Bound to the Crime Lord (Dark Mafia Tales #2)

Chapter 26

Chapter Twenty-Six

Juliette POV

I felt something cool hit my forehand and I groaned. My muscles ached all over, and my head felt like it had two bulldozers ramming into the sides of my skull.

My bearings were completely off and I had no idea where the hell I was. All I could feel was something lumpy underneath my body, and then the coolness of what I presumed was a towel of some sort on my head.

I could hear the faint dripping of water off in the distance, like a leaking faucet of some kind.

I blinked, my vision slowly coming into focus, and then I was met with kind caramel eyes from above. A cold towel pressed onto my forehead again, effectively cooling my heated skin. The coolness was welcomed, but the memories of what had occurred leading up to wherever I was hounded my thoughts.

I went to move my hand but the motion pinched my skin and caused me a great deal of pain.

What in the world…?

I looked down at my body to find that not only were my wrists bound together, but my ankles as well. Thankfully, I was still in my scrubs, which meant that no one had undressed me. That was a relief, at least.

When I tried to move again, a pair of aged hands came over my wrists stopping my movements. I trailed my eyes from the wrists, up the arms to meet those same kind eyes that I had woken to.

“Don’t, you’ll hurt yourself,” her gentle voice commanded me. “The knot is designed to tighten the more you pull on it.”

My head pounded when I tried to move it to the side, and the woman above me cupped the sides of my face. It was then that I noticed just how hot my surroundings were. My body dropped with perspiration, and my entire body felt dehydrated and worn down.

Whatever those assholes had injected into me, it had one hell of an after-effect.

From what I could tell, I was in some kind of concrete room that smelled like wet rocks. My back rested on a mattress that smelt like mildew and retirement home.

My eyes then moved back to the woman who still had her hands cupped around my face.

“Let me help you sit up,” she said with a small, kind smile on her lips.

She helped me to sit up against the wall. She made sure that my back was upright the correct way, so I wasn’t compressing my spine too much.

“Whe… where am I?” My voice was incredibly hoarse. It felt like I had swallowed rusted nails.

“You’re in Guadalajara,” she said softly. “You were brought here last night by his men. I’ve been tending to you since.”

The old lady turned and picked up a bottle of water and held it to my lips. At first, when I made no attempt to drink it, she drew the top to her lips and took a generous sip.

“It’s not poison. I would not hurt you.” The sincerity in her eyes was what got me.

I allowed her to give me the water and took long and generous gulps of the cold water. My system welcomed the refreshment, feeling more alive and alert with each molecule of water.

Maybe it was na?ve of me to trust someone I had only met after being kidnapped. She was either a very good actress, or an angel in human form.

The only time I had ever seen such kind eyes was…

I ripped my lips from the bottle. My quick movements shocked her a little, but she quickly corrected her features and closed the now empty bottle.

I stared at her like I had seen a ghost. But then again, she was technically a ghost. Her own son had believed her to be dead all these years.

Her brown hair had greyed some, and her face was etched with gentle lines that indicated the years she had lived. And yet her beauty still remained. That was what happened when you had a good heart. Your beauty radiated from within and shone outwardly.

“I know you.” I could not believe that I had met her here, in captivity, of all places. “Rosa? You’re Rosa Gomez.”

She turned away from me and dipped the towel back in the bowl of cold water. “I haven't been called that in many, many years.”

“Don't you remember me? I went on a medical trip to aid your people in your village about five years ago. You called my bonita every time I walked in the reception.”

She turned her head to look at me more closely. Her aged eyes moved across my features until the realization dawned on her. “Oh my God, Juliette?”

I nodded. “It’s me, Rosa.”

She threw her arms around me and pulled me into her. She clung onto me the way a mother would her child, and for a split second, I forgot I was being held captive by some crazy lunatic gang.

She pulled away with tears brimming in her eyes. “What are you doing here? Why has Diego taken you?”

“Diego? Who is Diego?”

Her shoulders sagged. “He is the leader of The Triad, and a very, very lost boy.”

What did she mean by lost boy?

“Lost boy?”

She nodded sadly. “He’s been through much pain. Some of which I caused.”

What was she on about?

“How are you here, Juliette? You’re not a part of a gang, are you?”

I shook my head. “No, I’m not. Well, yes and no.”

