Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 73953 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 370(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73953 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 370(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
She shoved her long hair behind her ears. “No, nothing. They dropped me onto this mattress and locked the door.”
“Have they fed you? Come back to check on you?”
She shook her head.
“How long have you been here?”
“I’m not sure. Maybe a few hours or a few days? They injected me with something right after they left me here.”
“Same for me.”
“I’ve never done drugs before,” she muttered as she picked at the rip in her dirty mattress. “I don’t like the feeling of being high.”
“Me too. I feel like shit.” My throat was raw and scratchy as I spoke. “My head is pounding from all the drugs.”
“What’s your name?”
“Alex. What’s yours?”
“Rhiannon.” She forced a smile. “Under different circumstances, I would say it’s nice to meet you, Alex.”
I nodded. “You must be important to someone if you ended up on this boat.”
“My dad is a bad man with a lot of enemies.” She tucked her bare feet under her butt, eyes on me. “How about you?”
“I’m Luca Salvatore’s fiancée.”
Not officially. He still hadn’t gotten down on one knee and presented me with an engagement ring.
She gasped. “You’re Alexandrea Wellington?” Rhiannon’s face illuminated. “I live in Beacon Bay. I know the Salvatores.”
My mouth dropped in shock. “What’s your last name?”
“O’Shea.”
I’d heard all about the O’Shea family. Her father was the leader of the Irish Mob. Originally from Dublin, Conor O’Shea was a badass motherfucker who ran guns and drugs. They had ties to the Italian Mafia and other criminal organizations and were allies of the Salvatores.
My eyebrows rose at her confession. “You’re Sonny’s cousin?”
“Unfortunately.” Rhiannon laughed. “He’s such a pain in my ass. Sonny calls every Sunday to check up on me and tells me I’m not allowed to date.”
I laughed. “How old are you?”
“Twenty-five.” She shook her head and smiled. “He’s an overprotective idiot. If you ask Sonny, I’ll never be old enough to date.”
“I’m guessing your family is looking for you.”
She covered her mouth with her hand and yawned, looking as if she were seconds from falling asleep. “Knowing my dad, he’s already started a war to get me back.”
“I overheard the men talking about getting rid of Luca and their associates. I think we’re here because these men are trying to lure our friends and families to the auction to kill them.”
Her pale blue eyes widened. “Are you sure that’s what they said?”
I nodded. “I thought I was here because Luca killed the wife of an Albanian crime lord. But the men who brought me here stole me from them. The men on this boat are from New York.”
She bit her lip. “If it’s someone our families know, we’re not getting out of here unless they come for us.”
“Luca told me they don’t hold the auction in the same place. He called it Il Circo. It means The Circus in Italian.”
“I’ve heard of it,” she chimed. “My dad was arguing with his men about it the night before they took me.”
“Luca and Marcello will come for me,” I assured her.
She grinned. “Marcello is good at his job.”
I nodded in agreement. “Do you know him well?”
Rhiannon rolled her shoulders against the wall. “We go way back. There’s a long history between us.”
I narrowed my eyes at her. “What kind of history?”
“He saved me once.” She blew out a deep breath between her teeth. “But it’s complicated. Our families would never approve of us.”
“You dated Marcello?”
“Nah.” She waved her hand and chuckled. “Nothing that serious. His dad would never allow him to date someone like me. Arlo only pretends to like my father to use him for favors.”
“Someone like you?”
“A mobster’s daughter,” she clarified.
“Arlo and his sons aren’t exactly on the up and up.”
She snorted. “Yeah, but they’re old money.”
“Not really. The Wellingtons are old money. Luca and Marcello are only the third generation.”
“Compared to my family,” she sighed. “Anyway, Marcello is way out of my league. I knew it would never work between us.”
I leaned forward, dying to know more about Marcello’s past. “How did you meet Marcello?”
He’d told me about his mother, Luca, and his childhood. Even the name of the girl who’d taken his virginity. He never mentioned anyone named Rhiannon. Was she his dirty little secret? Maybe she was right about Arlo not allowing his son to date her.
Rhiannon bit her lip. “He would kill me for telling you this… But who knows if I’ll ever leave this boat alive.”
“Is it that bad?”
She shook her head. “Marcello refused to tell Sonny about us. He said it was a conflict of interest since he’s best friends with my cousins.”
And members of the same secret society.
“Sonny and Marcello are like brothers. Like I mentioned before, Sonny is protective of me.”
“I don’t understand why Sonny would care. Marcello is one of the best men I know. He’s loyal and trustworthy.”
“We’ve had our issues,” she said with a forced smile. “Your version of Marcello sounds great, but the one I know is… complicated.”