Chapter 1
June 1st, 2018
The scent of the classroom she had been teaching in for five years was still comforting to her. The wood polish on the steps in the huge auditorium sized classroom. The chalk she used to write on the blackboard. The smell of dust collected in places housekeeping never cared to reach. Even her old chair had a scent of familiar leather.
She would miss it. Looking around at the little features in the room that had been with her since the start of her career as a literature professor at Colorado State University in Denver, Colorado. A chip in the corner of a desk three rows up. The faded color of the wood that had been used by so many feet on the stairs leading from the doors at the top of the tiered classroom set up. Ornately carved banisters that paralleled the stairs. High picture windows that allowed for natural light to filter into the room.
She would miss it. Miss teaching here. She had made all her arrangements perfectly. A car was waiting at the airport in France to take her to her new home. A beautifully restored French manor on a hill surrounded by walls of fifty foot marble and a gate as the only entrance. It was a fortress. Impregnable and safe. She wouldn't have to leave it. Ever. Safe and secure to raise her babies and never have to suffer the touch of a man who didn't love and care for her. Who didn't cherish her in every way.
She turned off her computer and picked up her purse and briefcase with her laptop. She hadn't even told the man who was supposed to have been her friend. The dean of the university, Vadim Volkov. She had asked for his help once and it nearly cost her sanity and her life.
It was nearly two in the afternoon. Lunch had been two hours ago and she could use a snack. A flutter of movement within her brought her free hand to her belly as she neared the stairs to the only entrances to the classroom. She would stop and get some celery sticks from the concession in her building.
Climbing the stairs with one hand on the polished, worn banister for balance, her mind was already on the flight to France. Happiness for the first time in five years bubbled in her. Free. She would be free again. Free from the abuse and control of her husband and sexual abuse of others.
Upon hitting the landing she turned to look down at the place she had called hers for five years. Familiar and really her only respite from the terror and pain that had been her life. In truth she was just exchanging one prison for another. Her manor in France was a fortress she had no intention of leaving. Only one person would be allowed to see her from the outside world.
The doors opened on either side behind her and sixteen men filed into the room occupying her space. All had the same dark Mediterranean look. Black hair with varying colored eyes. All were tall and heavily muscled. Some were scarred on their faces from fights or dirty deeds gone bad. The aura in the room changed from nostalgia to menace.
The youngest of the bunch stepped forward and looked her up and down. She dropped her eyes immediately. As Danny had trained her to do. Hitting her every time she made eye contact with him or beating her later if her eyes rose from the floor during an introduction with a new client of his. After her eyes were on the floor did it register that she knew the man. Well of him. Dark hair an unruly mop on his head. Covering his ears and one eye. Green eyes. Beautiful pools she had longed to stare into. To lose herself in. But that was years ago. When she had been young and still believed in love.
"This?" Alessandro asked disgusted. His voice was dark, rich, and deep. Like a cup of espresso. "This is what I drove from California for two days to get? She is ugly."
"Bethany Fontaine?" A gentler man's voice asked. "It is Fontaine?"
"My maiden name, sir." Bethany replied automatically to the question.
"You went to Iowa about four months ago?" The second man asked.
Her arms went around her belly. Her babies? What did they want with her babies. She nodded. Her chin trembling as fear and distress made her cold. What did the mechanic want with her babies?
"Fine." The first man said and grabbed her arm. Not painfully, but the grip was like a steel band. His long fingers circled her arm. Seven years ago, she would've been delighted by this man's touch. Would've fainted even if he had spoken to her. Now, she was cold. Her plans. All her plans. Gone.
"Yes, sir." She whimpered. He wasn't a cruel man. She had kept track of him. Her crush. Her one desire in this life. A rockstar in the automotive world, he never dated. No allegations of domestic abuse.
"Giovanni take four and track the husband. Amara go with them." Alessandro ordered angrily. "If you are married why use a clinic to get pregnant?" He grumbled.
