Chapter Two

As I open my eyes, I have a strange feeling, like the bed I'm in is moving.

I groan, feeling sick already.

My head is pounding so hard I can barely open my eyes, and I doubt I can think straight, but I do know that the alcohol at Luca's wedding was flowing, and I was taking full advantage of that.

That is likely why I feel like this.

All of my feelings about my brother's wedding to my best friend made me act like a whole different person.

It was a tough experience for me.

Emelia and I had been friends since we were children, and her lying to me about sleeping with my brother had made me so angry.

Over the last few weeks, I'd done so many out-of-character things that I almost didn't recognize myself.

I have always been the "kind" Baldini, the one that everyone came to for advice and affection.

Over the past few months, Emelia and my brother have turned me into a stranger, both to myself and to those around me.

Even now, I a rush of anger at Emelia for lying to me, and at my brother for keeping me in the dark and trusting Emelia more than he trusts me.

I got so drunk at the wedding to avoid feeling anything about how much it was going to change things for me—for us as a family.

I sit up and look around me, needing some water, but my mouth hangs open as I realize that I'm in a plane…and it's in the air!

I hold onto my head as I struggle to remember…the wedding… drinking… lots of drinking… dancing… Marco… kissing… my room…a gun!

Shit. Shit. Shit!

It all comes back to me in a flood of memories.

I remember now that I took Marco up the stairs, and I remember being in my room about to strip down for the hunky Mexican in front of me.

The way his pecs seem to want to burst out of his button-down shirt and the tattoos that crawl up his tan neck…something about him just makes my knees weak.

I also remember being surprised by his gun pointed right at my head. I should have been more careful. I let him in my room.

I let my guard down with him. But I honestly did not expect our invited guests to try and kidnap me.

Okay, so Marco is the reason I'm here, and I definitely did not come willingly. At least I know this.

What I don't know is where "here" actually is.

Where is this plane taking me?

Luca is going to kill me, and Enzo is going to be so disappointed. That is, if Marco doesn't have me killed himself.

What does he want with me? If it was sex, he probably could have had loads of that if we had just stayed in my room. Did he worry that my brothers would intervene?

Does he have some weird rule about only fucking girls on his home turf in Mexico?

It makes sense that Mexico is where we're going, although it's not like my brothers don't know where to find Carlos.

He's connected to Marco. I think Marco told me that he and Carlos are cousins. Or was it brothers?

I groan again.

None of this actually matters at this moment, because here I am in a plane, trapped with a member of the Mexican cartel, and flying away from my family, my home, and my safety.

All because I drank too much and couldn't resist the dark and delicious Marco Rodriguez.

Truthfully, I suppose this started when I flew to Mexico a couple of weeks ago, in an attempt to save my family from a cartel catastrophe.

Since we thought my brother and Emelia were pretending to be a couple, and we knew that Carlos would not take kindly to being lied to, Enzo and I felt it best to get ahead of the situation.

So, I took a trip to Mexico, alone except for a mousy bodyguard that Enzo had insisted I take with me.

He barely spoke, stared at me the whole flight, and stayed on the plane while I got off to be greeted by the big boss' right-hand man— Marco.

Since the rest of the cartel was out at a function, it was Marco's job to keep me entertained until they were ready to see me.

He showed me some of Mexico and took me out for dinner. Over our meal, we just sat and talked about our lives, our families, and everything in between.

I didn't tell him about Luca and Emelia, though. And it was a damn good thing because, in the meantime, Luca called Carlos with an invite to his and Emelia's shotgun wedding that I had no idea about.

I found out about my brother marrying my best friend through Carlos. That's when I knew I couldn't complete the job because then I would look like a liar.

There was instant chemistry with Marco, but I got him to take me back to the plane and my useless bodyguard, and I left without thinking I would ever see him again.

We hadn't even kissed in Mexico. We had just flirted like crazy.

He was so fun to be around and enjoyed a good laugh. Catching his eye at the wedding had sent my drunk and horny hormones into a frenzy.

Rubbing my temples again, I try to stand up, but my legs are literally tied to the table in front of me. I can see I'm actually on a couch.

It's a comfy couch at least. I look around the inside of the plane.

There's a door ahead of me, which I assume is the cockpit, and then a bathroom door to the right.

I hear a toilet flush and the bathroom door opens, Marco's tall, broad figure appearing in front of me with his dark hair still somehow perfectly slicked back.

He looks shocked to see me awake, and I instantly think that maybe I can use that shock to get to him while his defenses are down.

"Marco… please, take me back home." He doesn't respond to me, but I can see he's trying to figure out what to do with me.

"I'm more than willing to please you. We don't have to go all the way to Mexico to do it." I attempt a laugh, hoping to lighten the mood and get him to respond to me.

He sits down on the couch opposite me without speaking, but I do see him fighting a smile behind his smoky gray eyes.

I doubt I look very sexy right now, because drunk me usually gets mascara all over her face and lipstick smudges down her chin, so offering him my body probably wasn't the wisest choice.

"Where are we going?" I ask him.

"Mexico," he says simply, picking up his phone. I see him texting someone.

"Are you going to show me more of your hometown?" I try to put on my best flirting face, still feeling more gross than gorgeous.

"No." He's barely looking at me, and his tone is flat.

"Are we fetching more tequila for the party?" It's a stupid joke, but I'm trying to keep the conversation as light as possible.

"No."

I sigh, knowing that I am hitting a wall with him.

