Chapter 14

As I stand in their bathroom, I stare at my reflection in this pink bikini Giada convinced me to buy a few months ago. I compare my body to my sisters. I know I shouldn’t still I do, it’s become a compulsion I can’t fight. Her arms are smaller than mine, as are her breasts. Mine are too big, they don’t fit with my body. Then nothing looks right when I stare at myself. I’ve always been heavier than my twin, but now that I don’t dance, it’s worse. Tears roll down my cheeks as I allow the self hatred to seep in. It’s not that I want to feel this way, I don’t. There”s nothing I wouldn”t do to have confidence in my own skin. I fake the smiles. I put on a convincing performance, but it’s all an act. It always has been.

The door opens, and my heart slams against my ribcage as the two men I try to avoid step beside me, Drake on my right and Dante on my left. I freeze, my eyes still on the mirror but watching them instead of myself.

Dante grips my chin and turns my face to his. “I’m tired of waiting for you.”

“So don’t.”

He drags his thumb across my bottom lip. “Finally we agree,” lowering his head, he presses his lips to mine and I don’t fight him. Instead, I part my lips and accept his tongue into my mouth. While he kisses me I feel Drake”s gaze burning my skin, then his fingers trail my arms before he places his hand under my chin, breaking my kiss with Dante, and he cups my face with his powerful hands and slams his lips to mine. I should stop this, but I can’t think straight. Their scent is overpowering and has me weak in the knees. Dante’s kiss was sweet, but Drake’s is anything but. He pushes his tongue into my mouth hungrily and moves my head the way he wants it. He pulls back from me with a glare on his face, and hands me my phone.

“If you want to see your sister alive again, you’ll be at the address I texted you in an hour.”

I turn so I can see both of them. “What? What did you do?”

Dante grins, “Be a good girl, and nobody will get hurt. You will say goodbye to Giada and then come to the address Drake sent you.”

“What?”

My head is spinning, I do not know what’s happening right now, “What?”

Do I know any other words? Right now, I am not sure about anything.

Drake leans into me and kisses the corner of my mouth. “See you soon, Pretty Girl. Do as you”re told or she’s dead.”

“She hates me. My sister would not lift a finger to save me, so why should I?”

Dante smiles, “Because you couldn’t be more different from Nicole if you tried. If she were a complete stranger, you’d save her, wouldn’t you?”

I swallow the lump in my throat because he’s not wrong. I don’t know what they know about my family, but I won’t let her die. Not even when I know if the roles were reversed, she’d sit and laugh while they killed me.

Drake reaches around and pats my ass. “Tick Tock, Pretty Girl.”

And with that, they both turn and leave.

Jesus, Nicole, what have you done? According to Giada, they don’t kill women. Is she wrong? Obviously, her husband doesn’t know about this.

My phone chimes with a text message. I glance down at it and see it’s from Dante, which is odd because I never put his number in my phone.

Dante: Fifty minutes.

Hadyou asked me an hour ago, I would’ve told you that Dante was lethal, yes, but sweet. He’s always been kind to me. Caring even. Now though? He’s obviously as unhinged as his brother. Fear swirls in my belly as my mind continues to race, but underneath it all is sorrow. Am I really going to show up at this address to save Nicole? How do they even know her? I have far more questions than I do answers.

Me: How do I know you actually have her? How do I know she’s alive?

I get changedinto the clothes I came in while I wait for Dante”s response. My phone chimes with his response as I slip on my sandals. Glancing at my phone, it says a picture is downloading.

I swallow hard when I look at the picture of my sister, on her knees, chained to the wall behind her, and dried tears on her cheeks. This is real. This is as real as it gets. Once Giada apologizes for her crying when I was only being nice to her, I grab my bag and head downstairs to say my goodbyes. Although I reassured her it”s okay, I have much bigger issues to deal with. I don’t know what they want, but I’m going to find out, and then I’m leaving.

