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 hadn’t been allowed to attend school. She was tutored at home. Her father had often said it wasn’t good to have outside influences, even though he chose outsiders to teach his daughter. Her brothers got to go to school and live their lives. She got to listen to their exploits, and often the annoyance of their father.
Her brothers weren’t known to conform. They had hated school and learning. She loved learning, enjoyed books, and conversation. She was the opposite of her brothers.
At first, Vanessa stood in the kitchen, and didn’t know what to do. She hesitated.
“Come on, Vanessa, the kitchen will not bite, unless you hurt yourself on a knife. Okay, the kitchen can be a dangerous place, but only if you let it.”
Pulling out of the memory, she recalled Maureen winking at her, and then guiding her through the kitchen. She loved being there with Maureen, they had enjoyed making chocolate chip cookies, cakes, even savory foods. Looking back, she realized Maureen took her in the kitchen whenever her parents were away, so there was no risk of them getting caught.
She wanted to feel closer to her friend, so she went to the fridge and opened it.
This wasn’t daunting or scary.
This was life.
She was away from her parents.
Free.
Vanessa saw the assortment of vegetables, and a couple of packets of meat, but she didn’t want to cook anything. She was starving now, so she grabbed the cheese, some cooked meats, and pickles. She had the makings of a sandwich but no bread. There was no choice but to open every cupboard, trying to locate the bread, and only after going through what felt like fifteen cupboards, she finally came to a bread storage bin. Inside was what she’d been looking for—sourdough bread.
Now, she was starting to like Diago a lot more.
Taking out two slices, she slathered on some pickles, sliced the cheese, and then laid on the meat. Putting one slice on top of the other, she pressed down and didn’t even bother to cut it in half.
Her stomach growled. This time it sounded like it echoed around the whole room, and that was simply unacceptable. Taking a large bite, she couldn’t help but moan as it felt so satisfying. She closed her eyes and chewed. This is what she loved about sourdough bread. It was chewy and delicious, and didn’t tear like sandwich bread.
Vanessa went for another bite, and this time she opened her eyes and stopped chewing, because right in front of her was Diago. She hadn’t heard him enter the room, and yet he was there in front of her—not too close, there was still a couple of feet between them—but he was there. She’d stopped chewing the mouthful.
“Eat,” he said.
“I hope you don’t mind.”
“I don’t want you to starve,” he said, brushing past her.
He didn’t take the sandwich from her, which in the past six months had happened a lot. Her mother had told her carbs were bad for her. She didn’t hate carbs. Bread and pasta were a dream, but she hadn’t been allowed to eat them in over six months.
She watched as Diago took the bread and began to build his own sandwich. The silence felt awkward.
Other than as payment, Vanessa didn’t have a clue what he was going to do with her. Did he intend to kill her? Make an example of her? She had no way of knowing what he planned to do, and that was killing her.
He finished making his sandwich, and she watched, quite fascinated, as he took a large bite. Why did he have to look so good eating?
She couldn’t help but be fascinated by Diago. In her world of rules, she didn’t have freedom. Diago did have freedom. She had nothing. No words were spoken between them.
She waited for him to say or do something. Her father had always told her that a man was in charge, that she needed to learn to do what the man wanted. It had been hard for her to listen to his reasoning, certainly after hearing about other women who didn’t have to do that. Maureen had painted an amazing picture of what the outside world was like away from her family, away from the mafia, but she didn’t have that luxury. She was trapped in her world.
Now, she was at the mercy of Diago, who had no last name. A man who most of the men in her world feared. They sent Diago to do the jobs they were not willing to do themselves.
What did he want from her?
She was still eating her sandwich by the time he finished his. Vanessa wondered if he would give her instructions. Did he intend to bed her? Ruin her?
When she’d been kidnapped and afraid, she hadn’t been raped, which was a relief. Before they had done that to her, she’d been rescued.