His Hostage: Valetti Crime Family (A Bad Boy Mafia Romance) (13 page)

I
wake
up to the bright light coming in from the window. It hurts my eyes, but I can’t block it. My arms won’t move over my face. Vince’s heavy and so hot, laying against my body. His chest is molded to my back and his arms are wrapped tight around me. His weight puts more pressure on my arms. Fuck it hurts. His scent fills my lungs, a woodsy pine and masculine smell, mixed with the faint odor of whiskey. I moan softly, loving how he smells. And then I get angry from my reaction.

I hate that I want him. He stirs behind me, and I hold my breath. I feel his grin on my neck. “Elle, sweetheart, you keep fucking me up, you know that?” His words are slurred and full of sleep.

“Vince?” I ask in a voice loud enough for him to hear, but not so loud that it would wake him.

“I’m gonna put a baby in you. Then they won’t hurt you, sweetheart.” He whispers his words against the side of my neck.
A baby.
“No one’s gonna lay a finger on my girl.” He pulls my back up against his chest again and rocks his dick against my ass.

“Vince?” I ask again, a little louder. I get no response.

Holy fuck. He wants to knock me up? That’s his plan? I can’t help the fact that the very thought of being pregnant with his child makes me want him inside me.

I feel alive in his arms. I want to get lost in his touch.

But a baby? It’s life-changing.

Once I’m pregnant though, I’m sure he won’t hurt me. Hope lights inside of me. I can have his baby. If that’s the cost, I’ll pay the price. I’ll be a good mother. I’ve always wanted a child, but never thought it would happen. Maybe this is a blessing. Everything happens for a reason.

I calm my racing heart. Maybe I don’t even need to really get pregnant. I can just go along with the plan.

His phone goes off from somewhere in the room and interrupts my thoughts. My body stiffens as Vince turns away from me and groans.

He rolls to the edge of the bed and presses his palms to his eyes. His broad, muscular back ripples with his movements as he stretches and reaches down to pick up his jeans to retrieve his phone.

“Hey Pops,” he answers only a little drowsily and then yawns, holding the phone away from his ear.

“What’s going on, Vince? I’m worried over here.” Ever so faintly, I can hear his father’s voice.

“Everything’s good,” Vince speaks into the phone, and then looks back over his shoulder at me. He moves quickly to my side and starts untying the knot on my wrists with one hand.
Thank fuck!
My shoulders are killing me.

“You still got her?” his father asks.

“Yeah.” Vince props the phone between his ear and shoulder so he can use both hands while he's untying me. “It’s all good.” Hearing him say that makes my heart swell with hope. But I know why he’s saying that. I know what he’s planning, and that makes my heart harden.

“Good. I’m coming over.” Vince stills for a moment and then pulls the tie away. My shoulders sag as I'm released, and I wince with pain as I move my arms down to my side.

Vince is quiet, but then he answers his father, “Alright Pops. You bringing breakfast?” He answers lightheartedly, but the look on his face doesn’t match his tone.

“
T
hat feel any better
?” Vince asks, as he sets the heating pad on my shoulders. Once he was off the phone with his father, he spent a good 20 minutes rubbing feeling back into my arms and quietly apologizing. The heat and his touch feel so good. My shoulders and arms are still sore, but I give him a small smile and nod. I lean back in his dining room chair and bring my cup of coffee to my lips. He hasn’t said much this morning, and neither have I. Things have changed. Drastically.

I remember what he said in his sleep, and while part of me is terrified of him really wanting to knock me up, the other part is worried he’s changed his mind. Or that it was just a dream. That he doesn’t want to be tied to me, and it’ll be easier to just kill me. So I’ve behaved. I’ve listened to everything. I’ll do whatever I have to in order to survive.

“We need to have a talk, Elle.” He rounds the grey granite countertop and walks into the kitchen. The open concept design of the space gives a light and airy feel, but I’m practically suffocating from nerves.

“I’m listening,” I say, and take another sip of coffee. My eyes stay on him so he knows he has my attention. He’s wearing those pajama pants slung low on his hips again. He gave me an identical pair to wear, but I’m drowning in them.

“I need for you to be patient with me.” He looks out of the window and shoves his hands in his pockets. “I believe you, sweetheart, but they won’t. Even if they do, they won’t risk it.”

“Won’t risk what?” I ask.

“Rule one.” He holds up a finger and walks back over to the dining room to take a seat at the chair next to me. He leans forward in his seat as he looks at me intently. “Don’t ask questions.”

I open my mouth to ask why, but then I close it and purse my lips. An asymmetric grin grows on his face. “Learning already.”

“No questions. Understood.” I really don’t like that. I like to ask questions so I can know things. But then again, I already know too much.

“What do you remember, baby?” he asks.