Slipping into my car, I put the address he texted me into my GPS and leave. It’s a twenty-minute drive from Giada’s house, and that’s a relief because I’ll be there in under their one hour demand. As I make the drive to the unknown address, I run through the different things my mind thinks they could want. I come up empty because yes; I know Dante has a thing for me. But Drake? That man hates me just for being alive. I have done nothing to him. I’ve always been pleasant, yet every time I’ve run into him, he looks at me like he wants to tear me limb from limb. If I’ve earned his ire, then I don’t know what it is.

For a moment, as I pull into the driveway of this mystery home, I wonder if she fucked one of them to end up chained in what looks like a basement, but I dismiss it. This is why you don’t get mixed up with men like this. It’s the exact reason I’ve told Dante no every time he’s asked me out. My skin tingles with the need to ease the pain. Right now, I can”t use the razor blades in my purse, although I always carry them with me. I’m sure they know I’ve pulled up to their mansion. I assume one of them owns it. Traveling the circular driveway, and park as the gates that were open close behind me, giving me the feeling of being trapped. It feels like walls are closing in on me and I put my car in park and step outside into the cool air. It was warm earlier but now that I’m here it feels cold. I wonder if it’s the weather or if these men carry the coldness within them.

I glance around at the neatly trimmed hedges. There are flowers planted all around the front of the house, and it makes it look non-threatening, but somehow, I know better. Danger lurks inside this beautiful building. The outside is a beautiful sandstone, and I can picture a princess being kept here. The only thing missing is the drawbridge with hungry snakes in the water below. I snicker to myself as I realize this castle has snakes. But they’re inside, waiting for me.

After taking a deep breath, I step up to the porch and ring the doorbell as I take in the black iron doors with an intricate swirly design. There’s no doubt these doors cost more than my car is worth, which is sad, but I will not think about that right now.

It’s Dante that opens the door and waves me inside. I step into the foyer and if I weren’t so angry that I’ve been forced to come here for whatever reason, I’d be in awe of this home. I take a quick glance around at the white walls, expensive artwork hanging sporadically. As I follow Dante, I spot a living room to the left with a white sectional sofa. Off to the right, I notice a large white dining table with matching chairs with black legs. A black iron candelabra sits on the table, but a quick look tells me they’ve never been lit.

“Have a seat,” Drake says from the other side of the room.

I sink down onto the sofa that looks modern and not comfortable, but surprisingly, it’s quite cozy. Other than the two men that take a seat across from me on a large matching love seat.

“Do you want a drink?” Dante asks.

I laugh. “This isn’t a social call. Tell me what you want.”

Drake leans back with a grin, runs his hand over his neatly trimmer beard. “Right to business. I like the way you think, Pretty Girl.”

My gaze moves to Dante when he speaks. “Your sister owes us a great debt. One she’d already be dead for if it weren’t for you.”

I shake my head. “That’s impossible. My parents have money. She’d never have to come to you for money.”

Drake grins. “You obviously don’t know about your sister’s little problem. She stole drugs from us. If you give us your cooperation, she will be the first person ever to get away with that.

Did I know my sister used drugs? Yes, recreationally. When she’s out at a club, she will partake in ecstasy and whatever else seems like a good idea. But a drug problem? Addicted to the point of stealing from the mafia? No. That is definitely news to me.

Arching a brow, I ask, “And what do you want?”

Drake”s lips curl up into a sinister grin, the closest to a smile I’ve ever seen from him. “You.”

I clutch my purse with a white-knuckle grip, like it can somehow save me. I shake my head and say, “I’m not for sale. Goodbye, I’m going home.”

Dante glares at me like I’ve wronged him greatly. “Check your phone.”

Reaching into my purse, I retrieve my phone and see a text message from Drake—another number I never put into my phone. Before I press play, I see a house—not just a house, but my house. As the video starts, I watch my home go up in flames.