sacrificing virgins. Not that he’d leave evidence of the true sadist he was.

“So eager?” he teased in a charming deep tone. “No, I’m afraid I’m old fashioned in that regard.” There was a loaded pause. I picked at my cuticles so I didn’t rush to fill it. “I know you don’t stand on ceremony in regard to who you fuck.”

I flinched at the words delivered in that same polite tone. but I didn’t miss the bite, even through the phone.

“I’d rather let some time go by before we venture into that portion of our relationship,” he continued placidly. “We have forever, after all.”

Forever. Or as long as he deigned to keep me alive, was what was left unsaid.

I didn’t speak. What was there to say?

“I’ll be home for dinner by six thirty,” he continued. “I’ll expect you at the table not a moment past.” Order saturated his tone. And the promise of retribution should I not heed it. An omen of what a life would be like under the thumb of this man. I reveled in the fate I was saving the next woman from.

“I’ll be there,” I promised, glancing at the clock that had barely struck twelve. My stomach panged with hunger and thirst. I ignored it.

“Good. I’m so sure you’ll like it here, Piper,” he added before he rang off.

My hand was shaking as I put the phone down. I was most definitely out of my depth there.

Six hours. I had six hours to learn not only how to swim in these shark-infested waters but to become a shark myself.

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