Cassio was seated in his office when his men reported that they had captured the woman and the little girl. When he got to the room they kept her in, he found her sprawled on the floor with her red hair forming a halo around her head. His reaction was instant as he took her figure in. She was wearing a blue shirt and a pair of shorts that showed her thighs. He could barely rein himself in as he imagined her cupid bow-shaped lips around his...
He cursed under his breath, irritated by his reaction towards the woman. The little girl seated by her side, holding her hands, stared at him with big cold blue eyes. She looked like a guard protecting the woman, as if she could read the dirty thoughts he had of her.
Pinching his nose bridge, he signaled to one of his men standing outside the room.
"Why is she here?" He asked.
"She threw a tantrum, insisting on staying with the woman, sir," the man replied gruffly.
He saw red scratch marks on the man's arms.
"She did that to you?" He nodded at the marks.
"Yes, sir," the man replied.
"And the one on your face?"
"The woman, sir," he answered, his voice betraying a hint of embarrassment.
Cassio sighed. "You could almost think they are actually sisters."
"Knock the girl out and take her out of here," he ordered.
"And the woman, sir?"
"Leave her. She needs to be punished for thinking she could run away from me," he replied, walking out of the room.
Her body ached in pain as she stretched awake. She opened her eyes slowly, and the ceiling stared back at her. Where the crap was she? The cold floor was beginning to get uncomfortable, and she finally worked out where she was.
She was in a cell. At least it was clean compared to the ones she got sent to when she was little.
Still on her back, she heard the clanking of the door, and someone walked in. The scent of a man's cologne soon filled the room, and she stilled. She breathed gently, trying to pretend she was still sleeping, hoping he would move closer to her.
"Just so you know, you are really bad at acting," the man said with amusement tinging his voice.
What was his name again? Right, Cassio Salvatore. How could she forget the voice of the man that ruined her perfectly structured life, in just twenty-four hours?
Anger coursed through her veins. He had the audacity to laugh at her? She was already embarrassed as it was, that she had been kidnapped. She didn't want to believe she had lost her touch. She might as well just attack him, since she could no longer pretend she was sleeping.
She slowly stood up to look at him. He looked devastatingly handsome in his expensive blue suit. Such a pity it was about to get ruined.
She unsheathed the tiny knife inside her silver cross necklace and attacked him. But even though she was fast and agile, he was stronger, so he grabbed her wrist and pulled her to him. He looked at her with boredom in his eyes, as if mocking her. He held her so tightly that she had to drop the knife. It clattered to the floor, and she tried to hit him where the sun didn't shine, but he blocked her attack. In doing so, he released her. She reached for the knife and tried to sweep him off his feet with her leg, but he caught her shirt to steady himself. She heard a loud tear as her shirt ripped into two.
Cassio swore. The woman was like a walking temptation. Two creamy mounds stared back at him from her black lacy bra, and he could see her nipples peeking at him as they stood rigid in the cold. She realized he was distracted by something and looked down at herself to see she was the distraction. She blushed furiously as she cursed herself for not changing into her tank top bra the night before. She clutched the shirt together.
"Stop looking at me with those perverted eyes of yours," she said, her words filled with venom.
He cocked a brow at her. "You do know that all this is your fault? You attacked me for no reason and had your shirt torn. And if I wanted you, you would be flat on your back in seconds."
She stared at him. Was he trying to say she wasn't pretty enough to be wanted? She scoffed. "Even if you did want me, I assure you, I won't be on my back."
"If you think I have time for this, I don't," he said. "We have a lot to discuss, so please stop behaving like a petulant child and come with me."
"A child?! Did you just call me a child? You kidnapped me and my sister and dumped me here in this disgusting prison, and you call me a child?" she raved, releasing her shirt to stab him in his chest with her fingers.
He caught her finger. "So this is about the kidnapping, not about six months ago?"
Of course, she remembered six months ago, a day she would keep regretting for the rest of her life.
He smiled coldly at her. "We have a lot to discuss, Verena."
This man was dangerous, and she hoped she could find a way to escape. He released her hands.
"In a few minutes, the maids will come get you for a bath as I only have meetings with humans," he said with a straight face as he turned to go, leaving her to gape after him in anger. As he left, she opened her clenched fist to reveal the key she had snatched from his pocket when she had attacked him. Knowing she had no time to waste, she opened the door of the dungeon, happy there was no guard around. She scoffed. He must have thought she was weak. Now, she had to find Emma. Climbing the stairs, she entered an empty long corridor with a lot of doors.
How was she to know where Emma was?
She heard footsteps and hid behind the curtains that covered the huge windows as she listened to the conversations of the maids.
"Boss brought in another lady."
"Another lady?"
"Yeah, but this time with a kid. Cherry said the girl had been throwing a tantrum, apparently demanding to see the woman."
Verena strained her ears to hear the rest of the conversation, but they walked past her, their voices dimming as they walked further away.
Okay, now she knew Emma was in the house. She just had to find Cherry and threaten her. But would she find Cherry in this huge house without getting caught?
As she came out of her hiding place, she bumped into a flower vase, and it shattered into several pieces as it fell.
Crap! Real smooth, Verena.