My aunt used to do that. She’d call everyone babe so she never had to remember anyone’s name or look stupid when she couldn’t recall one. It’s something that has always stuck with me. So much so that I make an effort to always remember everyone’s name.
I shuffle through the clothes to check the tags on them. They’re all in my size. I walk over to the shoes and pick one up to see they’re also my size. Everything looks beautiful. More beautiful than any clothes I’ve ever touched before. Maybe that’s why I haven’t heard from him in a few weeks. He was probably getting my little prison ready for me. Maybe even kicking out the last girl who was in here. If there was someone else here before me, there has to be a trace of her. Right?
Leaving the closet, I walk toward the bathroom. Everything is pure white and covered in marble. Double sinks are set in the center of the far wall off. One of them is a vanity, and I walk over to it, opening the drawers. It’s filled with makeup and perfumes and a few things that I don’t recognize. I open some of the boxes and they all look brand new. Next I go over to the giant shower and look in. I freeze when I see the strawberry shampoo and conditioner there. I use strawberry shampoo and conditioner, but it’s the store brand. It’s far from anything fancy and looks out of place here.
Exiting the bathroom, I go for the nightstand. I start with the one that has books sitting on it. I walk over and pick them up, freezing when I see they are by my favorite author. I don’t have a ton of books because I can’t afford them, so most of the time I just reread my favorites. Setting the book back down with care, I open the nightstand, but it’s empty inside. I make my way over to the other one, but it’s empty, too. This room almost feel like it’s never been used before. Everything in here seems new, or maybe he just has really good cleaners.
Glancing around, my eyes go to the thick gold drapes. I rush over toward them and pull them back. They feel like they weigh more than me as I move them along the bar to get them out of the way. A balcony. I grab the door handle, but it doesn’t open. Frustrated, I pull a little harder, but still nothing. I look down and see a keyhole. It’s an antique lock, like one where you’d normally just leave the key in it at all times.
I want to throw myself on the bed and stay there, with no intention of getting ready for wherever he wants me to go. I have no idea where I’m coming up with the balls to poke a kingpin, but maybe it’s because I feel like I have nothing to lose. Or maybe a part of me knows he isn’t going to hurt me and I want to push a little. Then a forbidden thought creeps in and I remember his dirty threat to spank me. I try to push away the memory, but that one won’t leave me. I shouldn’t trust him. Just like I shouldn’t have let him take me so easily today. Or felt relief when I opened my door and saw him.
I seriously have no survival skills.
My rambling thoughts stop when I notice a door that Salvatore didn’t mention. I walk around the bed toward it, wondering if maybe it’s another way out. Not that I could escape even if I got out of this room. But like always, curiosity gets the best of me and I have to know what’s behind it.
When I turn the knob, the door opens, and excitement flutters through me. Slowly I peek my head inside. When I see what it is, I swing the door open and step in. It’s a baby’s room. The room is decorated in a zoo animal theme. The bottom of the wall is painted to look like a jungle, and the top is a blue sky with birds flying around. The room is set up like at any moment a baby is going to fill it. It has everything it might need. I spin around, taking it all in. A crib, bassinet, changing table, swing, even a car seat sits in the corner.
“Oh my god.” He has a baby. Then it hits me. Maybe he even has a wife. It’s like a punch to the stomach. All the air leaves my lungs. I don’t know why I never thought about that. I can’t recall if I saw a ring on his finger, but maybe he’s one of those husbands who doesn’t wear one. I’m not sure why I find this so shocking or why it’s cutting me so deep. My hand goes to my mouth where he kissed me, and I swear I can still feel him there.
It becomes clear to me now why I’m here. Why I probably work so well to suit his needs. He wants me to be his mistress. To be kept away and no one will ever find out about me. His dirty little secret. For all I know his wife even lives in the house and I’m just in a separate wing. The house looks big enough for that to be possible. Why does that thought disgust me more than when I saw him kill a man?
Chapter 7
Salvatore
When I walk back into the room, I find Thea on the bed with her head in her hands. When she hears me enter, she looks up and there is pain and anger all over her face. I close the door behind me and take a step toward her, wondering who could have hurt her in the short time I was away.