Chapter One

Chapter One

Dario

My eyes feel glued shut. I feel nauseated, and I'm covered in sweat. My thoughts are hazy, and I'm not sure where the hell I am. Slowly, my memories begin to filter in. I remember having sex with Alessio, and then some guy showed up. Then the little prick Alessio jabbed a needle in my neck.

I check my pockets for my phone. No huge surprise it's missing. Unfortunately, so is my suit jacket. The chill of the space sinks into me with just slacks and a dress shirt. I clumsily manage to get to my feet. It's dark, and I can't see a damn thing. It smells and feels damp. I begin to inch along what feels like a stone wall. The stones are cold and rough against the palm of my hand. That means I'm not in a finished basement or anything that luxurious. So then, where am I?

It's perfectly obvious I was set up by that punk Alessio. He played me just right too. By acting standoffish, he drew me in. If he'd come on to me, I'd have been disinterested. Whoever sent him must know that about me. That's an unsettling idea. The part I really find mystifying is why he had sex with me. It's one thing to kidnap a person, but you don't usually fuck them first.

I didn't plan this part.

Alessio said that right before we fucked. So then, the sex had been spontaneous? Not part of the original plan? I don't know whether to be pissed or flattered that I was apparently irresistible. I give a harsh laugh as I walk slowly along the wall. I'd love to get my hands on Alessio right about now. I'd make him pay for making a fool of me. I can just imagine squeezing that slender pale throat of his until all the life drained out of his pretty green eyes.

My head is pounding, and my legs won't stop shaking. I'm not used to feeling weak, but I have to stop every few feet because I'm on the verge of puking. Whatever they injected into me, the after-effects are not pleasant. There are boxes and crates that I have to work my way around. As my eyes adjust to the gloom, I begin to see shapes. At the far end of the room, there appear to be stairs. At the top of the flight of steps, there is a door. A sliver of light beneath the door shows shadows moving occasionally as if someone is walking back and forth.

Ignoring the nausea clawing at me, I make it to the bottom of the stairs. I crawl up the steps, finally making it to the door. I pound my hand on the thick wood, and the door shakes on its hinges. "Whoever you are, you just made the biggest fucking mistake of your life," I roar.

Someone on the other side laughs, and I bang on the door some more. I even kick it a few times for good measure, letting every curse word I can think of fly freely. It helps to unleash my fury on something. Every slam of my fists on the rough wood hurts, but also feels good. The pain helps me forget the fear gnawing at me deep down in my gut.

"You think you're going to live after this? No one touches me and lives to tell the tale," I yell.

Another snide laugh comes through the door.

I'm so angry I'm trembling. I can't begin to imagine who would be dumb enough to grab me and think they wouldn't pay dearly for that stupidity. Even if they kill me, there's no way Valentino won't take his revenge. An attack on me is an attack on him. Not to mention, we've been friends since we were kids. I like to think he'd avenge my death for that reason alone. But the truth is his main priority needs to be his own reputation.

He can't tolerate anyone murdering his second without facing horrifying retribution. He could lose the respect of the syndicate, and that might mean his death and the deaths of all the people he loves. His men could be targets too. Gang war isn't pretty. No one escapes unscathed.

I pound on the door for another few minutes, using what little strength I have left. Finally, I fall silent and sit down against the wall near the door. My mouth and throat are as dry as a bone, and I have a horrible taste in my mouth. I'm sure that's from the drug. I close my eyes, willing my throbbing head to quiet.

I don't know how long I've been down here. For all I know, I could have been unconscious for days. Does Valentino know I'm missing? Is he already looking for me? Is Valentino okay? Panic swells in me as that thought crosses my mind. What if someone has attacked Valentino's home? He's got a ton of guys on security, but people can turn. They can be bribed. They can do shit for power and money you never thought they'd do. I've had men turn on me. Men I trusted. That's why these days, the only person in this world I trust is Valentino.

