Our Victory

Chapter 24

Astrella pov

The following morning, Martina comes with a pile of clothing instead of her usual food. She hands it to me. "We're going to spend the day by the pool." she announces as an excited smile lights up her face.

In my shock, I manage to utter a single word. "How?"

"Dem agreed to let you out of your room with the condition that we'll have two of his scariest guards keeping watch over us. Abbott is an ex-MMA fighter who bit an ear off his opponent, and Clyde kind of looks like that guy in Game of Thrones who played the Mountain."

I place the clothes on the bed. "Haven't seen it, but that name alone paints a clear picture." Scary guards or not, the prospect of finally seeing something other than four cream-colored walls around me sounds like heaven. Not to mention it's an opportunity for me to look for possible escape routes. The longer Damiano avoids me, the more I worry about my fate. Why hasn't he come to see me in the past three days?

"I'll wait outside while you change." Martina says.

I dig through the bathing suits. They're all bikinis that look too small for me. I decide to pair a black bottom with a neon-green triangle top that covers a bit more than the other two options. There's no mirror for me to check my reflection, but I suspect it all looks a bit vulgar. With a sigh, I remove the old bandages from my wrists, tie a thin white cover-up around my waist, and walk up to the door. "Ready."

Martina takes a peek at me and gives me an encouraging smile. "You look great."

Tugging my top in place, I shoot a glare at the two guards standing just outside the door. They really are enormous, like two flesh-covered grizzly bears with scowls to match.

"Not getting into your bathing trunks?" I ask them.

Quickly, their expressions grow even more grim. The one with the shaved head addresses Martina. "Why is she wearing that?"

Martina purses her lips and adjusts her posture. "We're going to the pool."

It appears the guards weren't informed of that detail.

"That's not what Señor De Rossi approved." one of them says.

"He said she can come out of her room if the two of you are around us at all times."

"As long as she stays inside the house."

"The pool is a part of the house, isn't it?" Martina challenges, displaying a backbone I didn't realize she had. "It's completely walled off."

"That is not what your brother had in mind. You can't go there."

"My brother will be very upset to learn you prevented me from getting some sunshine." Martina says.

The guards look at each other. The quiet one's nostril's flare with an exhale. He turns to me. "You do anything sketchy, and we're taking you back here. One strike, and you're out."

"I take it you won't be joining us for a swim?" I ask, feigning innocence.

They ignore me and wave us forward.

On the first floor, past the living room's floor-to-ceiling windows is the pool. Martina slides one of them open, and I step over the threshold, immediately feeling the warmth of the sun on my skin. It's a glorious Ibizan day.

A few loungers are scattered just ahead of us, and Martina plops down on one of them. I'm too eager to enjoy my tiny slice of freedom to stay still, so I walk up to the edge of the pool and peer down. The bottom is covered in colorful patterned tiles. Balancing on one leg, I dip my right toe into the water. It's not cold, but cool enough to be refreshing.