Page 69 of Unwilling Vow (Mafia Marriages 4)

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Olivia

“What do you want with me?” I ask.

The two men in the back of the van don’t answer my question. They force my hands together in front of me and bind them with duct tape.

“Silence!” they command and threaten me with covering my lips.

I agree to their silence. At least for now.

I can’t see where they’re taking me. The road is bumpy, and the drive seems long, but I have no idea how much time has passed.

Eventually, the van comes to an abrupt halt, and I’m shuffled out the side door and into a large building with men standing guard, semi-automatic weapons in their grasp.

What is this place?

I don’t ask. I know better than to cause a scene right now. Whatever I do, I must protect Jace’s daughter. She’s the priority.

Luka Caruso stands in the back of the hall, arms folded across his chest. “What do we have here?” His smile is sinister and sends a shiver down my spine.

“Luka,” I rasp. A small part of me had wished that when Jace had taken care of the problem with Luka Caruso, he was dead.

But who was I kidding?

Jace isn’t a murderer. And it seems paying the man off didn’t help.

“Welcome home, Olivia.” He grabs me by the arm, escorting me forcefully down the stairs.

It’s dimly lit with cement steps, and as I graze the bottom landing, there are several prison cells. “What is this place?” I whisper.

“Where you’ll be staying,” Luka says, and opens the prison cell door. It creaks as he swings it open and pushes me inside. “Hands,” he commands, and I show him the duct tape around my wrists, binding them together.

He retrieves a switchblade from his pants pocket and slices through the adhesive, separating my wrists.

“If you’re holding me for ransom, you should know that Jace is out of town.” I don’t want to be left alone in this cold, damp prison cell. However, I don’t want to be saddled up with Luka Caruso either.

I want to go home back to the warm mansion and my comfortable bed.

There’s a cot in the corner and a scrappy sheet attached. I shouldn’t have let Markus return to the house without me. Does he work for Don Caruso?

Was it a coincidence that I was left alone, or did Markus have something to do with it?

“Ransom?” Luka laughs and scoffs at the suggestion. “I don’t need his dirty money. I know the accommodations aren’t what you’re used to, but you’ll be safe here.”

“Safe?” What was he talking about? “Your men had me taken! I’m not the least bit safe with you,” I snarl and launch at him, but he takes a step back. He’s quicker than me and slams the prison door shut.

The metal rattles and I shove my arms through, attempting to grasp onto him, but he’s too quick.

“I’m not the monster, Olivia. Your precious boyfriend, the father of your child, he’s with the mafia.”

I take a step backward in the prison cell, shaking my head in disbelief. “No, you’re lying.”

I don’t believe him. Jace has been good to me, good to his employees. There’s no way that he’s with the mafia. He’s not a mobster. He’d never hurt anyone.

“I have proof,” he says. “Just stay right there.” Luka winks as he heads for the stairs.

Fear grips me. Uncertainty hangs in the air, looming closer, swirling around me like a dense fog. As much as I don’t want to be anywhere near the man, the fact he’s leaving scares me even more.

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