I take a deep breath and set the mug down on the dark maple tabletop. “I remember--”

He cuts me off. “Nothing. Rule two, you don’t remember a damn thing, and you don’t know what anyone is talking about.” My eyes dart to his. His face is all hard lines and seriousness.

I pick up my mug and take a sip. “I don’t remember a damn thing.”

“That’s right--you don’t.” He leans down and picks my feet up to put on his lap. His thumbs dig into the soles as he massages my feet. I moan into the cup. It feels so good. “I’m going to take care of you until things settle down. Everything is going to be fine, alright?”

I meet his soft gaze and nod. “Mmm hmm.”

He gives me a tight smile. “That brings us to rule number three.” He keeps rubbing my feet and holds my gaze. “Who do you belong to, Elle?”

I feel my eyes widen and my heart skips a beat. I know the answer, but it’s caught in my throat. I swallow the lump in my throat and answer him with a whisper. “You.”

“That’s right. And you’re going to listen to what I say, aren’t you, sweetheart? You’re going to do as you’re told.”

My pussy clenches at his words. He obviously doesn’t realize how fucking hot that makes me. I’m fucked up in the head for wanting him like that in this very moment, but I do. I nod my head to try to keep the lust from coming through my voice.

“Answer me, sweetheart.” There’s an admonishment in his tone and he stops rubbing my feet.

“Yes. I’ll do as I’m told.” My voice comes out breathy and a smirk kicks up his lips. He drops my feet to the floor and moves closer to me, but a hard knock at the door interrupts us.

He stands up, then bends at the waist to cup my jaw and plant a kiss on my lips. It’s forceful and full of need. “Stay here, sweetheart.”

My heart races in my chest. I’ve agreed to be his, and I fucking love that idea. But I have no idea if it’ll be enough to save me.

I hear Vince open the door and I grip the mug with both of my hands. Surely anyone in my position would say they’d listen. They’d do whatever they could to stay alive. I just hope he believes me. Because it’s true. I’ll listen to him. I
want
to listen to him. Some sick part of me wants to be his.

Heavy footsteps bring my eyes up past the kitchen to the foyer. His father has an arm braced around Vince’s shoulders and he’s talking in his ear. I don’t like it. It makes me feel uneasy, like he’s trying to convince Vince to get rid of me.

Vince must feel my eyes on him, because he looks over in my direction and stares back at me. He smiles at me and turns to his father. His warm expression relaxes me some. My shoulders feel heavy with weight of the heating pad so I pull it off and stand on shaky legs.

“No need to stand for me, Elle.” Vince’s father gives me a tight smile. His hair is peppered with grey and his eyes are a light blue. The laugh lines on his face make his age apparent, but his body is still muscular. There’s no doubt in my mind that he’s lethal.

I swallow thickly and try to smile up at him, but I can’t. My mind keeps racing with the memory of yesterday. My hands grip the back of the chair.

“Sweetheart, go grab yourself another cup of coffee.” Vince places his hand on the small of my back. My eyes are focused on the table as I try to will my fingers to just let go. I nod and as soon as I release the chair, I grab my cup and walk quickly to the kitchen. I stand with my back to them trying to listen to their whispers. I can’t make out what they are saying.

Tears come to my eyes and my heart races. This is stupid, so fucking stupid. He isn’t going to keep me. They’re going to kill me. I walk to the sink and dump the lukewarm remains of my coffee down the drain. My hands grip the front of the sink, and it feels like my legs are going to collapse. I close my eyes and try to steady my breathing. My back is still to them.

If they’re going to kill me, I wish they’d do it like this. During some mundane activity like washing the dishes or something. That’d be an okay way to go, I guess, if I didn’t see it coming. I squeeze my eyes shut and then jump and scream at the feel of hands on my waist.

“Sweetheart.” There’s a note of warning in Vince’s tone. “Whatever’s going on in your head, knock it off.”

I force my eyes open, but I can’t turn to face him. “If you’re going to kill me, please do it when I don’t see it coming.”

“Elle, stop it.” Vince pulls my body close to his so that my back is right up against his chest. He kisses my neck. I don’t know if he knows how comforting and at ease it makes me for him to hold me like this right now, especially in front of his father. It makes his claim to me that much more real.

“No one’s going to hurt you.” I hear Vince’s father and a sense of calm moves through my body. I dare to take a look at Vince’s father. “I promise you, we have no intentions of hurting you.”

“I told you you’re mine, didn’t I?” Vince asks me. I nod my head against Vince’s shoulder and try to stop my nerves from getting the better of me.

“No one touches what’s mine.”

