She hadn’t been able to sleep all night for nightmares and worry over what was happening to the girls. Gabriel Malinov had stayed with her until midnight chatting to her, rarely leaving her side and making damn sure she didn’t dare leave her bed. She knew better than to attempt that now. Every time she moved her butt hurt. Then he had been relieved from his duty by a woman who sat and read a book for most of the night. But for once she was alone.
Antonia lay tapping her fingers on top of her stomach wondering if she should chance it. Maybe find a way out through the window and somehow get herself off the island and back to chasing Adalina down. She thought about all the women Morelli had allowed to be taken by the Mafia.
There was no need to guess the fate of the women. They would have been taken to work in brothels and used for cyber-sex websites. The white slave trade was alive and well and had now seen a new source of income in the refugee camps. They had to be stopped.
Feeling a little stronger than yesterday and energized by the warm sun pouring in through the tall windows, the journalist decided to make a move. She carefully lifted off the covers and sat on the edge of the bed. Slowly she lowered herself to the floor and began to make her way to the suitcase one of the agents had brought from her hotel room in London.
To her relief there was a small bathroom at the side of the room. She pulled her suitcase up and wheeled it across the floor to the bathroom where she took a nice hot shower.
Antonia felt safe with the door locked. That horrible Botelli woman and the handsome agent, couldn’t stop her now. Hopefully, nobody would come in and stop her break for freedom. Dressed with her blonde hair piled up on the back of her head, secured by an ornate clip, she listened at the door to make sure no one was there before unlocking it.
So far so good. No one was there to stop her. Now for the window and finding a way to escape the island. Antonia tried to open the old window but it was proving a difficult task. She succeeded in getting it a small way up but it was stuck. It didn’t matter because she wasn’t going to get any further. She hadn’t even heard anyone come in the room before two strong arms gently took hold of her waist and pulled her backwards.
“And where do you think you are going?” Gabriel asked in his seductive deep voice.
Antonia gave a surprised shriek and tried to move away but he held her against his body. She hadn’t expected to be able to feel anything for a man again but the strong muscle wall behind her made her feel safe and aroused.
She’d always put herself in dangerous situations for a story and for a second time she was paying the price. Every man who had come into the room had made her feel tense and on edge apart from Mr. Malinov. Maybe it was because he had already proved he could be trusted. Or maybe it was simply because he had impressed her by putting his life on the line to protect her.
Whatever it was, she couldn’t help feeling safe against him. He made her feel so small and fragile in his hold and to her surprise submissive after her spanking over his knee. She didn’t feel threatened or restrained in his arms, just safe. It was hard not to sink into it and just curl up in his embrace and allow him to protect her again. But her scolding inner voice was to rebuke her.
Get yourself together. What would he see in you anyway? You’ve been raped and are damaged goods.
She closed her eyes fighting to keep the tears at bay. There was such anger and ferocity in her inner voice it shook her. It left her feeling pathetic and hopeless. She glanced in the long mirror at the other end of the room catching a glimpse of her image. A strong feeling of anger and contempt washed over her. She was angry at herself for having allowed herself to be attacked. Now that inner voice she’d fought hard to contain and soften towards herself was stronger than ever. This part of herself blamed her for all the hurt and now it wanted to punish her for it.
“I hate you,” it whispered.
Antonia tried to move away from Gabriel in response but he held her still.
“I have to get out of here. Nothing is happening. I know Adalina will know something. I have to find her,” she told him trying to struggle free.
“Going it alone will get you killed. I know it is frustrating. I would rather be out there as well but until we get that phone working or get any new information we have nothing to go on.”
He was so close she could feel his breath caress her neck.
“Come on, you need to be lying down.”
“I don’t want to lie down again.”
“Sorry you don’t have any choice in the matter,” he said with humour in his tone.
Before she knew what was happening, he was slipping an arm under her legs and lifting her up easily into his arms.
“I am just going to get up again,” she snapped.
“And I will just keep putting you back to bed,” he said matter of factly.
He laid her down on top of the bed in her clothes but she was quick to sit up again. Gabriel grinned and put his arms either side of
