I want to return to those times where people worked the earth, where this house was open for anyone who loved rich meals and summer festivals.

I want to breathe life back in this place, drink its wine and add its olive oil to my Italian dishes.

And on that table, I’ll be sitting with the woman who has black hair and porcelain skin.

I frown. Where the fuck did that image come from?

“I’ll meet them,” I tell Enzo. “A few at a time.”

“Speak Italian,” he says. “Don’t you dare speak English around here.”

“They’re traditional as fuck. I know that.”

He smiles. “And loyal as fuck, too. They’ve been working the lands with little to no pay just to keep the earth alive.”

I raise an eyebrow. “Is that so?”

“You even have a wine cellar. Try it.”

I nod. “Make plans for a small gathering.”

A small smile grazes his lips and his weird eyes with heterochromia flicker between gray and green. “Tonight.”

“Tonight.” I crush my cigarette under my shoe, turning to leave.

My little Petal has been alone for long enough.

“Let’s go to my office.” Enzo’s voice stops me in my tracks.

I glimpse at him over my shoulder. “Why?”

“For preparations. You did well as a killer, but you also need to know who you’re dealing with business-wise.”

He’s right.

Not only do the Costas’ power go beyond borders, but their business arm is as strong as their criminal one. If I want to bring them down, I need to consider all possible angles.

After one last glance at the house, I get into Enzo’s car. My little Petal will be fine until I return.

The vibrator will keep her on the edge for me until I come back to stake my claim.

My lips curve at the thought.

“What do you plan to do with the girl?” Enzo asks me once we’re out of the property.

When we came here, I told him she’s related to Lucio because it was the only way he’d agree to smuggle her back with us on his jet.

I only said she’s a card I’ll use, and that’s all he fucking needs to know. Enzo might be my ally, but no one is allowed near my little Petal.

“She’s on standby for now.”

“On standby,” he repeats, his fingers tapping on the steering wheel.

“You have a problem with it?”

“She’s a liability, Alessio. Women always are.”

“Let me worry about that.”

“You should get rid of her,” he says. “Or I can do it for you.”

In a second, I have my knife against his throat so close to cutting his artery. “You won’t go within ten meters’ range of her. Is that fucking clear?”

“Dio Mio.” He chuckles.

“I said, is that fucking clear, Enzo?”

“Fine, stronzo.”

“I’ll cut you a new asshole if you go near her.”

He arches a brow. “But if she poses any liability to our plan, she’s out.”

I retrieve my knife from his throat.

Even I recognize how much of a liability she can be.

Pet is a threat to my fucking life.

And I still can’t get over this obsession I have with her.

4

Georgina

What seems like forever passes.

Jasper doesn’t let me go and he doesn’t seem like he ever will.

Every day, he tortures me. Every day, he makes me beg him to fuck me every way possible.

Every day, I feel like I’m disappearing and losing myself to him. I wake up and plan to defy him, to continue my quest to run, but the moment he touches me, it’s like I can’t live without him.

It’s dangerous.

He’s dangerous.

And I need to get the fuck away from here before I have no way to escape. Before my life flashes and finishes right before my eyes.

There’s a woman, Salli, who takes care of me. And by taking care of me, I mean she brings me meals and clean clothes, but she always leaves them in front of the door. She only comes in when Jasper gives her permission.

Whenever I’m bound and gagged and waiting for him, I’d make sounds to draw her in, to ask her to untie me, but she doesn’t dare to step in.

Jasper is scary, even to her. Jasper is a power all on its own, I felt it and I still do with every step I take.

He doesn’t only own my body, but he’s also reviving those messed up parts of my brain. A part of me enjoys it — more than it should.

A part of me looks forward to what he’ll do to me when he walks in the door, or what toy he’ll thrust inside me before he leaves.

Today, he seemed to be in a hurry so he left without pushing anything inside me. And I don’t know why I’ve felt disappointed since this morning.

He slowly started to give me a walking room, so I’m not always tied to the bed, but I’m not allowed to leave the room either. He even has the door locked. I tried and there’s no way to open it.

I watched him through the window. I do every day. I watch how his face turns stone-cold the moment he steps out of the house. Many men have started to gather around the mansion. Most of them gesticulate wildly while speaking and they seem to respect Jasper more than I could ever imagine anyone would.

You’re a Costa.

His words play in my head on a loop. That man, Lucio Costa, is my uncle. My father is the other Costa whom I heard and read about in newspapers when I was back in Chicago. Paolo Costa. He’s the father who used to visit Mom and me when I was a young child.

I’m a mafia princess.

The reason why Mom hid me the entire time when I was a kid makes sense now. The fact I have a family member alive, my father, has been making me giddy inside no matter how much I try to fight it.

I have a dad.

And Jasper doesn’t get to keep me away from him.

I don’t believe whatever he said about Dad hurting his family. If there’s anything I learned about Jasper, it’s that he won’t stop at anything to get what he wants.

What’s more than that is that he gets out of control when things don’t go his way. He’s not only ruthless but also unapologetic.

What’s stopping him from lying about Dad and my family? He could be making all of that up to keep me glued to his side.

That won’t happen.

The whole time I’ve been locked here with only the bathroom and the balcony as a getaway, I’ve been searching my surroundings and looking for a way to unlock the door.

I’m no lock picker, but I worked as a surgery nurse, so I’m good with small sharp objects.

There’s a razor Jasper uses that I kept on the side. Near the balcony, I break the plastic end and burn it with Jasper’s lighter. It takes me a bit of burning the pad of my forefinger to turn it pointy at the tip, but I do it.

Then I go to the door, bend my weapon in front of the lock and jam it inside. It’s still too big to fit, so I burn it a bit more, praying that Salli doesn’t smell the burning odor.

Once it’s good to go, I jam it inside and it takes me a good ten minutes, but the lock finally gives way.

I release a breath and tiptoe outside. The hallway appears elegant and clean. I almost don’t recognize it from the first time Jasper brought me here. There’s new flowery wallpaper and a few landscape paintings hanging on the walls.