Page 17 of Twisted Vows

Fuck.

“She goes to college and works part time. We rarely see each other. She won’t notice that I didn’t come home.”

Which isn’t a lie. We’re both so busy I miss Katherine more than I see her, but the time we spend together is priceless.

Since she hasn’t called me, I know she left on her trip. She’s safely ensconced in her group of college friends.

“What’s the pin for your cell?”

My extremities go cold as I tell him, even though I know there’s no damning information on my phone. I don’t like him invading my life.

He moves away.

“Wait! Don’t—”

I flinch when he splays a hand over my hip, pressing me to the mattress. He cups the side of my face with his massive palm.

“I’m not abandoning you,mia caramellina. Now be a good girl and wait quietly for me.Capisci?”

His goading works. I open my mouth to tell him off only to shriek in fury as he shoves a gag between my teeth and ties it around my face. He catches my legs with ease, thwarting my attempt to kick him, and secures them to the footboard.

My muffled curses only infuriate me further, but not nearly as much as his parting words.

“When I return, we can start where we left off this morning, then you can make as much noise as you want.Capisci, principessa?”

The endearment floods my veins with ice and snaps the growing tendrils of trust between us. I was stupid to let my guard down. No amount of kindness or gentleness will make up for this.

If he walks out that door after tying me down and reawakening long-buried nightmares with nothing to distract me from them, I’ll never forgive him. The next few hours stretching ahead of me may as well be months.

As the door closes behind him, I vow to hate him with every fiber of my being for the rest of my life.

Chapter 6

Fiero Capito

Her muffled cursesfollow me out into the hallway, but when I shut the door, no sound escapes the room.

She’s too much fun to taunt. The twisted side of me demands she deserves it for being so irresistibly off limits. I slip our phones into my jacket pocket and stride down the hall. The bandages on my lower back pull my skin, but I was in too much of a hurry to leave the room this morning to change out the dressing. I need to put as much distance as possible between myself and the tempting little nurse before I lose control. I’m well on my way to a severe case of blue balls.

When I step into the elevator, my reflection in the mirror catches my attention. I flatten the stupid grin pulling at my lips.

Although valid under normal circumstances, the things she’s worried about aren’t actual concerns. In reality, she’s one of the safest people in the entire city right now. My boss poured tens of thousands of dollars into upgrading the safety of the studio apartment. The structural reinforcements make the space a veritable bomb shelter capable of withstanding any natural disaster. Even if the building collapsed, the people inside the room would be fine. Food, water, money, weapons, supplies—anything she might need to survive are right inside that apartment with her.

It’s one of five secret safe houses Giorgio Vivaldi owns throughout New York City. They were the among the first projects I suggested to him after I caught his ear. With a townhouse already in the works so he could escape his rotten family, the apartments extended the plan he already had in the works.

Plus, I tied her gag loosely enough for her to wriggle out of it—if she’s serious about taking it off.

I glance at the building’s official security camera as I exit the front door, checking Giorgio’s private camera remains invisible. Even when the early morning sun streaks across the sign, I can’t see the hidden lens.

Aware of how easy it is to trail someone in the city, I push all my worries away and focus on my surroundings, taking a few detours to shake even the best of trackers.

I walk past the alley I killed the goon in last night as though I don’t have a care in the world. No one will find the body. Ever.

After about an hour of observing the hospital, I decide Narciso has yet to send anyone else to cover his tracks, so I shuffle down the sidewalk like all the other late morning chumps and wander a few blocks, just blending in for a while.

When I confirm no one is tailing me, I choose a street parallel to Mia’s apartment complex and walk the last few blocks with more purpose, waiting to cut between buildings at the last corner.

I slip in behind an arguing couple, bypassing the security with ease and taking the elevator to the proper floor. Sauntering down the hall as though I belong, I note the cameras and pull her key out of my jeans pocket.

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