CHAPTER 55
"Was sorta hoping you would stay."
•••
Third Person's POV:
Cold water splashed onto Kaylee's face. As she woke up with a gasp, she looked up and saw a stranger in front of her wearing a black T-shirt and pants. She closed her eyes again to confirm she was not dreaming, blinking rapidly. The man in front of her just laughed at her. She tried to move her arm and found that she was tied up on the ground.
"Where am I? Who are you?" she asked calmly. She didn't want the man to see that she was panicking inside. He didn't reply to her and just looked her up and down like the pervert he was. Kaylee looked down at her and saw that her breasts were about to spill out because of her dress and position. She tried to sit up straight, glaring at the man, but he just smirked. "I asked who. Are. You?" she repeated, her voice calm yet full of authority.
The man lifted his right hand and mimed zipping up his lips. Smirking again, he then left.
Kaylee looked around at her surroundings. There was not a single window in this huge basement—just two doors. She looked around for something that she could use to help her escape but found nothing.
Fuck.
•••
"I should have installed a chip under her skin. I FUCKING should have," Massimo roared. A day had passed since Kaylee and Chicago disappeared, and neither he nor his men could get any information.
"Domenico is on his way with his team—" Marco tried to calm his boss down by telling him that help was coming soon.
"Then why am I paying you bastards? What am I paying you for?" Massimo looked at every man who was inside the meeting room. They all bowed their heads in shame because they couldn't do their job right.
The anger Massimo was feeling had no end. His team couldn't find anything about Chicago. They had tried to track her down but couldn't find anything. He had told Cane about everything and showed him the CCTV footage of Chicago and Kaylee at his mansion in Italy. In the corner of the room, Cane was standing with an emotionless expression, looking down at the floor.
They were all confused as to who Chicago was affiliated with. As far as they could tell, no other mafia was involved with this whole situation. None of them were stupid enough to cross Massimo Feorenzo.
When nobody answered Massimo, he grew even more furious and called on the man he had put in charge of Kaylee's protection at the club. The man stood in front of him, keeping his head bowed as his body trembled slightly.
"What were you doing at that time?" Massimo asked, his voice so low that it was just above a whisper. The man gulped but didn't say anything. "I will not repeat myself." Massimo's expression twisted into one of disgust, and he took out his gun. He didn't usually kill his own men—unless they betrayed him.
But on second thought, this man In front of him did betray him by not doing his job right. The way he was trembling told Massimo that he was the one at fault because his men never trembled in fear. They were Scorpions—Black Scorpions. They didn't fear. They made people afraid.
"I was having shots at the club," the man said, closing his eyes tightly.
Massimo didn't wait any longer and pulled the trigger. The bullet went straight through the man's head. "Let this be an example to anybody who can't do their job right," he said, looking at the man, who was now lying on the ground in a pool of his own blood.
•••
Stassi was sitting on the swing on the porch, her mind chasing after different thoughts. She was blaming herself for not saving her best friend. She should have noticed that the way Chicago was acting was wrong. She shouldn't have forced Massimo to let her take the girls out to the club. He hadn't wanted them to, but Stassi being Stassi had been stubborn—too stubborn.
She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't even feel someone's presence behind her until they spoke. "It wasn't your fault," a voice said behind her.
Stassi knew very well who this voice belonged to. There was no place in this world where she wouldn't be able to recognize that voice, the one that belonged to the first man who had ever called her desperate. Domenico Marcello.
•••
**Flashback**
Stassi was sweating after her workout. She walked out towards where the pool was, making sure to sway her hips as she walked slowly. All the men in the pool turned to look at her. One of them was Domenico Marcello…what a coincidence. She took her T-shirt off slowly, revealing her very sexy black swimsuit, which had a big diamond cut out in the middle, revealing her flat stomach.
She didn't jump into the pool immediately; no, she made sure to attract every person in the pool as she walked down the stairs and sank into the pool.
Domenico clenched his teeth when he saw everybody looking at her. There was a fire in his heart. He wasn't sure what this feeling was because he was trying to tell himself that he didn't like Stassi, not even one bit. The way she challenged him without even trying made him feel something. Nobody had the nerve to talk to him and ignore him the way she did.
Without giving anybody her attention, Stassi started to swim. Some guys swam towards her, and she smiled at them and laughed when they tried to flirt with her.
Domenico clenched his hands. He wanted to grab her hand and drag her out of here. After some time, she reached the other side of the pool. As if on cue, Domenico sawm up to her.
"Why are you here?" he asked but received no reply. She didn't even turn towards him. "I asked you something," he said, but again, no response. "Can't get away from me?" He grabbed her hand, turning her around.
Stassi looked at the hand that was holding hers. She had a glass of juice in her other hand. "Can't you leave me alone, desperate one?" she said, rolling her eyes and snatching her hand from his.
Domenico stood there with his mouth agape, but he snapped it shut. Stassi turned back around and put the glass on the side of the pool. In seconds, he had her turned around and pinned against the side of the pool, her back pressed up against the tiles. His hand pressed into her stomach while his other hand grabbed her arm.
"You don't know who you are messing with," he whispered, getting closer to her. His eyes held fire in them, and his face cold. He was visibly angry.
Stassi quirked her left eyebrow, a smirk playing on her lips. Seeing the anger on his face made her throw her head back and laugh out loud, making Domenico even angrier. He clenched his jaw, trying to calm himself. The hand on her arm was now slowly sliding towards her hips. She looked him dead in the eyes. "Oh, believe me, I know who you actually are, Domenico Marcello, and believe me: I don't give a shit about who you are," she said.
Domenico grabbed her hip in his hand and squeezed it, making her gasp and frown. Leaning in, he inhaled deeply right behind her ear and then whispered, "Then maybe you don't know enough."
**End of Flashback**
•••
Stassi couldn't help but smirk slightly as she remembered how she had thrown Domenico's own words in his face. Then, she heaved a sigh. Pulling her legs up, she placed her chin on her knees and brought her hands around her legs. She could smell smoke—Domenico was smoking.
She wasn't planning on replying to him. No, she wouldn't. She would beat him at his own game.
Domenico sighed and rolled his eyes when he realized that Stassi wouldn't reply. Throwing his cigarette down, he put it with his foot and then turned around to make his way back inside the house.
She didn't turn around to watch his retreating back.
•••
Massimo sat on his office chair with a drink in hand. His hair was ruffled, and dark circles were under his eyes. He was tired. Three days had passed, and they still couldn't find Kaylee. He had done everything but still couldn't find any clues. His men were out there looking everywhere for his love.
They had found CCTV footage of Chicago destroying Kaylee and her phones, then changing cars at the next road after crashing hers into a tree. Massimo had watched it with Cane, who went silent after the first few seconds. He didn't utter a single word…just kept shaking his head.
Cane loved Chicago so much. The ring in his pocket was still there. Had she been playing him all along? Had she been pretending to love him? Was it all a lie? Did his love mean nothing to her?
Meanwhile, Massimo felt like he was failing Kaylee. He had gone through everything for her, had made sure to get rid of every single hint of an enemy that could be a threat to them—all for her. And look how that had turned out.
He had searched everywhere for her. Where could she be? He was sure she was still in the city, but which part had they missed? He missed her. She was the first woman who had ever made him fall for her. There were so many women after him, claiming to love him, but he didn't feel anything for them. Anytime he took one to bed, it was always just for pleasure. Nothing more, nothing less
But Kaylee was the one. The one he loved from the bottom of his heart, the one he felt the need to protect, the one he would do anything for—no limits.
Massimo slammed the glass that he was drinking from onto the desk.