She gave no answer assuming he was not speaking to her anymore. Men commanded her, not conversed with her. Pain ripped through her chest and choked her. Gone. Her plans were gone.
Whatever this man had in mind, she wouldn't survive it this time. Sixteen or more, almost four months pregnant with twins already made her high risk. Add in the damage already done to her vaginal walls and cervix from the sexual abuse. This miscarriage would kill her. Her uterine walls wouldn't handle another one. She would hemorrhage and bleed out.
Alessandro looked down at the woman scrambling to keep up with his longer stride. She was short and petite, the face of a cat unlike he had seen without cosmetic surgery. There was hardly any meat to her arm he had a grip of. There was no anger at being manhandled, no indignation. She was coming along willingly.
Outside there were six security officers fronted by a man with thick black hair and goatee. He was not as tall or as wide as Alessandro. Older, too. Fifties or so. His black eyes trailed from Alessandro's grip on the woman's arm to Alessandro's face. "I am taking her with me. She is coming willingly so there is nothing you can do."
"Bethany?" Vadim asked. "Are you alright?" The gentleness of the question made her want to laugh. That man didn't care about her. Claimed to have loved her once. But that was a lie. He had no idea what that was.
"Yes, sir." She replied. At least for now. Perhaps this one will kill her. End her pathetic life. Give her the everlasting peace she so deeply desired.
"Alright." He nodded to the security behind him and they moved off. The man who had her pushed her roughly into the second seat of the car. He went around to the other side as four more men climbed inside as well.
She turned her face to look out the window. Ugly. He had called her ugly. That was a first. Her strange features mixed with her petiteness had made her a commodity among the men associated with her husband. The feline appearance of her sharp face was hereditary. Her mother's side had some or all variations of the look.
"Were you going home?" Alessandro asked.
In a manner of speaking, yes she had been set to go home. To France. To live in her fortress alone with her children. No one but paid security and video screens to keep out the ones who would do her harm. "Yes, sir." She sniffed out her reply. She was shaking now. Her arms went around her core to try and mitigate the force of the chills.
"Hey," the voice next to her gentled just a little and there was movement then something warm and smelled of leather, citrus, and spice went around her. "Calm down. That can't be good for the baby."
The car came to a stop at a light and her hand flew to the handle on the door as a hand wound around her throat. The grip tight but not painful. A threat. His body slid closer to hers. "I won't hurt you. You are pregnant with my heir, we are taking you to California." The deep sexy espresso dripped into her ear and sent another shiver through her. This time with anticipation.
She removed her hand from the handle but didn't relax. "Good girl." He praised and removed his hand from her throat. She thought she saw him wipe his hand off on his black jeans. It was the oddest thing. Men paid her husband for use of her. Ten, sometimes twenty a weekend. Little parties of five or less during the week. This man couldn't even touch her. Was repulsed by her. Good she didn't want to be touched anymore.
Alessandro looked out his own window. Touching her like that had been a mistake. He needed to calm the fuck down. She was terrified and rightly so. He was not making this any better. His hand had tingled after touching her throat. She wasn't ugly. She was different. Very different. Like a circus reject. Her face was so feline. Uplifted wide eyes. Small flat nose and tiny mouth. Sharp cheekbones that hollowed prettily down to her small jaw. Even her ears were pointed a little.
His phone rang bringing him out of his thoughts. "Yes." He answered after pulling it out of his pants pocket.
"We found the husband. He is refusing to cooperate." Giovanni said. "Orders?"
Alessandro turned his gaze to the woman next to him. Her fingers were wringing around a mark on her wrist. He reached over and grabbed her hand to raise it and saw the scar of a deep rope burn around the fragile joint. "The house secluded?"
"Yes. Not a neighbor for miles." Giovanni answered.
"Good." Alessandro hung up. "Detour, uncle."
"Got it." The car turned right onto a street and then another then out of town up the highway that led to her house that was built up from a valley town.
"You never answered my question, princess." Alessandro turned on the seat to look at her. "Why go to a fertility clinic if you were married?"