Panic starts to rise up in my chest.

"Are you going to kill me?" I ask quietly, keeping emotion out of my voice as best as I can.

That makes Marco look up at me, and I see a strange look flit across his face.

"Perhaps," is all he says, standing up and walking over to a cabinet on the other end of the plane.

I can feel tears wanting to come out of my eyes, but if my brothers have taught me anything, it's to not let the enemy see you at your weakest.

I know that I shouldn't have trusted Marco, but I have been feeling so alone.

Emelia was supposed to be my best friend and she didn't even tell me that she was pregnant with my brother's baby.

I have to admit how jealous I have been of all of my family and my best friend suddenly not having time for me.

With my Nonna gone, I really don't have anyone left to talk to or spend time with.

My mouth twists bitterly.

Being a mafia princess is not as idyllic as people probably think. You can't go anywhere without a security detail, and you can't have any friends.

I had not realized how lonely I would be without Emelia keeping me company.

I had been sad to have to come home from Mexico because Marco had made me feel seen and wanted for the first time in a very long time.

I admit to myself now, that he was probably just tolerating me for the sake of my brothers and the business deal they were trying to make.

The thought stings, and I get angry.

"My brothers will find you, you know!" I shout at Marco.

I struggle to control my voice and take a deep breath before saying, "You won't get away from them even if you go into the deepest parts of Mexico. Once they find out that you've hurt me, they won't stop until they're able to hurt you back."

"Is that so?" Marco turns around to look at me, and I'm confused by the heat in my chest.

He's kidnapped me and has threatened to kill me.

Why the fuck does he still make me hot and bothered when he towers over me like that?

Marco is a loose cannon.

He is dangerous, much more dangerous than my family and our connections, but I don't care what kind of attention I get now.

I just want someone to notice me, even if it's only to turn their anger on me.

Marco rises and comes to stare down at me. There's an indecipherable look on his face.

I want him to actually feel something about me.

I want someone to notice that I am alive and that I matter.

"That is so. I suggest you get me off this plane and then run for your fucking life, Marco. And I say this for your own good, not mine. Because if my family gets a hold of you after this, death is going to seem like a welcome escape compared to what they're going to do to you."

"You seem to think I'm scared of your brothers, chica. They can do nothing to scare me."

Something in his calm and confident voice throws me over the edge, and I scream at him.

"You have no idea what you've just done! You're fucking with the wrong family! Even your cousin is going to come after you!"

A single tear betrays me, slipping down my cheek, and I look away to wipe it off.

Marco gives me a sad look, as if he pities me, and I feel sick to my stomach.

I am pathetic, and I know it.

"Don't look at me like that," I whisper, biting my lip. My stomach turns uncomfortably with a combination of shame and hangover symptoms.

Marco disappears behind a curtain at the back of the plane, leaving me, huffing from my outburst.

I lay back down and throw my arm over my eyes, breathing in and out deeply, trying to control the anxiety that is threatening to take over.

The light in the plane is so bright that my arm barely blocks it out, but I also desperately need to release a few more of these tears, and I don't want Marco to see that.

I think about my brothers and their reactions to finding me gone. Then I think about how long it might actually take them to realize I'm no longer in the house.

There are so many people at the wedding that they might not realize tonight. And because I've been so pissed off, I've hardly spoken to anyone, so they might think I'm just keeping to myself.

Luca and I have barely spoken since the situation with Emelia, so I don't think he'd find it odd if I wasn't around for a bit.

And while Enzo might notice something's off sooner, he's got his whole family and his own house to worry about.

It could be days before they know I'm not there, and even longer before they know who has me.

Unless… I vaguely remember Marco writing a note before we left my room. So maybe his only goal isn't just to kill me.

Maybe he wants them to know that he has me.

Maybe he wants something from them, and he's going to use me as collateral. Somehow, that option seems like the safest one for me right now.

"Are you calm now?"

I lift my arm to see Marco standing above me again. I'm worn out and exhausted, plus my hangover is starting to make me feel sick.

I nod slowly.

"Would you like a glass of water? I assume that after the amount of liquor you drank, you're feeling very dehydrated at the moment."

"I would like to go home, get out of this uncomfortable dress, and go to sleep in my own bed tonight," I reply, my tone a bit more passive-aggressive than I intended.

"Okay. Well, I can't help you there, but if you want to get out of the dress, you are more than welcome to. Now, would you like water?"

He holds the glass out to me, but I swear I catch a glimmer in his gray eyes when he talks about me taking the dress off.

Did he really just want to fly me away to become his sex slave?

I wish that thought made me more worried, but instead it makes me feel hot and tingly.

I sigh, sit up, and nod a bit more enthusiastically, knowing that I need to try to act sane now.

I have already embarrassed myself enough for one day.

My emotions have made my throat dry and tight, and I do need water desperately. I take the water and gulp it down, not in the most graceful way, but I am beyond trying to seduce this man.

Marco sits down again, picking up a magazine and flipping through it. Something tells me this is for show, because I can see that he's not taking any of the information in.

I wonder how much longer our flight is going to be, but my voice refuses to work so I don't ask him.

As I'm staring at him, I can feel my eyes getting heavy. I yawn, and notice Marco looking at me strangely.

My head feels like it's going to flop off my shoulders, so I lay back down, closing my eyes for a second.

My last thought before falling back asleep is about my Nonna, and how she'd never have let any of this happen.