Page 6 of Captured Obsession

Agata, despite her assumed age, is quick, and she snatches my hand to assess it. “Be careful of the way you speak around here, girl. There are not many here who take kindly to women being outspoken.”

I feel the warning, from one woman to another, deep in my bones. However, I'm so sick of living in a man's world, where it seems we’re only ever fucked over.

“That includes Nikolai?” I ask as she wraps my hand not-so-gently with the handkerchief.

She looks up at me then, her grayish-blue eyes assessing me.

“You are fortunate it’s Nikolai who’s been assigned to you.” My disbelieving gaze insinuates that we have differing views on that. “Now, let's clean this wound, and I'll run you a hot bath. Are there any allergies I should be aware of when making your food?”

My eyebrows dip in confusion, and she looks at me as if I’m the strange one. I shake my head. “I don’t have much of an appetite.”

She looks me up and down in that way many women appraise me. I’m six feet tall and lean, with subtle curves. “I can tell, considering how skinny you are. You hardly have anything on your bones. I'll make you something light to begin with,” she says, then goes into the bathroom, abruptly concluding the discussion, as if my opinion doesn’t matter.

I grind my teeth, more irritated by being accustomed to all the opinions people have about my body, as opposed to her being ignorant to my feelings. I've had the honor of being on covers and centerfolds, and in brand deals. I use my body and looks as tools to make money and offer other women confidence in their own beauty. But it’s a double-edged sword. The expectation to remain a certain size and appear polished in such a specific way, only so others can attack me for my natural build because theirs doesn’t look the same. My body and face are constantly under scrutiny, and it’s led to issues in my personal life.

Maybe they’re right. Maybe I have been selling a lie, thinking that I've been happy in a life that has begun to wear me down. Especially now, at twenty-nine. I thought I had my life all mapped out. I thought by now I would be married with at least one child running around. But none of that has happened. If anything, the demand on my body has only grown worse as the years have gone by. And no matter how well I do within the industry, I'm always shunned by others for it.

Fake. Too skinny. Too tall. Plastic. High maintenance. Slut. Home wrecker. Unrealistic.

The list goes on, and I chastise myself even now for spiraling into those thoughts when I’ve become so good at bottling them up. But I suppose there are so many other emotions rolling around right now, they’re the least of my concern.

“Come along, Miss Falcone. If I let you bleed to death, Nikolai will be greatly displeased with me.”

I glance at the small cut. It'll heal within a few days. But I'm so used to ensuring that there are no blemishes on my skin that I can't help but want to save the slight imperfection if only for a while. I think of the jarring scar down Nikolai’s eyebrow and cheek, as if someone took a blade to his face. Despite the imperfection, it’s hard to ignore his harsh beauty. The two are parallel but work in harmony.

Now that’s a damning thought, thinking of my captor as hauntingly beautiful.

But then I hold out my hand, allowing this woman to be the only source of kindness I can sense within this prison.

4

NIKOLAI

“She won’t eat,Udav,” Andrei says, entering the office. The walls of the room are filled with mounted animal heads, tasteless trophies from my boss. A casual lounging space is situated in the center. The room is cloaked in shadows, much to my preference of remaining in the dark. Though, if I wanted, I could light the fireplace on my right, fueling it with liquor that might accidentally swallow the entire manor in flame. Wouldn’t that be a sight to behold.

I look up from the files I'm reviewing, glaring at him, as I’m not one who enjoys being disturbed. It's been two days since we captured Sienna Falcone, and I’ve been keeping a close eye on the activity of the Italian mafia in New York. From the reports I’ve received, it would seem as if business is running asusual, and my frustration and lack of patience around this task are already grinding on my nerves.

“What do you mean she won't eat? Agata is one of the best cooks. Force her if you have to.”

He arches an eyebrow, and I sigh, realizing that contradicts my previous order. Nobody besides me and Agata are permitted into Sienna’s room, on penalty of death.

I’m far more interested in monitoring Luca Armani’s actions surrounding her disappearance than dealing with a spoiled little brat who's lashing out. At least when they do retaliate, I can have some fun and be done with this task.

“She spoke to me through the door, sir, and has requested to see you,” Andrei tells me.

“Is that so?” I reply, leaning back in my chair. The ever-demanding princess. “By all means, bring her to me.”

He nods and takes his leave.

Through security cameras, I watch the men who patrol the grounds, taking note of all the blind spots. I prefer to keep most of the men outside because I don't trust any of them around her.

She is beautiful. And my men are no better than savages. However, I can’t temper my own irritation by her presence. When I agreed to the terms specified by my boss, The Wolf, I wasn’t expecting this to be such a trivial job.

After watching her so closely for the past few months, I don’t agree with my boss’s logic in kidnapping her. It’s his ego and impatience that’s led to this situation. Sienna was easy to pick off from the tight-knit group, and he’d hoped because of her association with the Armanis’ women that it would draw out one of the main members. But he’s grown impatient that nothing has happened yet, even though it’s only been a couple of days.

He wants to prove to the other Bratva families that he can succeed where others failed with regard to expanding business in New York. More specifically where The Lion failed. And his recent fascination with the Armanis is certainly bound to get some attention if he succeeds. His plan was to kick the hornets’ nest by kidnapping Sienna to see how far their power and reach go, all the while hiding behind me as I do his dirty work.

Because of that, my irritation has focused on her, instead of the issue itself. My lack of patience is what does me in.