Chapter 19

This is absolutely notwhere I want to be.

I walked out of work yesterday thinking that I was doing a good thing by meeting up with Jasper to end things right. Instead, I get kidnapped and dragged, god knows where, to be tied up in the middle of a kitchen I"m sure someone from the Texas Chainsaw Massacre used to entertain guests.

"Help!" I scream again loudly, but I don"t hear anything in return. I don"t know where I am, but the house smells as if it hasn"t been used in ages.

My hands are tied behind my back to the wooden chair, and my feet are tied to the legs of the chair. The most I can do right now is tip myself over, but I don"t see that as a way to get me out of here.

I don"t know how long I was knocked out, but when I came to, I didn"t see Jasper anywhere. He has to be working for someone worse than him; he has to want me for something. I wonder how long he"s going to keep me alive when he finds out I"m worthless. Giancarlo isn"t going to risk going against his family for me. I doubt he even knows that I"m missing.

The thought of dying in this empty, stench-filled house brings tears to my eyes. I sob, sucking in deep breaths to keep from hyperventilating for a few moments.

"No, you have to stay calm. Someone will hear you. Someone has to be around," I reprimand myself and start screaming for help again.

"Help! Someone, please!" I scream loud enough that my voice squeaks at the end, and I can taste blood in my mouth.

"There"s no use in you doing that. There"s no one around to hear you scream but me." Jasper"s deep voice sounds from behind me. I whip my head around to get a good look at him. He"s coming in from the front door with bags in his hands. He intends to stay here for a long while. I wonder if that plan includes keeping me alive.

"I don"t know what you want, but I don"t have anything to give."

"Sure, you do. You can give me what I want. All you have to do is call your boy toy and tell him to give up what never belonged to him."

This is the second time someone has accused me of having a boy toy. For a single lonely women, I sure have a lot of men.

"My boy toy? Who are you talking about? Giancarlo?" I question, doing anything to make him keep talking. The longer he talked, the longer I"d stay alive. I need to figure out a way to get out of this alive. I didn"t have anyone I could depend on at the moment to help me with this. For the first time in a long time, I was alone. If I were killed today, I doubt anyone would even put up that much of a fuss.

"Of course, I mean Giancarlo. Don"t play stupid with me now, bitch. You know he"s what I want."

"Why? What has he ever done to you?" I press the issue. In all the time that I"ve been in Gian"s life, I"d never seen or even heard of anyone named Jasper. Of course, that wasn"t odd. I didn"t know much of anything that was going on within the family. It just wasn"t my place. As long as Giancarlo came home at night, I was happy. It was stupid of me to think I could stay ignorant to everything that was going on.

"He ruined my life. He stole my woman." Jasper lunges in my direction, grabbing my shirt from the front and tipping the chair forward, leaving me off balance.

"Stole your woman? I never belonged to you."

Sure, Jasper and I had a good time together, but I never thought I"d given him the idea that I belonged to him. For God"s sake, we only went on a few dates. Talk about becoming obsessed fast.

"You selfish cunt," Jasper lets me go. The chair tips backward, and I have to shift my body weight forward to keep from falling backward.

"Then I don"t know what you"re talking about, Jasper. I don"t know what you took me for. I can"t help you get anything."

"You can." Jasper takes his jacket off and rolls up the sleeves on his shirt. He"s getting comfortable for something. I"m scared to think what that might be. I have a feeling that whatever he"s got planned is going to hurt.

"I"ve known your boyfriend"s family for a long time, but I did my best to stay away from them. They were always bad news, high-handed and ruthless. I always figured if I kept away they would do the same. I never wanted any dealing with them because I knew just how ruthless they could be. So, when my father gave me the option of choosing a woman, someone to spend my life with, I figured one of the other families would be better. I never expected to find my soulmate. I was grateful for the chance I was given. It"s not every day the leader of a mob family gives his son the choice of which woman to choose. Marie Caprini is that woman. She"s everything I"ve ever wished for, and she loves me just the same way I love her."

I can"t believe what I"m hearing. This has to be a joke.

"Who are you?" I ask, my voice barely a whisper.

"Oh, you know me well, Rosie. But maybe you should"ve done a little more research before you got involved with me. I"m Jasper Di Santi. The man who is going to take the Bianucci family to the ground all because that asshole Giancarlo couldn"t keep his fucking hands off my woman," he growls in my face, and I make the mistake of laughing at him.

"Are you fucking kidding me? Do you actually think that Giancarlo had any say in this? His father is the one who set up the match, and her father is the one who agreed to it. If there"s anyone you need to be upset with, it"s them. You"re going after the wrong people," I shake my head in disgust. To think I thought this man was a good person. I"ve been such a fool.

"You lying bitch!" Jasper roars in my face. I only have time to squeeze my eyes shut as I watch him pull his hand back and bring it down like a hammer across my face.

The blow is fierce, and my ears ring from the force.

"I"m going to get my woman back one way or another. I think I"ll start with you," Jasper grabs my chin and forces my head straight so I have to look up at him. "You"re going to tell me everything I want to know about the Bianucci family, starting with where their hideouts are and where they"re keeping my woman."

* * *

I don"t know if it"s been minutes or hours since Jasper started beating me. Time is melting together. I have the information that he wants, but there"s nothing that he can do to me that"s going to force me to give it up. As much as I hate Giancarlo"s family, I"ll never give them up. That would mean I"d have to give up Giancarlo too; it"s just not going to happen.

