Page 49 of Beautiful Enemy

“Sorry.”

“I know you worry but I have everything under control.” He takes my arm gently. That’s one thing I’ve noticed about him. Dante could easily manhandle me but he onlyever touches me with gentleness. It doesn’t match up to his words and behaviors. Nothing about him makes any sense to me.

Dante leads me outside and to his car. It’s different from the one he kidnapped me in. That helps calm me just a little.

We’re both silent on the drive. I marvel at the things I see outside the window. An actual change of scenery over staring at the same four walls the past couple of days. Anya is out there right now looking for me. I wish I could tell her I’m ok, just so she’s not hurting so much.

Dante stops the car at a stoplight and for a moment, I consider getting out and making a run for it. But I have heels on and it would be hard to run. If I try to take my shoes off, Dante will notice. I need to wait for the right time to make a run for it. I’ll only have one chance.

We arrive at a brownstone within the city. Anya lives just thirty minutes from here. By car, that’s nothing, but on foot, it would take me a few hours to reach her. I don’t have hours. I don’t even have minutes.

Dante gets out of the car and comes around to my side and opens my door like a gentleman but I know he’s not a gentleman. He’s the furthest thing from it.

He holds out his hand and slowly, I take it. His touch feels good; electric and intoxicating. It helps steady me. Except, I shouldn’t want Dante’s touch to steady me. I should be running and screaming from him.

A middle aged man opens the door after Dante knocks.

“Dante,” he says warily. “And this is… the girl.”

“Nadia, say hello to Elio Romano. The father of Aria Romano, the girl your father kidnapped when she was just twelve years old.”

I get that Dante is trying to make me hate my father but that’s a hard thing to do when I already hate him so much.

“Dante, I’m not sure this is such a good idea,” Elio says but Dante isn’t listening. He just walks right past Elio into the house. I get one more glimpse of the outside world before the door shuts behind us.

“So, this is her.” A young woman stands in the foyer, her arms crossed, with a glare on her face.

“This is her.” Dante nudges me forward. “Nadia, meet Aria.”

“Uh… nice to meet you,” I whisper.

She only glares at me harder. “Your father was the one to kidnap me. He gave me nightmares for years. You should feel terrible being related to him.”

My mouth goes slack. How do I even respond to that?

“Good thing Nadia hates her father,” Dante says.

Aria scoffs. “I don’t believe it. She’s just another member of the Bratva. They’re all terrible people. She’s no exception.”

“I was kidnapped too, you know.” An awkwardness fills the air after I say it.

Aria blinks before rolling her eyes. “I don’t care.”

“By Dante. I was kidnapped by Dante. I’m being held prisoner. I’m not the bad guy here.”

“You’re the Bratva. You’re all bad.”

A flare of anger courses through me. If I were Anya, I’d already have this girl put in her place. I just have to do it my way. “The Mafia aren’t any better. Dante is a kidnapper. That’s not someone to look up to.”

Dante slings his arm around my shoulders. “So, we’re all getting along?”

Aria turns her glare onto him. “Who does she think she is, getting to talk to me this way? She doesn’t seem scared at all. Have you not tortured her yet?”

The anger in this little girl is intimidating. A part of me wants to help her and another part of me wants to run far away.

“I don’t want Nadia physically hurt,” Dante explains. “That wouldn’t serve my purposes. She’s better off alive than dead. The better condition she’s in, the longer I can keep her and use her to my advantage.” The way Dante is speaking so clinically of me is starkly different from last night when he had me touch myself.

It… stings a little, I have to admit.

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