"My husband had a vasectomy before we were married. I want a child." She whispered.
He lied just like they all did. This was some kind of new game to add to her torment. The room would be set. Her stage as it were. The metal handcuffs on either end of the four-poster wrought iron bed. The other men. If he couldn't stand touching her then this was some kind of celebration.
"Did he know before you got married that you wished to be a mother?" Alessandro asked. He was trying to gauge the type of man he was getting ready to meet.
"Yes, sir." She sniffed. Her stomach chose that moment to make it known that she was late with her snack.
The sound of her stomach protesting reverberated through the car. "Did you miss lunch?" Alessandro asked turning concerned eyes to her. "You want to be a mother and you miss meals?"
"No, sir." Bethany replied. Her body cringed away from him. Waiting for the pain of his rage. "I was going to grab a snack on my way to my car."
Alessandro stared at her for a minute then ordered Lorenzo to pull into the Taco Bell on the corner. "Order what you want." He told her when they were at the drive thru kiosk. Her hand reached into her purse to get her phone. His huge hand covered her much smaller one. "What are you doing?" He asked. She wouldn't be calling the cops now. She had come willingly.
"I need to ask my dietician what I can have here, sir. I will not jeopardize the health of my babies, sir." She said firmly. She dialed the number and waited. The phone on speaker so he could hear the whole conversation. "Hello, Mary, this is Bethany. Sorry to bother you, but some friends stopped at Taco Bell and I need to know if the taco salad is on my list of okay foods." She listened and then rolled down her window. Gave her order and thanked Mary for her time.
"Are you vegan?" Alessandro asked after they got her meal with her water.
"No. I am at risk for gestational diabetes, with twins it is worse. I could lose one of them. I am very careful." Bethany replied and dug her fork into the green and red vegetables in the box she had. "I can eat chicken and turkey. All red meat has to be done thoroughly. Pork is okay as long as it is not fried."
"High risk means you see your doctor more often. How often?" Lorenzo asked.
"Every two weeks. My next appointment is next week on Thursday." She replied. "Thank you for stopping." She added politely. They turned on the road to her house and she went silent again. She finished her snack and sat sipping her water.
The woman wouldn't relax. Not that he blamed her. It was an odd thing to be in a car with a woman who wasn't trying to get into his pants. Her eyes were focused on her drink. She hadn't looked up. Hadn't looked at him. It was so unnerving. Lorenzo continued to ask questions about her pregnancy needs. The woman had to eat every two hours. Plenty of water to promote blood flow to the fetuses.
The car came to a stop behind her blue Mercedes 450 SL. She had only gotten to drive it once before Danny broke her arm for buying it and tried to drown her for the keys. Had he just asked she would have shared it.
Alessandro felt his pulse quicken when his eyes landed on the sexy machine in the drive. "That is a rarity."
"Get your head in the game, Alex. You can drool over the engine after we deal with the husband." Lorenzo chuckled as he made to get out.
"No. You will remain here with her. Along with the rest of you. I need to do this myself." He said and exited the car. He gave one last look to the woman who was carrying his children. Then at her wrist. He had been trying to piece together her fear and attitude. Those scars told a story she was trying to tell him without words. She had been abused.
Abuse was one of two deep rooted issues for Alessandro. The other was infidelity. Time to meet the son of a bitch and wring his neck for hurting her. The more he had looked at her the more his initial assessment of her was incorrect. She was not ugly at all. She was beautiful. He wanted to scratch her behind the ear and see if she would purr and push her head into his hand demanding more.
Giovanni was in the front entrance of the rustic home that had been built in the side of the mountain. "Did you stop for a quicky?"
"No, she got hungry. She is pregnant with twins and gets hungry every two hours. The drive home is going to be a long one since she is also on dietary restrictions." Alessandro explained quickly. "Where is the son of a bitch?"
"Basement. You had better steel yourself. I wanted to kill him myself when I saw." Giovanni said. "And that is saying something coming from a dom."