Her eyebrows pulled together.

“Your son. I work for your son, Manuel.”

Her lips parted and released an audible gasp. “Wha… what? How… how do you know Manuel?”

“It’s a long story, but he’s here, in Mexico, looking for you. He heard about the treachery that happened all those years ago, and when he learned you were alive, he decided to come and find you.”

Tears brimmed her eyes. I had no idea if it was sadness, relief, or fear that she wept for. Maybe it was all of the above.

“He’s here?” There was this distant kind of look in her eyes. “Manuel is in Mexico?”

I nodded. “I have no idea why The Triads wants me, but Manuel will find us, and he will come and rescue us.”

She opened her mouth to speak, but she quickly shut it when we heard some rattling from the door.

The door creaked open, and a heavy footstep strained the wood underneath it. Rosa trembled with fear rattling through her body like a rippling wave. She quickly blinked away the tears and schooled her features to show no emotion.

A tall man dressed in black slacks and a black button-down stood at the door, staring down at me on the mattress. My muscles still ached from where the needle had pierced my skin, so I had to brace my head against the concrete wall to look at his face.

“ Hola, chica .” His deep voice filled the room. “Rosa, give us a moment, please.”

“Don't anger him. Do what he says,” she muttered under her breath before she got up and bowed to him. “Of course.”

Rosa scurried out of the room, but not before throwing me a worried glance that told me she wanted me to heed her warnings. The woman I remembered all those years ago was a far cry from the woman I had just interacted with.

The man stepped into the building with a devilish grin that reminded me of a demon. His brown eyes looked blacker than they did brown, and his entire demeanor just screamed villain.

“I’m sorry for all this… fuss, but I knew that you would never come to me willingly and, well, here we are.” He looked around the dingy room. “I should have gotten you more comfortable quarters, seeing as you are my honored guest. Forgive me, that was an oversight on my part.”

“Who the hell are you?” My words were meant to carry indignation and anger, but my body was still waking up from whatever drug they had given me.

“Oh, where are my manners?” The man came to stand right in front of me right before he crouched down into his haunches. His eyes moved over my face as if he was taking mental notes of all my features. “I can see why he’s quite taken with you. You are gorgeous, Juliette. A true diamond, if I do say so myself.”

The easy smile slipped from his lips and in its place came a disgusted snare. He grabbed my chin roughly and forced me to look at him.

“Oh, Manuel,” he spat. “Always had a knack for taking everything. Hmm, how about I take you for myself, amor ?”

I ripped my chin from his iron grip, but my movements were far too brash and quick. I ended up hitting my head on the concrete, adding to the dizziness.

“Don't touch me.”

“Feisty,” he grinned like an utter and total creep. “I can see why he took a liking to you. My brother likes things that fight back. It keeps things interesting enough for him.”

“What?” My eyes went so wide I thought for a second they would fall out of their sockets.

“Oh, Rosa didn’t tell you? I guess she isn’t as big of a gossip as I thought she was.”

I waited for him to continue speaking, but my eyes roamed his face.

“My name is Diego Gomez, your lover’s older brother. Pleased to make your acquaintance.”

I blinked.

The room fell deadly silent, the only thing that could be heard the dripping of the water.

“What?”

“Surprised? You thought you got the better-looking brother? Sorry to disappoint, Juliette. But no matter, you will be mine in name and body soon enough.” He observed my face like one would a painting. He scrutinized every single aspect of my features, taking his time to do so. When he was content with what he saw, he sighed dramatically and lifted to his feet.

He peered down at me like one would a wounded puppy. “It’s a shame you met him first. I would have made a far better lover. He’s shit in bed, isn’t he? You don’t have to lie to me.”

Before I could even respond to what he said, he drew his hand back and punched me in my face. My head bobbed back and hit the concrete, adding another blow to my skull. My body dropped to the floor, my vision coming in and out of focus.

A loud ringing filled my ears, making it even harder to focus on what he was saying. It was like I was underwater. All the words were muffled, and my vision refused to come into focus.

I lifted my gaze and saw the devilish face of Diego. Just as my vision turned black, I noticed a hungry kind of evil. It was the kind of stare that could cool hellfire.

The last thing I remember thinking was Manuel, and praying that somehow, someway, he’d find us and save us from this hell-hole as soon as possible.