Heartless Prince by Brook Wilder
Chapter 12
Leda
The ground was hard under my feet as I ran down the grass and onto a rough gravel road, realizing that it was surrounded by woods. The road sloped downward, but I didn’t let up, hoping that I could get to the end before he came after me.
Valentino had seen me. More specifically, I had flipped him off for seeing me, for what he was doing to me and how he was treating me like he owned me.
I guessed for twenty million, it was easy for him to believe that he owned me.
Believed, not did in truth. No one owned me. I was my own person, and not even my father could lay claim to me completely.
A rock bit into my heel and I cried out, limping a bit as I continued to descend. Suddenly, I wished that I kept those slippers on.
I couldn’t give up. I wouldn’t give up. He was going to find me, but I was going to give him a hell of a time before he could.
I couldn’t stay here. I couldn’t let him catch me.
The gravel road ended at a paved one and I looked over my shoulder, not seeing lights behind me. Maybe he was going to let me go. Maybe he was going to wash his hands of me and leave me to my own fate.
A hysterical laugh left me. No, he wasn’t. He was making some point that I didn’t fully understand.
I was part of a bigger plan.
One that I wasn’t going to like at all.
My feet slapped against the cool, paved road, and I nearly cried out in joy as I saw lights up ahead. I knew I looked a fright, wearing a skimpy chemise and nothing else, but maybe they would take sympathy on me and I could get a chance to call Nico.
No, I couldn’t call Nico. I couldn’t drag him into this mess and potentially put his family in danger.
I would call Vincent. Vincent DiMara was Nico’s second-in-command, having chosen to stay on as his personal bodyguard even after Nico quit the Mafia life. Vincent could keep my secret from my brother and get me somewhere safe until I could figure out what to do next.
The building came into view, and I saw that it was a small diner instead of a house, with no cars in the parking lot. What the heck was a diner doing out here in the middle of nowhere?
Still, I could see someone moving inside. I forced myself to run faster and rapped on the glass door once I arrived.
“Please!” I cried out, startling the woman inside. “Please let me in!”
She hurried over to the door and unlocked it, her eyes wide. “What on earth?”
I rushed inside, nearly knocking her over in the process. “I need help. Do you have a phone?”
“What happened to you?” she asked as I hurried behind the counter. “Where did you come from?”
I found the phone cradle but not the phone. I looked at her in desperation. “Please,” I croaked. “I need a phone. I need to call someone.”
The door opened behind her, and I gasped as Valentino strolled in.
“Sir,” the woman whispered, and bowed her head.
“Martha,” Valentino replied evenly, his hands in his pockets, his eyes on me. “Thank you for finding her for me.”
The woman didn’t even bother meeting my gaze, and I fought the urge to scream as the strength sapped out of my body. Was there no one that could help me now?
“Forgive us for interrupting you,” he continued, his eyes hard. “Come, Leda. You are bothering Martha.”
“I’m not leaving,” I growled, gripping the worn counter. “He’s kidnapped me! Please don’t make me leave.”
The woman continued to look at the floor, and I heard a faint sigh escape the Don’s lips. “Don’t make this hard,” he stated, holding out his hand. “I can either have you walk, or you can be dragged out of here. Either way, you are coming home.”
Home. Tears smarted in my eyes. That was not my home, nor would it ever be. My home was with my brother, with Rory and my nephew.
His home was a prison.
Valentino arched a brow, and all the fight left me. I wasn’t getting out of here, and unless I wanted to threaten his life, he was going to win.
“Don’t even think about it,” he said softly when he saw me eyeing the utensils on the counter. “You won’t like the consequences, and Martha doesn’t want to clean blood off that counter tonight, do you, Martha?”
Martha looked up at him, and I swore there were stars in her eyes. “No, sir, I don’t. It’s hard to get the stains out of the wood.”
My mouth dropped open. What kind of blood did this kind woman clean up? Was it because of something Valentino did?
“That it is, Martha,” he said smoothly, a ghost of a smile on his face before looking at me. “See, Leda? Martha already has enough to do. Now apologize for scaring her.”
What choice did I have? I moved from behind the counter and ignored his hand. “I’m sorry, Martha,” I said as I passed. “For scaring you.”
She didn’t respond, nor did I imagine she would. She was on Valentino’s payroll.
Once outside, Valentino took my elbow and guided me back toward the house. Before I could move another inch, however, he yanked me around until I was facing him.
“You disobeyed me, Leda,” he growled, reaching out for the neckline of the chemise. I yelped at the sound of the material tearing. A gaping hole appeared down the front.
Oh God, what was he going to do?
Valentino wasn’t done. He yanked one side down until a long strip tore from the flimsy material. He grabbed my hands and bound my wrists with satin.
“Please,” I begged, attempting to squirm away.
“It’s too late for begging,” he said harshly as he knotted the material tightly. “You should have thought about the consequences.”
When his hand drifted lower on my body, I gasped, feeling his fingers brush my stomach before he ripped off the lace panties, and tore them in half. Something warm crept across my stomach, interlacing with my fear.
I swallowed against the flood of need coursing through my body.
No. No, I couldn’t want this!
I shouldn’t want this!
“You will remain silent,” he said, his hand curling around the scrap of panties. “In fact, I’m going to ensure it.”
Before I could say anything, he stuffed my panties in my mouth, tying the torn ends together behind my head. “There,” Valentino replied, grabbing my wrists. “Let’s go home, Leda.”