Alessandro followed the sound of a belligerent prick down to the basement. There was a bar with a living room set reminiscent to the same as the underground brothels he now ran for his father. Three doors down he stood in the doorway of a sexual torture chamber for a man's pleasure, not a woman's. Thick, course rope hung from huge pins screwed into the ceiling. Whips of all kinds were lined up along walls. Dildos and other paraphernalia were stacked neatly on tables around the room. There was a bench against a wall and a swing hung on the opposite side of the rope. He got closer to the rope and saw dried blood on the ends.
Rage. Pure and hot coursed through his body. The closer he got to a table with the dildos the more enraged he got. Blood, semen, and other bodily fluids were on several items. "Not even cleaning them between uses?" He asked the man seated on the bed behind him.
"I was down here doing just that. Had a party last night. You missed out. Where is my whore?" Danny asked. "What have you done with my whore?"
Alessandro didn't answer just turned, drawing his gun as he moved and pulled the trigger. The back of the man's head blew to pieces with the velocity of the bullet. Brains and skull went all over the bed. Not surprising the body remained upright. Just languid. The shoulders relaxed now. The bullet had gone through one of his eyes. There were deep scars like he had been clawed by an animal on that side of his face.
"I suppose that is one way to fix the problem." Giovanni said with a tupperware dish in his hand. "She can cook. That is a plus. Though Jaymison may take offense."
"Remain here until the coroner signs off on the death." Alessandro ordered. He relaxed and returned his gun to his holster. He wanted to find the keys to that car. If he was going to be driving. He wanted to do it in style.
"I checked her closet. I don't think she wants anything in there. Same as what she is wearing." He glanced at the corpse with disgust before pushing the fork in his hand into his mouth again. "He was controlling as hell." His eyes returned to his cousin. "Lorenzo will need his lockpicking skills for a door with a fleur de lis on it. I assume that is her office. Any papers will be in there."
Alessandro nodded. "Fine. I will take the girl with me in the Mercedes back to California. The rest of you will remain here and get this mess sorted along with Amara."
"Go easy, boss. She is probably scared to death that you are just a different kind of hell." Giovanni warned him.
Alessandro grunted a noncommittal reply and climbed the fifteen steps back to the main floor. A key ring holder was on the wall. It was plain and nondescript. He took the keys with a rose on it and hit the fob. The Mercedes' alarm blared. He smiled. Her car. It was her car. Will she not stop surprising him?
Outside he opened her door and pulled her from the car, making sure she had her bags. "We are leaving." He commanded his uncle. "You will remain here to make sure she is declared a widow and get the house sorted. Any questions, call."
"Just one," Lorenzo shifted the SUV to reverse. "What about the other?"
"I don't want a war. He needs to keep to his own and stay out of California. Call Ivor or Yuri to let them know what their nephew has been doing in Colorado. I am sure they would be interested."
Lorenzo gave a nod and reversed the vehicle slowly. Since his take over four months ago, Alessandro had proven himself to be exactly what Lorenzo had hoped. A cool and confident leader. His code of honor was not to be fucked with. He knew Alessandro was pissed about the order, but he wouldn't do anything to hurt the woman. That particular gene had skipped him.
Bethany was in shock at his words. She had heard the shot. Even muffled by the house it had made her start. Lorenzo had given her a soothing smile. Which she had found odd. Widow? She was now a widow. Why would he kill Danny?
By now she had put the pieces together. Her adopted brother in France was part of a similar group. Mafia. How had the mechanic she had wanted with every fiber of her eighteen year old being be part of that world?
He helped her into the car. Trying to be more gentle with her. Climbed into the driver's seat. "You like roses?" He asked as he started the engine and almost nutted at the beautiful sound of it.
"Yes, sir." She replied.
"Enough with that, princess. Alessandro or Alex is fine. You are free from whatever hell that was. Relax." He said then reversed out after Lorenzo moved the SUV out of the way.
"What new one awaits me?" She asked.
