A Treacherous King- Dark Mafia Romance

five

Maeve

Nadia invited me down for breakfast this morning. She had already laid my clothes out for the day, a light green sweater and jeans.

I wasn't really keen on the idea of seeing all the guests that possess this house so early in the morning, but Nadia informed me that the men were out taking care of some type of business dealings. She didn't offer up any other explanation.

Breakfast consisted of some type of pancakes, which tasted nothing like the ones that I was used to eating, and coffee. After breakfast, Nadia insisted on showing me the garden. I tried to conceal my excitement, but the idea of seeing the exterior of this place appealed to me.

The garden was unlike anything I'd ever seen. Hedges lined a stone pathway, leading to the gazebo I had seen through my window the night before. Tall shrubs were concealing what Nadia informed me was a maze within the back lawn. Flowers were blooming everywhere, their sweet succulent scents fill my senses.

We walk along the path, passing under a vine covered arch only to meet an intricate cast stone fountain. Nadia walks ahead of me and takes a seat on the edge of it as I sit next to her, the sounds of the trickling water calming me.

"What's his name?" I ask.

"Whose name?" Nadia asks, her brow furrowing.

"The man that owns this place, the one who is keeping me here against my will." I say sarcastically.

"Oh." She seems crestfallen. It's like she tries to avoid all mention of what's really going on here and when it's brought up, she sort of deflates. "Caine." She answers.

Caine. I roll his name around in my head. Nadia shifts uncomfortably like she just spilled a secret she had promised to keep.

"Is he, and well you and Simon, are you part of the mafia?" I ask. I'm not really sure how I came to the conclusion that these people were involved in the mafia, but somehow it just makes sense.

Nadia's smile is grim. "I was wondering how long it would take for you to figure it out." Her voice sounds almost sad.

"I don't understand how I have anything to do with...."

A phone rings somewhere in Nadia's pocket. She digs it out before I can finish my statement.

"I'm sorry. I have to take this." She answers the call and walks a ways down the pathway. I am trailing the tips of my fingers through the cool water from the fountain when she comes back.

"I am so sorry, but I have to go take care of something. I won't be back until later." She says.

I quickly stand up, my anxiety kicking up a notch. "You're leaving so soon?"

Nadia must notice my tension. She reaches for my hands and squeezes them.

"I have something for you." Nadia leads me back to the house and escorts me back to my room. She tells me to wait and comes back several moments later with a cell phone.

"It's a spare phone. It already has my number programmed into it, so please call me if you need anything. I wish I could stay, but there is something I must take care of." She squeezes me in a tight hug and rushes out of garden.

After Nadia leaves, I click the lock on my door just in case. Then I decide to nose around in the cell phone she gave me. Like she said, her name and number are saved in the contacts, along with a ton of unrecognizable names. I scroll down to find Simon's name and then reluctantly up to find the asshole's name. Caine. Sure enough, his number is saved in the contacts.

I wonder what he did with my cell phone? Probably dropped in the ocean on the plane ride over here. Keeping my phone would be a liability. If someone were to look for me they would be able to track my location.