Mine Forever: A Dark Mafia Romance

Chapter 5 Sonia -Threat

The bright sun wakes me up, and for a second, I think I'm back in the city, back where I belong. But when I open my eyes, I see that yesterday's nightmare was all true.

I've been taken.

There's a massive part of me that wants to bury my head in the covers and not wake up. I want to stay here all day, never having to see Dante with his forest green eyes that are so deceptively dangerous but also intriguing at the same time. But an even more significant part of me knows that I need to face this. I need to rise out of this bed, get dressed, and look for a way out of the estate and off the property.

By now, my father will be looking for me. He'll be going crazy with worry, having me, his only daughter, captured by the enemy. For I can only assume that's what Dante is. He must belong to a rival mafia family. He must've crossed my father somehow, and now they're at war. It's the only explanation of why I've been stolen. I imagine that Daddy has all his men combing the streets, searching for me, and I can only hope that it's not too long now that I'll have to wait here, a prisoner, before I'm taken back to my rightful place in the city.

But, as I turn over and glance out at the shining sun, which illuminates all the green fields below, I have to wonder if this is what I want. Do I even want my father to find me?

I was so unhappy in my life before. I hated being the Gavino princess, so close to marrying someone that Daddy picked out. I didn't want that life, so much so that I was willing to escape it through death.

Sighing deeply, I consider my situation. I could try to escape from here and go back to a life that I was disenchanted with. Or, I could stay and see what living as a prisoner is like. Both options seem less than savory.

I decide to start by getting up and getting dressed. I walk into the luxurious bathroom and run a hot bath, soaking my body. It feels good to get the events of last night out of my hair and off my muscles.

Leisurely, I relax in the bathtub, using the provided soaps and oils to make myself clean. I rest my head on the porcelain tub and think about what it means to be his—Dante's.

He's a terrifying individual, exuding so much power and strength with his dark eyes and chiseled muscles that were concealed yesterday beneath a suit. I would never want to cross him in life. But here I am, having to live with him now for the foreseeable future.

When I rest my head against the tub, I close my eyes. His face appears.

It's unnerving.

All I see are those green eyes and his muscled body. I remember the way he dragged me away from the window last night, forcing me back. It felt good to have his hands on my body, surprisingly so. His grip was so firm and forceful; I felt like he had me as I could never break in those hands.

But no.

These are delusions, fantasies of a naive girl. I don't know what type of man Dante is, but I can imagine he's someone extremely dangerous if he's working in the same realm as my father. I know what goes on behind closed doors, even for as sheltered as I am. I know what being in the mafia entails.

Dante, whatever his role, is someone who does evil things. And that means, even if I do think he's gorgeous, that he's off-limits to me. He's not someone I can ever think of as anything other than being a threat.

He's a threat to my very existence.

I pull my legs up and hug them, feeling suddenly cold in the warm bath. I don't know what Dante plans to do with me, what he wants with me. Again, the idea that he might kill me crosses my mind.

I need to get out of here.

Deciding that there's no way I can stay in this house and be his prisoner, I finish my bath very quickly, and then I towel myself off. I get dressed in last night's clothes because I don't have anything else to wear, and then I blow-dry my hair, making it nice and smooth and sleek.

There has to be a way out of this mansion, off the estate. Even though Dante must have it heavily guarded, I'm crafty and am good at finding things when I want to. I can find my way out of here. I only need to put my mind to it.

Once I'm dressed, I leave the confines of my room, hoping that I can find some way to escape.

I walk down the long hallways, down the stairs, and through the massive house, looking for a side exit, but there is none. All I see are big rooms that lead into each other. Finally, I try the back of the house, thinking there may be a door that leads outside, but it only leads me to the kitchen, which rests along the back of the vast mansion.

"Hello, Sonia," a deep voice says.

Looking up, I stare into the eyes of my captor.

Dante is seated at the counter, looking at me with rapt attention. His eyes are trained on me, almost like I'm a piece of meat and he's a tiger. He's going to play, to toy with me. Only then will he reveal his true intentions.

"Good morning," I say in as steady a voice as I can manage.

I try to block out the image of last night, of his hands on my body, saving me. I ignore the intuition that says if he wanted me dead, he would have let me fall.

"Come. Have some espresso. Sit down and eat. You must be famished." His voice is commanding, indicating to me that I better obey.

I walk into the kitchen just as a woman comes in. She smiles at me warmly, introducing herself, "I am Ludovica, sister of Romano. If there's anything you need, come to me, and I will help you."

"Romano?" I ask.

"You met him last night," Dante says. "He was your...."

"Captor?" I finish the phrase for him, realizing that Romano must be the bulky tattooed man who took me from my penthouse last night.

Dante nods to Ludovica, and she goes about making me a plate of sumptuous-looking Italian food. There are croissants, prosciutto, biscotti, and some things made out of eggs that I don't recognize. Then she prepares me a cappuccino in an automatic espresso machine that's hidden beneath a panel in the wall.

"Thank you," I say, sitting down at the counter as far away from Dante as I can.

He watches me closely as I eat, and I can't help but feel caged like I'm his, somehow like he knows me even though we're virtually strangers.

I eat in silence, preferring not to say a thing to the man who stole me from my home.

And he? He watches me, seeming unfazed by my defiance of him.