VEDA
He left me sitting in the bathroom. Before walking out, he grumbled something about helping myself to whatever I could find to wear until he could get me some clothes. So I guess he wasn't kidding about feeling free to play in his closet.
I'm really going to die.
The thought hit me out of nowhere, and I took a shuddering breath. There was no other outcome I could see happening in this scenario. Once Luca had my sister, I would be nothing but a risk to his identity and location. Someone who saw too much. Knows too much. He would have to kill me. He would have no other choice. Not only could I go to the police, I would be bait for his enemies—and a man like him would have many—to torture into giving up details about Luca. And I highly doubted they would treat me as a "guest" in their home the way Luca did, as far as that went anyway. I knew I could have it much worse.
As soon as he'd confirmed my suspicions about who he was and what he did for a living, the truth had hit me like I’d just been slapped in the face with a fish.
There’s no way I’m getting out of this alive.
I don't know how long I sat there trying to wrap my mind around this realization. I heard Luca get dressed and leave the bedroom, but not before he called someone and asked them to bring me some coffee and food. Reluctant to encourage the passing of time, I stayed frozen where I was until I heard a knock just before the door opened.
"Hello? Miss Calbert?" a female voice called out.
Rising from the chair, I shuffled to the bedroom to find an older woman with short, salt and pepper hair setting a tray on the small table by the patio doors. She was wearing dark slacks, comfortable shoes, and a mint green, short-sleeved pullover top.
When the things on the tray were arranged to her liking, she stood and turned toward me, a pleasant smile on her round face. Deep lines were carved around her eyes and mouth. It lit up her entire face. "Hi!" she said brightly. Striding toward me, she put out her hand. "I'm Lisa. I work for Mr. Morelli."
I took her hand more out of habit than anything else. "Veda.” I cocked my head to the side. “So that’s his full name?"
She held my hand as a look of surprise crossed her face. "Um, well, I hope so. Because that's what I've been calling him for six years." Then she smiled and released my hand. "I brought you some coffee with sugar and cream on the side since I wasn't sure how you liked it. Or do you prefer tea?" When I shook my head, she continued. "I also brought you a bagel and some cream cheese and jelly."
"I'm not much of a breakfast eater," I told her.
"Me, either," she responded. "But we'll just leave this here in case you get hungry."
It was only then that her eyes dropped to the bruises on my neck. Her face tight with concern, she started to lift her hand toward me, but then seemed to remember where she was and who I was and let it fall back down to her side. "What the hell happened? Are you okay?"
Walking around her, I sat down on one of the chairs and started fixing my coffee. "I slapped your boss across the face."
"No, you did not," she burst out, both hands flying up to cover her mouth. Then she joined me at the table, sitting in the other chair, her lips pressed tight and her eyes flashing. "That still gave him no right to do that to you."
I was surprised she sat down with me, but honestly, I was starved for any company other than Luca's. I wasn't stupid, though. She worked for the mob. And that meant she was completely loyal to them. Not me. I didn't expect her to help me, but it was nice to have another woman to talk to. And maybe I could get some kind of information out of her as to who I was dealing with here. "I assume you know him well."
"Mr. Morelli?" She shrugged. "I know him as well as anyone could, I guess. He gives me free rein around his house, and honestly doesn't care if I use his pool during my break. I can watch TV while I'm fixing dinner. FaceTime with my mom. Whatever. But otherwise, he keeps things pretty business-like."
"You know he's monitoring everything you say and do here, right?" I watched her over the rim of my cup as I took a sip of my coffee. It was still hot, and really good.
"Pfft." She rolled her eyes and waved her hand in the air. "Of course. But that's fine. If he wants to listen in to my mom talking about her hemorrhoids, that's his prerogative."
I almost spit out my coffee. Carefully, I swallowed and then started coughing as Lisa grinned at me.
"It's true, though. That's about as exciting as our conversations get."
"Should you even be talking to me?" Immediately, I threw up one hand so she didn't get the wrong idea. "I mean, won't you get in trouble?"
Lisa shrugged. "I don't know. Mr. Morelli hasn't ever kidnapped anyone before." Before I could expound on the look of disbelief that had to be written all over my face, she nodded. "Yeah. I know he took you against your will. And all I'm going to tell you is unless you have a death wish, you won't try to escape, because you won't make it. And as for our talking, I'm sure he'll let me know if he doesn't want me doing it."
"Aren't you scared of him?" I asked. Her blasé attitude about it all both fascinated me and pissed me off.
"I don't give him a reason to scare me," she answered in a serious tone. "I do as he tells me to do without question, and he pays me some serious money to work in his home."
"Do you live here or somewhere else?"
"Oh no, I live in my own house about forty-five minutes away with my husband and our dog."
The look on my face must've told her I found that hard to believe, for she elaborated. "We both had to sign an NDA in order for me to work here. And Mr. Morelli interviewed us both himself and did background checks." She paused. "Actually, it was a little more intense than that. He knows everything there is to know about us, along with our friends and our families."