He'll come for me. I need to believe that.

Of course, that doesn't mean I'm going to sit around waiting for him. I'll do my best to get myself out of this situation. After all, me and my dick got me into this mess. I should have been more careful. It wasn't like me to be so careless and unaware of my surroundings. But Alessio had drawn me in instantly, and I'd been stupidly distracted. His scent alone had been addicting. Even now, though I'd love to strangle him, I'm aroused remembering the feel and taste of him.

I rise and clamber down the stairs. I sit against the wall at the bottom of the steps, breathing jaggedly. I end up falling asleep. I'm sure it's the drugs that are still in my system. When I wake up, I'm shivering and cold, but at least the nausea seems to have passed. I really wish someone would come and give me some fucking water. What exactly is their plan? If they intend on holding me for ransom, they need to keep me alive. I have to have water.

I'm surprised my kidnappers didn't bind my hands. They must feel very confident that I can't get out of my little prison. Not having my hands tied does make escape more of a possibility. Are they so arrogant or stupid they don't think I'll try to get away? I will. First chance I get I'll definitely try and get out of this place. I just pray Valentino and his family are safe.

When the door jangles and lurches open, I stumble to my feet. I glare at the yellow-eyed alpha who enters my little dungeon. He's carrying a tray of food and a cattle prod in his hand. I do my best to look intimidating, but I feel weak and pathetic.

He smirks and sets the tray on the ground. "You look rough. I guess Sleeping Beauty didn't get enough beauty sleep."

"Fuck off," I rumble, taking a step toward him.

"Ah, ah, ah." He holds up the cattle prod, and I stop.

I've used cattle prods on other men enough times to know the pain they inflict. They're beautiful torture devices. Nothing like having a cattle prod zapping your balls to get you to talk. If he uses it on me, it won't kill me, but it can burn my flesh. I have enough problems at the moment.

"Why am I here?" I demand.

"Because my boss wants you here." Yellow Eyes shrugs. "Mine is not to reason why. I just do what I'm told. Like you do, for Valentino."

"Your boss is a fool. He's going to end up dead if he does anything to me," I say harshly.

His gaze flickers. "Trust me, I know he's playing with fire. But he has his reasons."

"Oh, yeah? What possible reason could he have for doing something this stupid?"

"Look, that's not for me to say. He'll come talk to you when he's ready."

"I may not be here when he gets around to visiting me," I say, bending down to grab the bottle of water from the tray. I twist the lid and hear a satisfying crack of the seal. I don't trust the food, but the water should be okay since it was sealed.

Yellow Eyes guffaws. "You aren't going anywhere, buddy."

"That's what you think." I gulp down half of the bottle of water and feel life returning to my cells. I don't exactly have a plan for my escape, but I'm determined to get the hell out of here ASAP.

"I guess you think you're shit don't stink because you're Valentino's Second?" He curls his lip. "You're gonna wish you'd never met him when my boss gets through with you."

"Oh, really?" I shake my head. "I don't know why he has a beef with me. Maybe if you'd tell me who he is, I could figure out why he has a grudge."

"I can't. If he wants to tell you, that's his prerogative."

"Whatever." I nudge the tray of food with my foot. "You can take that. I'm not stupid enough to eat anything you serve me."

"We're not trying to poison you."

"Well, you certainly seem trustworthy," I say drolly.

He gives a humorless laugh. "Suit yourself." He bends down and grabs the tray, keeping a wary eye on me. When he straightens, he says, "Boss isn't gonna like it that you're not eating."

I chuff. "What does he care?"

He lifts one shoulder. "He doesn't want you to starve to death. He wants to take his pound of flesh in other ways."

"Who's your boss?"

He narrows his eyes. "You met him. He's the one who jabbed you with the needle. You didn't know?"

