“What are we going to do, Joe?” Her eyes pleaded with me to solve the problem.
“Hang in, my love; it’s going to be fine.”
“I think the time for pretty words and gossamer promises is over, Joe. If we don’t make it out of here, I want you to know that I’ve never loved anyone as much as I love you. If we don’t get the chance to grow old together surrounded by our beautiful children, please know that the time I got to spend with you, to love you, and be loved by you has been the best time of my life.”
“Stop talking like that, Ella. We’re not dying at the hands of Abriana and her thugs. I won’t let anything happen to you and our baby. The gang is going to bust in here as soon as they see Abriana.”
“Are you that confident, my love?”
“Absolutely.”
The doors to the cargo hold opened, and a man with a bloody mouth and two missing teeth leered at us.
“Enrico, I presume.” He was not charmed.
“That’s right. You won’t be so chatty when I pull out your tongue.”
“Fuck you.” My blood was boiling.
“You might change your attitude when I tell you what I have in store for that pretty bitch of yours.” He grabbed his groin and made a lewd gesture as he watched my expression. He laughed out loud at my disdain.
“You touch her and I’ll skin you myself, you lowlife piece of shit.”
A voice from behind him snapped him out of his antics. I knew the voice. The same voice that spoiled my wedding day, the same voice that no doubt threatened my Ella.
“Abriana. Pleased with yourself, are you? Enjoy the moment. It will be short-lived.”
“Take them to the back room,” she barked at Enrico and his men. Her thugs manhandled us again.
Inside the small room stood three chairs and a table. Abriana followed us into the room and closed the door.
“What do you think is going to happen here, Abriana? Do you think for one moment that my father will sit idly by while you kidnap and torture his son?”
“Gino is his son too! Your father will do whatever I say. He doesn’t know who you’re with. I make the rules here.” She walked around the room while Ella and I sat tied to our chairs.
“So what’s the plan, Abriana?”
“It’s quite ingenious if I may say so myself. Your father will get a letter telling him that you and Ella will die if he doesn’t do exactly as instructed.” She looked at me, a triumphant smile accentuating the crow’s feet in the corners of her eyes. She must have been quite a looker in her day. She was still a handsome woman. It was a pity that her villainous personality erased every bit of beauty from her.
She continued her cruel dialog, trailing the back of my shoulders with her nail. “You know, you look just like your father, Joe. Just as handsome. I can see why your wife is so besotted with you. You’re pretty. Perhaps I’ll have a little taste of you before Enrico kills you.” She ran her fingers through my hair, grabbing a handful, jerking my head back. She stared into my eyes and smiled.
“Let go of him, you old hag!” Ella was struggling to break free, desperate to scratch Abriana’s eyes out. The old witch turned to Ella and slapped her across the face. I lunged myself at her, the legs of my chair snapping as I tumbled to the ground.
“Calm down,” she said to Ella. “It was just a thought. The Coli fever left my loins years ago. Lust and love were replaced with loathing and hate.”
“Enrico! Mr. Coli had a little accident. Please, bring him another chair.”
She stood at the door, smiling. Then, she turned and walked away.
“Hello again, my pretty. I’ve been waiting for this for a long time.”
I couldn’t do a damn thing to help my wife.
ELEANORA
I was getting really tired of having the shit slapped out of me. My face was swelling to the size of a football. As if the fun wasn’t too much to handle already, I now had Enrico to contend with. He was such a sleaze, the mere touch of his hand made my skin crawl. I kept my mouth shut, though. I wasn’t going to antagonize him any more than I already had. I didn’t want him to lash out at Joe.
He sat down on the chair opposite us. He stared at me. I wished that I could read his mind—or did I? He sat very still, like a dog waiting for its owner to click two fingers. Here, boy! Come, let me kick your ugly ass!
I thought of the baby growing inside of me, my baby. Joe’s baby. What a terrible way of starting our family. But, like with our wedding day, Joe and I would make lemonade from the ton of lemons thrown at us. Perhaps a little limoncello for good measure.
Enrico got up and headed over to me. I had a bad feeling. He stroked my hair with his hand, then trailed a finger down my neck.
“Get away from her,” Joe growled at him. But that seemed to egg him on.
He buttoned-down my shirt to where my bra showed. Joe was thrashing around on his chair, trying to break free from his binds. Enrico touched my breasts but he never took his eyes off Joe. I closed my eyes and pretended to be somewhere else. I was walking through the park with Joe. We talked and laughed as we held hands and
