Suddenly, he moved toward me. He’d been intimidating while standing still as a granite statue. He loomed impossibly larger as he closed the distance between us, prowling with lethal grace. My breath caught in my throat, and when he got into my personal space, I forgot how to breathe.
He leaned over me, bringing his arms up around me and resting his palms on the headboard. His huge body caged me in, his powerful aura pinning me in place. His face was inches from mine, and his black eyes swallowed me up.
“Do you want to be murdered? Or maybe they’ll just rape you. Or maybe they’ll pass you around until they get bored, and then they’ll kill you. Is that what you want?”
My mouth went dry, and my hands began to tremble as the awful words rumbled from his chest.
“Back off, Marco,” Joseph growled. “You’re scaring her.”
Marco didn’t move away from me. “She should be scared. She needs to know what will happen to her if she tries to leave.” He was speaking to Joseph about me again, but I couldn’t muster up any anger over it this time. I was too frightened to be angry.
“You’re not going anywhere. Certainly not back to Harvard. You’re not going to leave this house until we say you can. Do you understand?”
I shook my head slightly, a weak denial of the horror I faced.
“Back. Off.” Joseph tried to come to my defense again, but Marco didn’t listen.
“You’re going to tell your family, friends, and professors that you’re taking some time off from school,” he informed me, his hard tone brooking no discussion over the matter. “You’re going to stay here with us. Do you understand?” he asked again, demanding only one answer.
I swallowed and nodded, knowing he wouldn’t accept anything else. He’d remain here, trapping me, until I agreed. Or maybe he’d do worse than getting in my personal space. Every word he spoke dripped dark authority, and I was too intimidated to continue defying him.
“Good girl.” He finally withdrew, and I heaved in a gasping breath.
My heart hammered in my chest as though I’d run a mile, and my hands shook. Fear was venom in my veins, coursing through my body with insidious intent. Tears stung at the corners of my eyes, and I tried to take deep breaths to stave them off. My chest seized. Drawing in air became difficult as my breaths came faster and faster. I was close to hyperventilating, panic setting in as Marco’s horrific words echoed in my mind.
Maybe they’ll pass you around until they get bored, and then they’ll kill you.
He had told me this was my new reality: remain his captive or face rape and death at the hands of their enemies.
I couldn’t process it. I was just a privileged, damaged girl from Georgia who had worked hard to earn her place at a prestigious university. My whole life had been about getting a good education and making my father proud. Then, Joseph came into my life, and my world shifted to revolve around him. I’d yearned to have him back, but now that I was with him again, everything was horribly wrong.
Mafia. Joseph is a mobster.
The concept could barely penetrate my consciousness. Not only was it abhorrent, but I’d been convinced that the man I loved was gentle and good, despite his fierce protective streak.
I blinked hard to clear the tears from my vision, searching for Joseph’s gaze. He was watching me, his jaw tight and his fists still clenched at his sides.
“I’m so sorry, angel,” he rasped.
I latched onto his contrition. “You don’t have to do this,” I pleaded. “You don’t want to hurt me. I know you don’t. Just take me back to school. I won’t tell anyone about this. I swear. Just let me go.”
His chin lifted, and his eyes blazed with a possessive light I’d seen before. In the past, it had made my toes curl. Now, the depth of his obsession made my stomach drop.
“I can’t do that. I won’t.”
“Finally, the truth,” Marco said, smugly satisfied.
“You can’t keep me here!” I railed. “I don’t want to be part of this. Just let me go back to my life.”
“Marco already explained that we can’t do that,” Joseph said, his resolve hardening to match his friend’s. “You’re staying right here. With me.”
He reached for me, but I shoved at his chest. “I don’t want to be with you!” I shouted, my tears falling faster as my heart broke all over again. I could taste the lie on my tongue, but my head knew better than my heart. It didn’t matter that my body still longed for his touch. Joseph was toxic, every bit as dangerous as Marco. I just hadn’t been able to see it before.
His expression darkened, his jaw ticking. He stopped hunching in shame, sitting up to his full, impressive height. This was the powerful man who’d made my mouth water and my panties damp. Even now, my sex heated in response to the sudden shift in his demeanor.