Page 24 of Dirty Behavior

Ivy

Icould hearDante's footsteps in the kitchen downstairs. The sun seeped in behind the hideous blinds that had once been used to keep the captive souls from seeing the world.

Or maybe they were there to keep the world from seeing the prisoners inside.

Either way it didn't matter.

This was home for the time being, this was safety until Remo was gone. I couldn't wait for the day Dante and I could move about without having to look over our shoulders every second of every day.

For all the prayers and wishes I had mumbled quietly to myself while I was locked inside, I never expected I'd be outside those walls and still searching for freedom.

All in due time. There's a light at the end of the tunnel.

I could finally see it, and that felt good. The thought made my cheeks warm, setting my mind at ease, and giving me the sense there was an end to this horrible nightmare.

The cupboards opened and shut with a violent crash. Heavy feet thudded around, walking in so many different directions I was starting to get dizzy.

What the hell is he doing?

His feet worked their way from room to room, door after door closing hard and layered in anger. Dante was probably just as hungry as I was.

But there was barely any food in the house when we were here two months ago, I highly doubted there would be any now. There was no one to stock it, no one to run to the store and pick up even the most minute amount of sustenance.

Neither of us could show our face around town; not in a store, not in a restaurant, not on the street. We were targets with giant red bulls-eyes on our backs.

The fact Dante made it to the funeral and back unharmed was a blessing to me. Even him being there had put himself at risk for retaliation and we both knew it.

I didn't want to believe him, I didn't want to acknowledge the fact that despite who he was, someone could be hiding out there waiting for us.

There was always the chance that Remo could have tried to use that as an opportunity to rid the world of Dante just like he had done to his father. After playing the scenarios in my head over and over, I knew it was better that I had stayed back and didn't go.

Dante was right, he just wanted to protect me.

With me tucked away, safety was in his favor. Remo would need him to get to me, without Dante alive, he'd never find what he was truly after.

It was smart on Dante's part to keep me hidden. I was the golden trophy that Remo wanted to set up high on his mantle.

But I wasn't the virgin anymore, I wasn't the purity he yearned for, or the untouched body he wanted to conquer.

In the back of my mind, deep inside the tangled web of thoughts, I wanted to believe that once he learned all of that was gone, he'd want nothing to do with me. It was a foolish and naive idea, but having hope was something I could cling to.

Never give up on hope.

My stomach growled, rumbling in emptiness.

I really hope he's trying to scavenge up some breakfast.

It was strange. Déja vu had coated my brain, bringing me back to the first morning I was there. When Dante strolled in holding a blended plate of items he threw together and I was confined to the room.

Holding my arms out, I looked them over, wiggling my feet and listening for that distinctive chime.

There won't be any more chains, Ivy.

Not now, not ever again.

Giggling quietly, I pulled back the blanket and headed for the bathroom. I knew it shouldn't have been funny in any way to check my body for such sinful jewelry. It should have made me sick, it should have made me angry.

But instead it made me laugh.Shit, I have a sick sense of humor.

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