Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 56760 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 284(@200wpm)___ 227(@250wpm)___ 189(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56760 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 284(@200wpm)___ 227(@250wpm)___ 189(@300wpm)
Truth is, I barely know Heath... we haven’t spoken in almost a decade, and I can tell by his troubled existence things haven’t been easy for him.
There’s his addiction to those drugs... It seems like it’s getting ahold of him, controlling his life.
Not that Heath ever speaks to me about that stuff. No, he merely uses me like a sex toy for his cock.
I pout as he helps me into bed a while later.
“Don’t I get to sleep in your bed tonight?”
“No,” he mutters. “Too soon.”
Still, I brighten up at the thought it might happen someday. I shouldn’t be giving myself false hope like that.
After all, I’m the only one who knows how deep Xavier’s obsession with me runs. I know he won’t leave Heath and me together if we try to stick this out. He’ll kill one of us and torture the other one after making them watch.
I don’t know whether Heath knows just what a formidable opponent his uncle is, but I know he’s going to find out soon.
As he kisses me goodnight, Heath leaves my room enveloped in darkness and promises me a guard will be watching. Strangely, it makes me feel more comfortable. And it seems as if Xavier doesn’t know about Heath’s true identity just yet. Which has to be a good sign.
I lie in bed for hours, wondering whether I’ll be able to get away at all.
I’m developing feelings for my captor, and it’s getting harder and harder to think of running away at all.
But then I think of all the things I’ve lost because I am a Castellamare girl.
My parents.
My Nana.
I need to continue fighting the system, if not for my sake, then for my family’s. They would want me to be happy. They wouldn’t want me married to a monster. After all, my mother broke the rules too...
I lie in the bed, slowly coming to terms with Heath being the only person I have left in the world - besides Xavier, but I sure as fuck don’t want him in my life.
The cartel has taken everything away from me. But I will not let them keep me. I refuse to be tied to this world, this gory cruelty that uses violence as a way of solving things. I’m sick of blood, of gunshots, of crying over dead bodies. I’m sick of trying to find excuses for people who should’ve helped me. I hope they all burn in hell.
I focus on the image of the village where I once lived with Nana, and before then, my parents.
A tiny village in Sicily called Castellamare. I remember the feeling of the hot asphalt beneath my feet and the heat of the afternoon when the sun kissed my hair with its golden rays.
That’s where I want to go once I’m free.
Nobody will expect me back there, and I won’t tell anybody who I am.
I’ll just live my life like the nobody I’ve always wanted to be.
A girl with no ties, no obligations, and nothing hanging over her head.
A girl with her whole life in front of her.
Determined, I promise myself I’ll fulfill that dream.
Fuck Heath. He should’ve come to my aid long ago, but he didn’t bother - so why should I bother staying here?
My heart beats faster as I think about betraying him, the boy I once loved.
Can I even do it? Am I capable of breaking the undeniable bond between us?
I have to be.
For my parents and my Nana, for all the women like me who are unwilling brides to these men obsessed with hurting them.
I have to prove one of us was strong enough to get away, strong enough to start over. Maybe I can even help others escape.
With that dying thought on my mind, I let the sleep pull me under into a dreamless land where the darkness swallows me up whole.
Chapter 12
HEATH
My fingers absentmindedly stroke Rain’s hair as she sits beside my desk. I’m going through emails and letters, pacing myself before I tell my toy the news.
I can feel her looking up at me, hopeful eyes trying to catch my attention. She’s practically begging for me to notice her. Little does she know, I barely register the words I’m reading. I’m so distracted by having her near me.
“We’re hosting an event tonight,” I tell Rain in a lazy, drawn out voice. “There will be quite a few people coming, and I’d like you to be there. Think of it as a test so you can show me what you’re like on your best behavior. Maybe I’ll treat you nicer if you impress me.”
“I... I don’t want to go.”
My eyes snap to hers before I can stop myself, betraying my surprise.
“Why not?”
“I... have had awful experiences with parties,” she mutters, looking at the floor. “I’m afraid.”
“Don’t be.” Once again, I’m betrayed by my need to protect her. “Nothing bad will happen. Just trust me and you’ll have plenty of fun.”