Page 1 of Kidnapped Wife

Chapter One

Elsie Santorini didn’t know how her husband had been able to find her so fast. She was used to sneaking off without anyone being aware that she’d been gone. Years of growing up in the foster care system, bouncing from place to place, she learned how to run and hide.

She thought as an adult her days of running away were over, but it would seem not. Rushing into the apartment she had started to rent just this week, she scrambled toward the closet, grabbing her bag. She hadn’t unpacked. Again, another rule she had learned while being on the run from foster homes. Not all homes were bad, but most of them only had people who were interested in cashing in a paycheck. They had no care for the children they were supposed to protect. Most of the time, they didn’t care. The few that did tended to keep to the younger kids.

Elsie learned not to trust any of them.

The biggest mistake she ever made was getting comfortable, and the same problem happened with her husband. She got too comfortable.

Her hands shook as she quickly checked to make sure everything was packed. She had her passport, some cash, and she moved as fast as she could, heading toward the door only tocome to a stop as it slammed open. Her heart started to race as she looked at him, the panic so close to the surface. She stared at the man she once thought of as her hero. He was not her hero.

They were a couple that should never have been. Most of the men and women within his circle didn’t like her. She was the outcast. She hadn’t known, when she’d fallen in love with Massimo, that he was one of the notorious members of the local mafia. He ran the whole freaking city and had businessmen, politicians, and so many more eating out of his pocket.

All she had been to him was a nice waitress. He came for coffee at the café where she worked. She didn’t know her boss was a rare friend to Massimo. It was the only reason he went to the damn café. She had thought it was because he loved her, but in recent weeks that had proven to be wrong.

His betrayal cut deeper than she ever thought possible, and she was used to being betrayed.

Nibbling her bottom lip, she stared at him, at the deep blue eyes she thought stared at her so longingly when he’d taken her virginity. They hadn’t been married when they had sex, but within forty-eight hours, he organized everything so they became husband and wife.

Elsie hadn’t been interested in his wealth or title. She had loved him, the man, the person who made her laugh, who took her on long walks through the park. The man who gave her his jacket because she felt cold. That was the man she fell in love with.

He hadn’t hidden his true self from her. On the evening of their wedding, he had told her exactly who he was and what he did. She knew he murdered people. Part of her knew she should care, but she also knew there were people in the world who didn’t deserve to live.

She had no doubt he probably killed innocent people, but she loved him more than anyone or anything in the world. Shedidn’t want to be without him. So, she ignored the warnings. Even when his people looked at her with disdain, he was there, always by her side. On her side. They called her many names—a whore, a gold-digger—but she didn’t care. Massimo loved her and she loved him.

“How did you find me?” she asked. She’d been careful in hiding her tracks. She was no amateur.

“I don’t know what made you leave,” he said. “Running around the streets without any protection is stupid.”

She shook her head. “I want a divorce!”

Even as she said those words, she felt like she was plunging a knife into her own chest. Tears sprang to her eyes.

“No,” Massimo said.

“You can’t do this. Just because you don’t want something, doesn’t mean I have to follow along with whatever you say. We’re not compatible, Massimo!”

“You’re wrong, or should I remind you of how good I make you scream?”

She hated him for that. He knew her body better than she did. He knew exactly how to touch her to make her scream, and she hated it.

“Don’t. That is just sex and you know it. You know how to press every woman’s buttons.” She wanted to scream at him, instead, she kept her calm. She had no idea how she managed it.

“So, tell me, Elsie. What did I do wrong for you to run away like a petulant child? What did I do?”

Elsie looked at him, and in that moment, she didn’t know what she saw in him. That was a lie. He was the first person to make her feel special, to make her feel wanted. All her life, she’d never had any of those feelings. Not by foster parents or social workers. She’d always been a burden, and for the first time in her life, someone showed her they cared.

“You promised to love me. You promised to be there forme in sickness and in health.”

“Nothing has changed.”

“And you promised to remain faithful to me. To be mine as I am yours, and yet you had to go with her, didn’t you? Isabella, the woman you really wanted. You wanted her, and now that she is available, I mean nothing to you.”

He took another step toward her, then another. Elsie wanted to stand her ground, but with Massimo, it was next to impossible. She knew he wouldn’t hurt her, but she’d run away and left. She hadn’t stolen from him. The money she earned as a waitress still belonged to her. Everything she’d taken had been stuff she bought with her own money. Everything Massimo had paid for had been left behind.

“Like I said before, nothing has changed, but right now, Elsie, you should know I am not sorry for this.”

Elsie didn’t have much time to react before he pressed something against her mouth. There was no time to struggle. She couldn’t even make out what scent it was, but then everything slowly faded to darkness.

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