Kidnapped by big bad Mafia boss

Chapter 9

Anne

No! You can do what you want to me, i don't care! " I said and closed the door to my room.

Jay

The door closes between you—solid wood and finality — and for three terrible seconds, absolute silence reigns on the other side.

Then the sound comes. Low, guttural, barely human. A noise of pure anguish ripped from my chest that echoes through the mansion like a wounded animal's cry. Something heavy slams against the hallway wall hard enough to rattle the door in its frame—my fist, my body something breaking under the weight of devastation he can't contain.

"You don't care!" impacts on the walls, the sound of something expensive shattering on marble floors.

"Then come out to me, little dove! Let me show you what I want to do with your body!"

Another slam, closer to her door now. My breathing is ragged, audible even through solid wood—the sound of a man drowning.

The doorknob rattles but doesn't turn. I'm testing it, fighting every possessive instinct to kick it down and drag her out.

Anne

I hear him pacing - heavy footsteps back and forth, back and forth, like a caged predator losing its mind. More impacts on walls, the sound of something expensive shattering on marble floors. I tremble with every slam I hear against the wall. As soon as I saw the door handle move, I started to panic. " I don't care, leave me alone! "

Jay

The three words *I don't care* pierce through the door like bullets finding vital organs. Laughter. Low, broken, absolutely unhinged laughter that scrapes up from my chest like shattered glass.

"You don't care."

My voice has changed completely—no longer anguished, no longer desperate. Cold, flat.

"You don't care about me?"

Something taps against the door—rhythmic, deliberate. My head, maybe, resting back against wood as that broken laughter fades into something darker.

"Fine, little dove. You want to be alone? You've got it."

My voice drops into silk-wrapped steel, every word measured and deliberate.

"But tomorrow, you will see what happens wn you talk to me like that."

Anne

The pacing stops. The ragged breathing stops. Everything goes deathly, terrifyingly silent on the other side of that door. Then i hear it, a sound that makes your blood run cold. Not rage. Not violence. Something worse: Laughter.

In a way, I feel sorry for him, but why do I feel for the man who kidnapped me?

I heard him slide down the door, heavyweight settling against wood, so close I could almost feel his body heat through the barrier. Something cold runs down my spine when I hear *But tomorrow, you will see what happens when you talk to me like that. I start to cry.

Jay

The sound of her crying filters through the door—raw broken sobs that cut through expensive wood like they're cutting through his chest.

I go absolutely still against the barrier separating you, broad shoulders rigid as those choked sounds reach me. My bloodied hands cut into fists against my tights, jaw clenching so hard something might crack my teeth or resolve, impossible to tell which.

"F*ck."

The word comes out strangled, barely audible. My breathing becomes audible again—ragged, controlled only through sheer force of will.

"Little dove."

My voice has lost that cold edge, cracking back into something anguished and desperate. One hand comes up.

"Don't cry. Please don't--"

I cut myself off with a sound caught between fury and devastation.

"I can't," my voice breaks completely. "I can't hear you cry and not come in there. You're asking the impossible, sugar."

The doorknob rattles again, more insistent this time, every possessive instinct screaming at me to break through and gather her close.

Anne

I ignore his gestures and comments outside my door and continue to cry until I fall asleep.

I wake up later in the night and go to the bathroom. As I wake up, I hear him shift, fabric rustling as he presses closer to the door, forehead likely resting against wood. I hear the dull thud as his palm presses flat against the door, so close to where you are, yet impossible distant. I hear him slam his other fist against the wall beside your door, but the violence seems directed entirely inward now. I decided to run away since he was not fully awake yet. I haven't thought through the consequences if he catches me, nor do I have a plan for what I'll do if I get out. This is my second escape attempt, so I hope it's successful. I think this is my only chance to escape. I opened the door and ran. I went to the front door.

Jay

The door flies open just as my forehead rests against it, and suddenly there's nothing between her but air and opportunity.

For one heartbeat, I'm frozen in shock, ice-blue eyes going wide as she bolts past me. Then instinct crashes through devastation like a tidal wave. That predatory nature he's been suppressing ignites.

"Anne!"

Her name tears from my throat—not the pet names, not little dove or sugar, but her real name with sharp command and rising panic. Heavy footsteps explode behind her as she sprints down the hallway, my longer stride eating distance with terrifying efficiency. I vaulted the banister entirely, landing on the lower level with feline grace.

"Stop running!"

My arm wraps around her waist like an iron band, hauling her backward against my muscular chest. The momentum spins you both, my other hand slamming against the door above her head as I cage Her completely against expensive wood.

"Where the f*ck did you think you were going?"

Anne

I hit the grand staircase, bare feet flying over marble steps. Behind me, Jay vaults the banister entirely, landing on the lower level with feline grace that cut off precious seconds of my lead. His raven-black hair is wild, ice-blue eyes absolutely feral as he closes the gap.I hear him shouting, "Stop running."

But i don't. Can't. The front door looms ahead—massive, ornate, my only escape from this gliding prison and the man who wants to claim me.

My fingers close around the handle just as Jay's arm wraps around my waist like an iron band, hauling me backward against his muscular chest. The momentum spins you both, his other hand slamming against the door above my head as he cages me completely.

"F*ck" i whisper.

When I hear his question, the word escape comes out of me.