"You mean that omega kid is actually running this shitshow?" I laugh, but I'm mostly trying to hide my embarrassment. I thought Alessio was just the bait. I didn't realize he was the boss. That makes my situation even more humiliating. Young or not, Alessio reeled me in like a clueless trout.

"That's right. He's in charge."

"Unbelievable." I frown. "You're familiar to me. How do I know you?"

He moves to the door. "I've said too much already. Boss will come see you when he's good and ready." He leaves, slamming the door behind him.

"Asshole," I mutter under my breath. The chill of the cellar is getting to me. The damp sinks into my bones, and my teeth chatter every few seconds.

My eyes are adjusting to the dim lighting. The boxes that I stumbled over earlier have fishing rods sticking out of them. Sadly, there are no hooks or fishing line that I could use as a weapon. I open some of the boxes one by one, hoping there will be something inside that I can use to escape. Unfortunately, they're just full of old clothing and pots and pans. I'm freezing, so I put on one of the old sweaters I find. It smells of mothballs and damp wool.

Feeling shaky and tired, I return to the far end of the room where I first woke up. There's a small cot with no pillow or blanket. Once I get more energy, I'll go back and grab more of the clothes from the boxes. Maybe then the bed will be cozier. I sit down and finish my bottle of water. I keep the bottle nearby for other reasons too. I don't see a toilet anywhere. I'm not going to piss on the ground where I sleep and marinate in the scent of urine. The bottle will have to do as my bathroom for now.

The cot squeaks alarmingly when I lower myself onto it. I wouldn't be surprised if it collapsed, to be honest. My feet hang off the end of the small bed, and I rest my head on the canvas material, feeling anxious. I don't feel good physically, so that makes me feel vulnerable. Not something I relish.

Somehow, I doze off and only wake when the door at the other end scrapes open again. I quickly sit up, head spinning, and face the dark figure moving toward me. The shape is too slender to be the yellow-eyed alpha. When the person is a few feet from me, his honeyed scent fills my nostrils.

Alessio.

He flicks a flashlight on, and I wince as it momentarily blinds me. "How are you enjoying your stay with us, Dario?" he asks snidely.

"To be honest, not that much. I never got any chocolate with my turn-down service."

He laughs, and the huskiness of it shivers through me. Why the fuck am I still attracted to him? But I am. I'm half hard just standing near him in my little dungeon. He moves closer, but not so close I can grab him. He's holding the cattle prod Yellow Eyes had earlier.

"Why am I here?" I ask.

"Because Valentino needs to be taught a lesson."

I frown. "And you think holding me hostage is teaching him something? All it's gonna do is piss him off. You're being dumb."

"I think you underestimate me, Dario."

"I don't even fucking know you, so how does that work?" I take a step toward him, and he lifts the cattle prod higher.

"Don't. I'll use this. If you think I won't, you're dead wrong." His voice is hard. Cold.

"Aww, that's not nice. Do you use that thing on all of your lovers? Or am I just special?"

He purses his lips, running his gaze over me. "You're nothing to me. What happened before? Outside that bar? That was a mistake."

"Ya think?" I growl.

"I was horny, and so I went with it. I don't usually let strange alphas fuck me, especially in such a dirty and low-life way."

"Is that right? You're too good for that kind of thing?"

"Damn straight," he snaps.

"Bullshit." I laugh. "You loved it." He's not trying to seduce me anymore, but there's still something about the way he looks at me that makes me certain he wants more of me. I'm flattered. Excited. But mostly confused about how that makes sense.

His mouth hardens. "Like I said, it was a mistake."

"Yeah, it was. Most definitely."

"I'm glad we can agree it shouldn't have happened."

I cross my arms, eyes pinned on him. "If I'm not here to be your sex slave, how about you tell me why I am here?"

His cheek twitches. "You're here because I want Valentino to come face me like a man."

"And why would he need to do that?"

Curling his lip, he says, "Because Valentino killed my father."

