Chapter 14: 14

I screamed from surprise, as I was with my torso uncovered and that seemed to scare Dante, who slammed the door shut, as he came with other people next to him.

I quickly put on my clothes, hoping he hadn't seen my bare breasts or that might be the most awkward thing in the world. I wouldn't know how to deal with it.

"Can I go in now?" the older one asked from outside.

"Yes," I settled back on the gurney, tensing my jaw.

"Good," I saw him enter in a different outfit, this time it was less fancy than before. A simple black shirt and pants of the same color, he didn't seem too interested in looking overbearing. However, his look was dark and it was noticeable fatigue.

He looked like he was about to complain to his little daughter, who was not obeying her father.

He was followed by a doctor at his side and my blood ran cold.

"Signorina Lawrence," he greeted.

"Evie, just Evie," I replied, but Dante put a finger to his lips for silence, as if my words were trying his patience.

"I'm going to check her out, before I sign her out, correct?" he informed and I saw Dante out of the corner of my eye; he folded his arms and looked uncomfortable with the fact that the doctor should touch me, "I was told she escaped from the hospital while there was a change of guard. Either it was a fluke or you are very clever, Signorina," he said and I tensed my jaw, "I need you to pull your coat up to the nape of your neck, exposing your back, please," he ordered and I obeyed, but Dante didn't seem to agree.

I felt the coldness of the stethoscope on my ribs and within seconds it was gone; Dante had pushed the doctor away in annoyance.

"That's enough.

"What are you doing, Dante? It's routine for doctors to check the heartbeat and the breath entering the lungs, for any complications," I complained.

"And how long have you known that?

"Medicine is part of my career, remember?" I folded my arms in annoyance, "Can you give me the out please? I would hate for this psychotic to destroy a hospital for every medical routine they have to do," I snorted and walked out of the room, leaving the two men alone.

A few hours later, I had settled into the room in which I had woken up the first day, as the sun fell in the distance in the twilight.

There were other different women, this time there were three, and I could not explain to myself how I got staff in less than a day.

Did women fall from the sky, to serve a handsome tycoon?

The food I had received was enough to fill my empty stomach and probably give me future gastritis. However, it hadn't taken away the emptiness in my heart and the uncertainty of what was happening.

I still felt in shock, as if I had not gotten over the kidnapping and the fact that I had been auctioned off as an object.

I still had a lot of doubts and curiosity burned like a burn.

How had Dante found out about my kidnapping if Mauro had sold me and he didn't know?

It all happened in so few hours that I still couldn't connect with the truth; a CEO, older brother of a psychotic and he was present at an illegal auction.

Then there was the information Nina had told me; an island full of dangerous mercenaries. Everything seemed to match, to the point that there was no room for doubt.

Was Dante Di Marco a mercenary?

Were those men in his house that time part of a criminal gang?

They looked dangerous and they obeyed him, as if they were afraid of the black-haired man.

Although I was somewhat grateful that I had been saved from the auction and had not fallen prey to a dangerous stranger, I was not comforted by the idea of being in the midst of mercenaries and illegal markets that could endanger my life.

I thought I was going to be a detective. How was I going to deal with that?

However, none of that solved me as he learned of my whereabouts without any warning.

Unless...

"Evie," I heard whose voice I thought, "I'm going out on some business, but I'll be back later. Anything you need, you let the maids know and they will contact me.

"Why aren't you able to give me a cell phone, at the risk that I might call the police to report you for kidnapping?" I questioned wryly.

He sighed exhaustedly, "I'd like to say no, but you've already caused too much trouble today.

"Did I cause trouble?" I asked, slowly approaching him, "Do you realize where I am?

"Safe and alive, that's where you are. Or would you have preferred to be the plaything of a stranger?" he countered, dominating my system with his size and that dark look that could unsettle anyone, "I thought so," he said to my silence, "I'm not your enemy, Evie, but you'll understand everything in due time. For the moment, rest and avoid exerting yourself," he ordered, "The villa is surrounded by guards, not in your dreams will you make it out without being seen," he warned and I snorted, "I'm dead serious, Evie. We'll talk tomorrow, I promise.

