Charity

I’ve been kidnapped. This is unbelievable.

Today has been a rush of emotions and it’s continuing to get worse and worse.

“This is wrong in so many ways.” Crossing my arms over my chest, I fight the urge to keep my eyes forward. I won’t acknowledge Romeo’s stare. He’s been staring at me ever since I got in this car without putting up a fight.

I really should’ve put up a fight. Who gets kidnapped in broad daylight? I didn’t even bother telling him no. Instead, I just went where he told me to.

“It is.” Hardly helping, he agrees with my words.

“I have a life, Romeo. A job with a boss who will notice something is wrong by tomorrow morning.” He didn’t take my phone. It’s still in my back pocket. If I wanted to cry out for help, I have a way to contact someone.

“You’ll tell her that you need some time off. You shouldn’t be working so hard anyway.” One sneaky glance his way and I can see he’s frowning. “Under my care, you won’t need to work again. All you’ll need to do is be the mother to our child. I’ll take care of everything else.”

Well, doesn’t that just sound like a dream come true? I have to fight the urge to roll my eyes.

“Before today, did you know I’d be at StartBit Tech ?” My forehead thumps against the frame when he confirms my suspicions.

It kind of sucks. I mean, I went all that time freaking longing for this man. All this time, he was always hovering in the darkness where I couldn’t see him. Always within my reach without ever knowing.

“I’ve hurt you.” He reaches out and catches himself. Stopping himself from touching my hand, he rests his knuckles against the seat. “It might not mean much, but you’ve plagued my mind every single day, .”

That’s what happens when a person is obsessed. They stalk and prey on their victim.

Hard to play myself in the role when he does look apologetic.

Promising myself to not be so forgiving, I peel my eyes away. I’m too weak to even insult him.

Seconds turn to minutes of silence. Knots slowly start to form in my stomach as I feel the prickly sensation of having eyes on me. If he’d stop staring my way, I wouldn’t be thinking about him. I wouldn’t be watching his hands and how his fingers curl up in his lap. Almost like he’s itching to touch me.

He’s barely touched me at all. For a man who kidnaps women, one who I should perceive as the bad guy, why has he barely made any contact?

Is it because of the driver? The guy up front is too busy taking in the traffic to notice anything at all. He’s no regular guy either. I bet he’s a part of this scheme.

“Stop staring.” Muttering the words under my breath, my legs shift and the small amount of friction is enough to bring attention to this pesky longing forming in the pit of my stomach.

If it were anyone else, anyone but the man who haunts my dreams, I would’ve clawed his eyes out by now.

“No.” Defiant, the rumble of his refusal should fill me with anger.

I need some fresh air. This car is stuffy. Feeling warm, I try to roll down the window, and relief floods my system when the glass slides down.

Call it a moment of weakness on their part. I could scream and beg one of the nearby cars for help.

Romeo has given me plenty of opportunities to disrupt this moment. However, he acts like he knows I won’t put up a fight. He acts like he knows how I feel, how I’m cursed with this longing.

Seeing as this is our third interaction, that is impossible.

The rush of cool air against my cheeks helps relax me. Makes it easy to forget about the heat creeping through my veins.

He respects my lack of a want for conversation. Giving me what space he can give in the small space of the car, we sit through this drive in mostly silence.

We leave Seattle. Once we’re on the highway, a concerning thought crosses my mind.

“You’re not planning on taking me to some wooded-type area, are you? I can’t help but think you plan on getting rid of this problem in the worst kind of way.” If the pregnancy is a problem in his eyes, then all of this is unnecessary. I never planned on trying to hunt him down. I was going to do all of this on my own.

He scoffs at my question. “I can promise you that I will never bring you pain. Hell, what I’m doing is the opposite.”

If only he knew.

Returning to silence, the car ride continues.

Knowing I’m going to need to tell Eloise something to keep her from being worried about me when I no call no show on my shift tomorrow, I pluck out my phone. Knowing well enough that I am going to be watched, I think hard about my message.

“I won’t stop you from telling her the truth,” he explains like he can read my mind. “However, I will not let you go. You are mine.”

I can’t call this man crazy. Not when I’m the one getting butterflies from the possessive tone of his voice.

“You talk like you are unstoppable,” I murmur as I try to make the goosebumps lifting across my skin go away.