"You think you"re my only option, don"t you? You"re wrong. It was so easy to get you, so easy to get you to trust me. I"m sure I can get one of the other women to turn on their men. The Bianucci family isn"t known for their kindness to outsiders. It"ll only take one person to turn on them, and then all of this is over."

"If you already have another plan, what"s the point of keeping me around?" The second the words come out of my mouth, I regret them. I basically just told him it was time to kill me.

"Because I like to see you squirm. When I"m done with you, I"m going to take a photo of your broken and bruised body to send to Giancarlo. Let him know this is only the beginning of what he"ll face unless he leaves Marie alone," Jasper leans against the table and wipes my blood off his hands. I"m not even sure how much I"ve lost at this point. I only know that I"m starting to get woozy. Shit is going bad and fast.

"Now, I"ll give you another chance. Tell me what you know," he walks away from me toward the sink where he fills up a pitcher of water from the tap.

The water continues for a while longer, but I can"t see what he"s doing.

"I already told you I don"t know anything. I wasn"t his wife. Giancarlo didn"t tell me anything."

"That"s not true. I know more than I care to about the Bianucci family."

"That"s too bad, isn"t it," Jasper speaks from behind me before I have a chance to turn my head and find out what he"s doing. A wet and rancid rag is placed over my face before he tips the chair back with one hand and pours the pitcher of water over my face with the other. Panic explodes through my body as I try to get a breath. Every inhale, I suck down putrid water, and I fight to shake the towel off my face. I"m drowning. I tug and kick with all my might, but my binds are too tight. I can"t move. I"m completely at Jasper"s sadistic whim right now.

The edges of my vision flash white before they start to fade to black. Is this really how I"m going to die?

Just as I"m starting to believe the worst is over, Jasper rights the chair and moves the rag from my face.

I take in a huge breath, which does nothing but cause me to cough and hack up the nasty water that made its way into my lungs.

"You"re trying to tell me that you were with that man for years, and he never told you anything that could be of use to me. I find that hard to believe. I mean, based on what you told me on our dates, you made me think he was much more open with you. You were supposed to be his happily ever after, weren"t you?" Jasper walks around to my front, and I look up into his face. How a few hours of torture can change a man. This wasn"t the cool and sexy man I saw at the library; this man was crazed and psychotic.

I shake my head from side to side. I can"t give in no matter the cost. If I do, not only will I be going against Giancarlo, but I"ll still end up dead. At least this way, I can give Gian some time to figure out what"s going on.

"Tell me!" Jasper screams in my face before pulling his hand back and hitting me once, then again, and again. Blood fills my mouth, and I sputter the thick liquid to keep it from seeping down my throat.

"I don"t know. I don"t know anything," I mutter.

"You"re a liar! You do know! I"m losing my patience." He reaches for the rag, and I know what"s going to come. He"s going to waterboard me again, but I know for certain this time I won"t be able to live through it. I can barely breathe as it is.

"I"m going to give you one last chance. Tell me what I want to know."

I do have one last chance. I suck in a deep breath and with all my strength, scream at the top of my lungs. It"s the only option I have left, hoping that maybe someone will hear me. It"s a far-fetched dream, but I have to try.

Jasper growls and quickly places the rag over my face again, muffling the sound of my screaming. I take in a deep lungful of air; it"ll probably be the last I take.

I wait for the water to hit my face.

"What the fuck."

I hear Jasper curse, and then all of a sudden, the sound of windows shattering. The dull thud of something hard hitting flesh, and then a body hits the floor. It"s silent for a second after that, and I whip my head back and forth to get the rag off my face.

I stare down in shock as I see Jasper, wide-eyed and lifeless, laid out on the floor in front of me. Two holes in his chest and one in the middle of his forehead.

Wind blows in from the shattered window behind me. Excitement courses through my body.

Giancarlo must have found me. I didn"t want to hope, but it"s the only reasonable solution. He came for me.

I hear the sound of footsteps coming in my direction. I crane my neck as far as I can, but I can"t get a good look at the person walking in from behind me.

"I told you he was dangerous."

My jaw nearly drops to the floor when my savior steps into my line of sight.

Maryellen is standing over me, clad in tactical gear with a long rifle draped over her shoulder.

"What the hell is this?" I question.

"This is me saving your ass." She leans forward and quickly unties my binds.

I slump forward, and the pain of what I"d just gone through rushes through my body. Now that I know I"m safe, all the adrenaline is slipping away.

"Let"s get out of here. I"m sure there are some people who are going to want to see you." Maryellen helps me to my feet, and I lean most of my weight on her.

"Who are you working for? I"m not going to go against the Bianucci"s. You"re wasting your time if you think that"s what you"re going to get from me." I do my best to make my voice seem hard, but I"m so weak there"s not a lot of strength behind them.

"Don"t worry. They already know how loyal you are," Maryellen scoffs and helps me to the door.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" I ask.

"Let"s just say the Bianucci family has never given up on you, no matter how alone you might have thought you were. They were always watching. They"re just as loyal as you are. They just have different ways of showing it." Maryellen winks before she focuses on getting us out of the nearly dilapidated house, leaving a dead Jasper Di Santi behind and all my worries right along with him.

I don"t know what is going on, but I know one thing"s for sure. I"m finally going home.