Mafia's Redemption: Terzo - Chapter 59: Chapter 59

DANI
I woke up to a wave of nausea rolling in my stomach. The first thing I felt was being cocooned against the warmth hard chest. The memory before this was vague.
I groaned and cracked my eyes open. Squinting, I slowly lifted my gaze. I saw a handsome, rugged face with a little frown between his eyebrows. I wanted to touch it, to ease it away.
Until everything that happened earlier hit me like a freight train. Son of a bitch.
“You drugged me?” My throat was dry, but my voice was steady and strong. Was that why my neck hurt?
Terzo glanced down at me, surprised, and relief flashed in his eyes. “Dani, you’re awake.”
“Put me down this instance, Terzo,” I demanded. It was also a warning.
“We’re almost there, Dani,” smiling, he said calmly while I was fuming an anger.
“I said, put me down. Now!” My chest heaved in anger. I twisted against his arms as he carried me bridal style. I kicked so I could let my feet be free.
He let go of a shuddering, irritating sigh. I waited for him to say something like Or what? But it did not happen.
Instead, I heard someone say, “Welcome home, sir.” Home?
My eyes widened, and I roamed my gaze. We were indeed in front of the house.
“You. You!” Out of anger, I wrapped my fingers around his huge neck and squeezed it tightly. “I told you I didn’t wanna come back.”
I watched his face turn red, eyes narrowing down at me, switching from a calm and sweet smiling Terzo to a dangerous mafia. “Take off your hands around my neck, Dani.”
“No!” I tightened the grip, squeezing it harder. “You never listened to me, asshole.”
He finally stepped inside his house and put me down. At the same time, I landed on my ass, loosening my grip. I still didn’t let him go. I was so mad, so emotional, it made me want to scream.
He kneeled, wrapped his hands around my grip, and glared at me. “I never listened to you? Have you ever listened to me for once? I broke my father’s rules and sacrificed everything for this nonsense marriage, and what I got in return was anger, defiance, disobedience, and recklessness when all I wanted was to protect you. I have wasted enough time on you, because somehow I thought of redeeming myself, but this?” He gestured, looking around. “It’s not worth it. Maybe you’re not worth it.” He then took my hands off his neck easily, his jaw tightening. He stood up, fixed his jacket, and walked away.
I was speechless. I was ashamed. I was irrational.
“Lock this house down. No one will get in or get out without my permission, or I will start cutting off limbs.” He climbed upstairs without looking back.
Gio didn’t say a word but left, leaving me with Marco, who offered a hand to help.
I shook my head, tears threatening to fall. I sucked an audible breathe as I heard blustering rolling of something heavy, like a heavy door closing in a metallic groan. It dramatically ended with a thud and the sound of the gear shift locking.
My eyes widened as I spun around to see what was going on. Of course, I knew what was going on. He just ordered like someone just attempted a prison break. My heart thudded and ached that I was officially a prisoner.
My stomach clenched, and I was instantly nauseated. I got up and ran, and barely made it to the toilet before emptying anything in my stomach.
“Dani?” It was Marco. “Are you okay?”
I tried to respond, but another wave of nausea rolled out. The sound of retching and the acid smell were enough answers to his question.
I felt a large hand rubbing my back tenderly, which I thought was sweet. “Let me get you a glass of water.”
I flushed the toilet when his footsteps faded. I sagged against the tiled floor and pulled my knees to my chest. I rested my head back and took a deep breath.
“This is not happening.” I shook to cry. My life was already a mess, and if what I thought was right, then there was no coming back from it. “Lord, please help me. Please not right now.”
“Hey.” Marco offered a glass of water.
I gratefully took it with a smile. I was probably looked like shit but that was the least of my worry. He offered to help. I didn’t resist and let him since my world seemed to start spinning.
“I’m fine. Let me just clean up.”
“Okay. Call me if you don’t feel well. And please, don’t lock the door.”
“Thanks, Marco.” I swished water in my mouth repeatedly and then washed my face. The cold water was a little comforting. I walked out of the bathroom and drank the water.
“Let’s take you up.”
“I can walk. I’m sure you have a lot of things to worry about knowing your boss is pissed off.”
“It’s his order,” he said silently, almost ashamed to admit it.
“Okay. I don’t wanna be a pain in the ass.” We climbed up together.
“Thank you, signora,” he said as we made it to the hallway.
The room was just a few meters away, in the end corner.
“I can take it from here.”
“Your room is right here.” He pointed his thumb over his shoulder. “I’m sorry, signora.”
I smiled tightly. “It’s fine. It’s good for me. I’m sorry if I put you and Gio in a lot of trouble.”
“No apology necessary.” He led the way to the other end, the opposite corner. Then he twisted the doorknob and pushed the door open.
I instantly saw my suitcases aligned beside the bed. The room was one of the guest rooms. It was not bigger than his, but it had its own bathroom.
It was pretty convenient. I just thought that I was staycationing in Italy and rented a room in one of the Airbnb homes. The bed was a queen-sized bed situated at the center. There was a closet, a vanity mirror, and bedside tables. A window, but something that caught my eye. It looked so thick and heavy. Not the same as the window in his room.
“A bullet-resistant window with aluminum frames.”
“Are you going to lock the door?” I walked inside.
“No, ma’am.”
“Thanks.”
“Let me know if you need anything like Tylenol or for vomiting. I’m downstairs.”
“I’m good. Thank you, Marco.”
Once the door was locked behind me, I took off my shoes and got into bed. I instantly grabbed my bag and searched for my phone. It was there. Good thing he did not confiscate it from me.
I dialed Maverick, and it rang, but she did not pick up. I liked Maverick. She was one of a kind, but I would completely understand if she told Terzo where she sent me or if she wouldn’t talk to me anymore. Family was family. Just not in my case.
I must have fallen asleep. The room was dark, with the only light coming from the window. My stomach growled. Of course, I wasn’t able to cook my lunch. I was drugged.
I freshened up and went downstairs. The house was silent. I was glad I was alone, and I had no intention of going on a hunger strike. So I took the liberty to ransack what was in the refrigerator and brought it up to my room.
I burped loudly after I ate two slices of sandwiches and a can of soda. Before I could check my phone, a knock on the door interrupted me.
“It’s Marco.”
“Come in.”
The door swung open. There was something in his look that carried bad news.
“What is it?”
“Don Gaetano wants to talk to you downstairs.”