Total pages in book: 33
Estimated words: 31205 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 156(@200wpm)___ 125(@250wpm)___ 104(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 31205 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 156(@200wpm)___ 125(@250wpm)___ 104(@300wpm)
Vanessa would never forgive them, but she was no fool. She knew what people in their world did to others. Once people were inside the mafia, there was no way out unless it was six feet under.
“Diago, a pleasure as always,” her father said, finally approaching the man who’d crashed their party.
The man himself took a second sip of whiskey and shook his head. “Tastes like piss,” he said.
His voice was so guttural, rough, and Vanessa quickly took a sip of her water to hide her smile. No man had ever insulted her father on his taste of fine wines and liquors. He considered himself a connoisseur on such matters. Her father would always buy the most expensive barrel or case he could find. She’d often heard people complain about the taste of such fine … alcohol. It was all crap.
Again, as his only daughter, she couldn’t express such opinions. Her father never wanted to hear anything from her.
Just this past week, he had taken her to a plastic surgeon’s office. He was hoping to remove the scar that had become part of who she was. He wanted her to go under the knife because he couldn’t marry her off.
She’s also been told that once the scar was gone, he intended to put her on a strict regimen to lose weight. She’d heard him complain about her fat ass. Sometimes, the walls were a bit thin, and she was able to hear entire conversations.
Vanessa watched as her father tried to compose himself at the insult that had just been thrown his way. She’d seen a lot of men and women get punished for such an insult, but not Diago. Her father was afraid of him, she was sure of that.
“I can find something more to your liking,” her father said, clicking his fingers.
She already saw a waiter headed toward him, but Vanessa didn’t see anything else, as Diago, for some odd reason, was looking straight at her. She’d lowered her glass during their interaction, and she couldn’t help but wonder if he’d seen her laughing at her father’s complete submission to this man.
Crap. The last thing she wanted to do was cause trouble. She remained perfectly still.
“Yes, you can offer me something new.” Diago walked straight past her father, and then headed in her direction. The whole party had stopped in their tracks and were now watching the man who was quickly closing the distance between them. She tried not to freak out or make a scene. She knew how much her parents hated scenes.
At first, she thought Diago was going to move straight past her, but that was insane. There was nothing but a wall behind her.
All too soon, he reached out and grabbed her arm. He didn’t tug, nor was his grip painful. Vanessa didn’t fight him. It seemed pointless to fight him. She simply followed him as he moved closer to her father. She still held onto her glass of water, but then they were in front of her father.
“I’m taking her,” Diago said.
“You cannot take my daughter.”
“Oh, but I can, and try to stop me, Norma. Just try it. You knew this was going to happen, and like I said, debts always need to be paid.”
And with that, Diago took her.
No one tried to stop him, and the truth was, with her heart racing, Vanessa didn’t want anyone to stop them.
****
Diago had always hated Isaac Norma. The bastard was a pretentious son of a bitch, who often lived way above his means.
Seven years ago, he’d been close to bankruptcy, and it was only the prospect of his daughter being put up for sale to the highest bidder that helped him out of a tight patch. Then of course, there were the deals offered to him out of pity, once the extent of Vanessa’s injuries came to light.
He’d waited, bided his time, watched as Isaac had once again squandered his fortune, and listened to the whispers as he tried to sell off his daughter.
Vanessa still held the glass of water he’d seen her trying to hide behind as she was entertained by what was happening at the party. He didn’t hurt her, because he didn’t want to hurt her. He doubted she even remembered when he had come for her seven years ago.
Vanessa Norma, he’d been told, was the sweetest, kindest young woman he’d ever meet. Isaac had asked him to find her, but he couldn’t afford the price for his services.
Several men and women had offered to pay, believing the only reason Isaac couldn’t deal with this was because of genuine upset. Isaac was a master manipulator, but Diago had found himself curious about the young woman. He had discovered that everything everyone had said was true.
Even with her face cut and bleeding, and dealing with blood loss, she had tried to tend to his wounds first. She’d been a little delirious at the time, but it hadn’t stopped her from trying to take care of him.