It's not beyond the realm of possibility that Valentino did indeed do that, but it would help if I knew who the hell Alessio was. I frown. "So all that talk about your father at the bar was just for show?"

"Everything I said about my father was true. I did like pissing him off. He was controlling, and he did try to keep me cooped up in his home. But he was still my father, and I want vengeance."

I grunt. "Who was your father?"

He lifts his chin. "Joseph Abella."

I knit my brows as surprise shifts through me. "Seriously? You're Joesph's son?"

"That's right." The flashlight in his hand seems to tremble slightly.

Now that I know who Alessio is, things make a little more sense. Valentino came down very hard on the Abella syndicate after they kidnapped Nico last year. "I heard about your father's death. I'm sorry."

He scowls angrily. "Save your condolences. It's your boss's fault my father is dead. And you're not innocent. You helped Valentino do all the shit he did to Dad."

"I'm definitely no innocent, no." I hesitate. "But if you ask me, Valentino showed amazing restraint after your dad grabbed Nico. Frankly, I thought Valentino would have your father and his entire family killed. But he didn't. He just took some stuff away from your dad. It was basically a slap on the wrist."

"Restraint? A slap on the wrist?" Screeches Alessio, eyes wide. "He took away ninety percent of my father's business. He humiliated my father, and the shame of it all put him in the grave."

"Like I said, I'm sorry for your loss, but Joseph fucked up when he kidnapped Nico."

"My father just wanted a slightly bigger piece of the pie. Why shouldn't he have had that? He'd worked loyally for Valentino's family for decades. What would it have hurt to give him a little bigger slice?" he demanded bitterly. "But Valentino wouldn't do it. He said he didn't trust my father to control the ports. What bullshit was that?"

"Seems to me Valentino was right about your father. Your father showed bad judgment in taking Nico hostage. It was foolish. A stupid move."

"He wasn't going to hurt Nico. He was bluffing," rasps Alessio.

"Says you. But even if you're telling the truth, there's no way Valentino could have known that. You know as well as I do men rarely bluff in our business." I sigh and sit down on the cot again. I'm feeling weaker by the minute, something that worries me. How am I going to escape if I'm this feeble? "All Valentino knew was Nico was taken, and he could have been killed."

"Not by us," Alessio says harshly. "How were we to know Roberto would get involved? We had no idea he hated Nico and wanted him dead."

"Decisions have consequences," I say, my voice hard and unyielding. "Your father put Nico in a situation where he could have been murdered. Your father needed to be punished. If you can't see that, you're a fool. But I already suspect you are because you grabbed me. Do you seriously think this is going to make things better?"

"I'm not interested in making things better. I want Valentino dead. You're like a brother to him. He'll never let anything happen to you without trying to protect you. He'll come for you, and then he'll pay for the shit he did to my family."

"And you'll die because Valentino won't forgive your family twice."

He leans toward me and snarls, "Fine by me. I'm more than willing to die so long as Valentino dies too. And believe me, he will."

Anger surges inside of me at the threats he's making, and I try to grab him. Unfortunately, my coordination is shit, and he's able to evade my grasp. Curling his lip, he slams the cattle prod into my chest, and I grunt as electricity jolts through me. My insides feel like they're on fire as the cattle prod sears into me. I'm in agony but grit my teeth against the pain. No fucking way I'm going to make pathetic whimpering noises. I won't give Alessio that satisfaction.

As I crumple onto the cot, Alessio steps back, scowling. "I guess you want to get the party started early?"

"Fuck you," I hiss, my chest throbbing painfully. I'll be lucky if the little shit doesn't send me into cardiac arrest.

"No thanks. Once was enough." He backs up and heads toward the doorway. "We'll visit some more later today. Fair warning, it won't be pleasant."

"You won't get away with this," I growl at his receding figure. "I'll kill you with my own hands." I'm talking tough, but I'm about as dangerous as a lamb right now.

His harsh laughter is his only response as he goes up the stairs and locks me into my dungeon again.