"I've been here for three days and the only new thing you've told me is that you're not my enemy, do you expect me to sleep peacefully between silk sheets?

"If you can't fall asleep, there are sedatives," she smiled half-sideways.

"It's not funny, I'm not an animal," I whined.

"I have to go now. You need to rest and it's not a question," he said distantly, before running his fingers up to my chin. He left a small caress, with a look I couldn't interpret and I swallowed quizzically.

The warmth of his hand disappeared and the door closed behind him, before the emptiness was left in the room again. His presence was so strong that I could feel the change in atmosphere, like a temperature shock.

I took a deep breath and looked around me; like any good student curious to learn, I thought about analyzing the place around me, without having the intention of obeying Dante.

He was in no position to give me orders, neither he, nor anyone else. No matter what had happened or what his presence made me feel.

As I saw when I arrived in the van with Dante, the property was larger than I had imagined. I still had some parts of the house to see, like the second floor.

My room was quite spacious, a bed for three people, the bathroom with its respective modern style tub, also came with a jacuzzi and in a small room was the closet; place where there were clothes of my size, different colors and styles, as if everything had been prepared for me.

There was no communication equipment, nothing more than the exorbitant inch television that unfolded from the ceiling with a remote control.

I sat slumped on the end of the bed, appreciating the outside through the windows.

I hadn't accomplished much, other than to find out how much of a millionaire Dante was to have such a property and how many staff he had at his disposal.

Night fell and the hours flew by as I quietly read one of the books on the shelf, which oddly enough were only in my language.

"Thought of everything," I complained and put the book down on the nightstand, realizing that I had not the slightest intention of sleeping.

It was already quite late, so he was probably already in his room sleeping and that gave me the opportunity to explore in the villa.

I turned off the lights in my room and slid open the glass door, to go out into the garden again. If I could find a phone, no matter what it was, or a computer, I would use it to communicate with my parents.

Going in the same direction as the first time, I found the pool shimmering and the dim lights surrounding the house, as if keeping it that way would be safer.

I sighed and for one moment in three days, I stopped to look at the stars appearing in the sky, while the moon was hidden by a cloud. At least the sky was the only thing that didn't change, regardless of location or weather.

I plopped down on one of the pool chairs, noticing in the distance those men Dante mentioned. They seemed to be making walking rounds, holding a flashlight.

I wondered if these people had a private life, outside of working for Dante in the evenings.

"I'm telling you, Grace, I need to know where my brother is," I heard Dante's deep voice inside the house, amidst the silence that dominated, "He disappeared five days ago and I have no idea of his whereabouts. If you are trying to hide him, I assure you it will be worse for him," he objected angrily.

I was completely silent as he walked out through the living room, to stand a few feet away from me. He couldn't see me, as I had sat under an umbrella that cast a dark shadow over my presence.

Who was he talking to?

And how was it possible that he didn't know about Mauro, while he knew about my situation within hours of the kidnapping?

"How could you believe that I would hide your brother? And besides, what was I supposed to hide him from? Did something bad happen?" I immediately recognized Mrs. Di Marco's voice through the cell phone, after he put it on speaker.

"No, nothing. I'll call you back, Grace," he hung up and sighed stressed. I was puzzled, though; he called her mother by name.

I was hesitant, so I decided to go talk to him face to face, but stopped when I saw him take off his jacket and white shirt underneath, revealing to the light a number of tattoos that I couldn't see that night because of the darkness.

The sudden endorphin rush I got from seeing Dante's bare back and torso was replaced by surprise when I saw the same tattoo I had on my wrist, being surrounded by the Roman numerals of my birth date, on one of his shoulders.

I didn't have time to define the others, when he noticed my presence.