“You would be surprised.” His chuckle makes the butterflies worse. “I am simply confident that I always get what I want.”

I do not doubt his confidence. Holding my breath, my fingers tap away in a text message. “I’m telling her I am taking a family emergency trip. Just now, this isn’t me accepting our situation. I fully intend on returning to my life in like a week.”

A week should be plenty of time for him to realize that he doesn’t suddenly want to be in my life now. Even if it is my pregnancy that is encouraging him to be this outrageous, he’ll realize that soon enough.

He doesn’t argue, but I know the fight isn’t over. The moment I mentioned leaving again, he’s not going to give me up easily. I just have to wait until he makes the realization by himself.

Eventually, we make it to our destination. After taking a long dirt path up to a set of iron gates, my interest is piqued as the driver talks to whoever is on the other side of the speaker box.

“Fancy,” I murmur under my breath. “Who are you?”

“You’ll find out soon enough.” Looking unamused, I don’t get any more of an answer after that as the car continues driving along the path.

Reaching the biggest house I’ve ever seen in my life, I have to pick my jaw up as the car comes to a final stop.

Every minute I’m with this man, the more confused I become. Who is he ?

Romeo doesn’t give me any time to take in my surroundings. As soon as we’re out of the car, he’s fetching everything out of the trunk. Keeping close to my side, he urges me to follow as he drags my luggage about.

The men who roam outside of his home don’t pay me any attention. So many of them move about. Just outside, there are at least ten of them.

They’re as suspicious-looking as the owner of this home. With tattoos covering their arms down to their knuckles, everyone here has matching olive-colored skin. Almost like everyone is one big family, they all have dark hair and matching eyes.

Their similar appearance isn’t the only thing that catches my attention. Some of them carry around assault rifles. Others have smaller guns strapped to their hips.

Only now do I realize how deep I am. Romeo isn’t some random guy. He really is bad. What is he, some crime lord?

And here I thought this kind of setting only happened in books and movies.

Not wanting to imagine what will happen to me if I’m left behind, I keep up with his steps. Thankfully, he doesn’t walk in a rush. Maybe it’s because he hears how fast I run out of breath.

Forgive me, but I haven’t worked on my stamina for the last few months.

“Is this really your home?” Taking in the vast size, I understand how so many bodies move in and out. I’m having a hard time believing only one man can own this place otherwise.

Romeo doesn’t try to hide his smirk. My amazement only fuels his pride. There’s something about seeing this man so cheeky.

“Our home,” he corrects. “You like what you see?”

Unfortunately, yes. When I’m not taking in this man, I’m taking in the golden swirls trailing against white paint. Like a guide, they lead us deeper and deeper into the home.

Losing count of how many turns we make, and how many steps we climb, Romeo leads me to a door. Once the door is open, I can see it’s a bedroom.

One that looks occupied. He’s brought me to his room, one of the most dangerous places in this building. Now that the door is shut behind us, I might as well call my situation lethal.

Once his hands are free, he’s turning his attention toward me. Stalking in my direction, I take one step back to discover there’s nothing behind me but a solid wall.

My poor heart picks up in speed and a gasp leaves my lips when one of his hands flattens against the wall. The other captures my chin, making it impossible to look at anything but him.

There’s a sizzle, the start of a hot flame growing from the pit of my stomach toward my heart. The same thing happened the first time I saw this man. An instant sense of lust, an ache to make him mine.

“Tell me you don’t want me, angel.” His fingers graze my cheeks and the weight behind his stare is enough to make my knees shake. “I’ll put you in a separate room until I can make you fall in love with me.”

Romeo doesn’t know that he’d already stolen my heart once. That also means he doesn’t know he’d broken it with his sudden disappearance.

I need to be strong to avoid letting that happen again.

There’s something about him calling me that pesky nickname again that does me in. When his hand lowers enough for his fingers to graze my stomach and cradle my baby bump, I realize what kind of battle I’m fighting here.

“I…” My breath tickles his lips as he gets close. So close that I drown in his cologne with every inhale.

I can’t want this. He’s bad. Dangerous even.

Romeo doesn’t kiss me. As if my suffering can get any worse, this man gives me the power to decide. Despite not being the good guy, he’s letting me choose.

Call me foolish, but I cave at the welcoming temptation.

I kiss this man because I know if I don’t, I’m not going to be able to stop thinking about the missed opportunity for ages.