Total pages in book: 34
Estimated words: 32333 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 162(@200wpm)___ 129(@250wpm)___ 108(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 32333 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 162(@200wpm)___ 129(@250wpm)___ 108(@300wpm)
“Nothing is going to happen to her, son.”
“Dad, you don’t fucking know that.”
“I do know Diego has no idea Isabella is able to text us. I don’t know how your sister is doing it, but she is communicating with us. Have faith in that.”
Massimo felt that rage bubbling up inside him, threatening to explode to the surface. He couldn’t control it. It was an overwhelming sense that he needed to kill. He just couldn’t handle the very thought of anything happening to Adelina. Through his mind, she changed, that smile looking at him with such warmth, and then each time he saw her.
The moment she stepped close to him and made a teasing comment, about there being drool on the floor, or that could have been the second time. He wasn’t exactly sure, as he realized they had experienced many conversations.
Being around Adelina allowed him the ability to breathe. It gave him a reason to keep fighting, and he hadn’t even realized it was missing until right this moment. Adelina was his woman, his wife, his soul, his very fucking reason for breathing, and he couldn’t imagine life without her.
“Is that what you felt with Mom?” he asked.
“You get it now.”
“Then why did you ... with that woman?” Massimo asked.
“Because, when you become a desperate man, all you can think about is how to get out. I wanted out, Massimo. I wanted the world to end, and I thought the best way of doing that was to get myself killed. I’m glad you get it now, but you will never have to face what I did. We’re going to get Adelina back. Trust me.”
His wife had won Vincent over. She had given them all a reason to fucking live, and no one was going to take that away from them.
****
“For fuck’s sake. Piece of shit phone.”
Adelina frowned as she came to, and blinked in the darkened room. There wasn’t much light coming into the room, but as she became accustomed to the darkness, she was able to make out Isabella.
“You’re awake,” Isabella said.
“Yeah, what’s happening?” she asked.
“Bastard Diego punched you in the face, and you went down. Then you woke up in the van, passed out again, and now we’re here. It’s some kind of motel, I think. I’m not sure. We’re locked in the basement. There were other women here, but they’re gone now,” Isabella said.
“Other women?”
“Yeah, I heard one of the soldiers mention a sale,” Isabella said, wrapping her arms around her legs. “That’s not good.”
“No, that’s not. That’s human trafficking.”
“I know Diego’s been rumored to do stuff like that, but I thought Russo wasn’t part of that, and I don’t think they would accept us Salvatores being sold.”
Adelina went to the other woman and wrapped her arms around her. “It’s fine. Okay. It’s going to be okay.”
A door opened, and light came through.
Isabella started to visibly shake and Adelina felt sick. She had heard plenty of horror stories over the years, horrible tales of women being sold. The pain and degradation they had to go through. Most of them ending up in the sex trade.
This couldn’t be happening, just as her life was getting so good. She was potentially pregnant with Massimo’s baby, and now this ... no, she couldn’t accept that.
When the person came toward the cages, the light cast enough of a glow to show exactly who it was.
“Lily-Mae,” Isabella said.
The other woman put a hand to her lips. “You’ve got to come now.”
Was this a trap?
“Why should we trust you?” Adelina asked.
“Look, I know you don’t trust me, but if you don’t let me help you, and Massimo doesn’t come in time, you’re going to get sold, or worse, beaten for sport. I ... I never knew what was going on. Now that I do, I know this is not the Russo way, and I like my life. I like being able to afford nice things and live my life. This is going to get me killed, and as much as I hate that you got Massimo, I don’t actually want to see you hurt.”
“And you know if you let anyone hurt her, Massimo will not hesitate just because you’re a woman,” Isabella said.
“There is also that. Look, we don’t have a lot of time. Come on, before someone finds us,” Lily-Mae said.
She had the key in her hand, and Adelina didn’t trust this woman. Something didn’t feel right to her, but now it was her only chance to escape, and she wasn’t going to let this opportunity go.
Rushing forward with Isabella, they stood at the cage, and she kept expecting Lily-Mae to laugh at them. To show that it was all a horrible trick.
The cage opened, and they were able to step out, and Lily-Mae urged them to follow. They went up the stairs, and the motel they were in was dirty. Wallpaper peeled from the walls, and she saw black mold in the corners. There were cobwebs, and there were crumbling parts of the wall actually on the floor. When she looked up, she saw signs of water damage across the ceiling.