“
Y
ou wanna pick
some stuff out or something?” I push the laptop to Elle across the table. Pops left after having a private conversation with me about the shipments. I have a small list of names I need to handle to get shit back on the up and up on that front. They’ve got to know it’s coming though, since Javier made sure to take care of his end as soon as he found out who was stealing from him. Their partners getting murdered is a good sign that we’re coming for them. The Locos Diablos MC is gonna be short a few members real fucking soon. They're an offshoot of Shadows MC, essentially their rejects. They’re fucking stupid to think they’d start a war between the
familia
and the cartel by stealing from us.

And then there’s the issue of Elle’s mother, Sandra Hawthorne. She’s got to be dealt with, but I don’t feel like handling that issue right now.

“You’re letting me go online? What if I emailed someone?” she asks with disbelief. Leave it to her to give me a reason that I shouldn’t let her go online. She’s questioning everything she’s doing, which is good, but I want her to get comfortable. I want her to just act natural, like how she was when I took her for the first time. That moment in time is what I want every day.

“Don’t. I’m going to be right here. Just pick out what you need.” She reaches for the laptop and slowly opens it.

“I could just get some things from my house,” she offers.

“Your mother already tried reporting you missing. You can’t leave.” I’m short with her, but it's for a good reason. All she has to do is listen to what I tell her and everything will be fine.

“What?” she asks, looking at me with her eyes opened wide.

“Rule one, sweetheart.” She opens and then closes her mouth. I can tell she’s going to have a hard time with that one. It can’t hurt to let her know what’s going on with her mother though. I’m gonna have her give her mother a call sometime soon, but right now it’s too soon. “We have a guy on the inside, a police officer. Luckily he’s the one that got the call.”

“I’m surprised my mom gave a shit.” Her voice turns sad and her eyes focus back on the laptop. I don’t like it.

Apparently someone saw Elle with me and went to her mom's place to try and question her about me. Sandra didn’t say shit to the police, which is good. It means my sweetheart really didn’t remember anything that happened at the bistro until she came to my parents' house yesterday. It didn’t piss me off that Sandra tried to file a missing person’s report. But the fact that she attempted to make a will for my sweetheart today really fucking pisses me off.

“I don’t understand why you put up with that shit.” I’m not going to keep my mouth shut anymore. If she’s going to be mine, her mother’s going to have to back off and get her shit straightened out. I can tell this is going to be a fight, but I don’t want it to be one.

“And what’d she do that got you so pissed off, huh? I mean on the night I met you. You were all bent out of shape.” Elle doesn't have to tell me though, because I already know what she did. I got the report from Tony. It has everything on my girl. And there’s a ton of shit there. A ton of debt, to be specific. I know her mother took it out, too. She tried to file for loans a few times with just Elle’s name on the paperwork. Fucking bitch. I had to call Dom to have his guys transfer money from my account to Elle’s and wipe her debt. I know Sandra’s gonna do it again soon. As soon as she realizes she can. And I’m not looking forward to having to shut that shit down. I’ll throw her thieving ass in jail. That’s what she fucking deserves.

“She’s my mother.” I shake my head and bite my tongue. I know all about family. For fuck’s sake, I have the entire
familia
to worry about.

“You’re a strong woman. I hate to see you being taken advantage of.” It’s true, but she gives me a disbelieving look and I swear she almost rolls her eyes. I’m glad she’s finally getting over that shit from earlier today, but my little sweetheart isn’t gonna walk all over me.

“Don’t look at me like that.” I lower my voice to a threatening level, but she ignores it.

“You don’t want to see me taken advantage of?” she asks without any sarcasm in her tone, but I know it’s there.

“What the hell am I supposed to do, Elle?” I ask her, but I don’t know why. I should really end this conversation. We shouldn’t be talking about this shit.

“Just let me go.” It fucking hurts that she’s asking that. Even if I could, I wouldn’t.

“They’ll know. Then we’re both dead.” My blood freezes. If I fuck this up and she talks, I probably am dead. The family can’t risk weakness like that.

“We can run,” she whispers.

“We?” She wants to run away with me? It fills my chest with hope for us. But I’m not fucking running. I love this life. She’ll learn to love it, too.

Her eyes fall and she focuses them on the screen.

“Answer me. You wanna go away with me?” I ask.

“I don’t know. I don’t have anyone else.” I want her to want me, plain and simple. But not because she has no one else. That means someone could get between us and I don’t like that.

“Get over here, sweetheart.” I push my chair out and pat my thigh. She obeys immediately, walking quickly to me and sitting down on my lap.

“You would run away with me?” I wrap my arms around her waist.

“Yeah, I would. Does that make me stupid?” she asks.

“I care about you, Elle. Do you believe that?” My heart sputters in my chest. She better believe it. Because it’s true. I don’t know how or why, but I do care about her. I want her to be happy with me.

“I do.” I love those words on her lips. I groan as my dick hardens and I rock it into her ass. I’m gonna hear those words again. Real fucking soon.