The gothic gown fits me like a glove, sailing down my body until the hem is gently grazing the stone beneath my feet. The neckline plunges down between my breasts with a flimsy piece of material holding it together and keeping my tits from spilling out, but the plunging neckline has nothing on the back … or lack thereof. It sails right down to my ass, and if I were any shorter, I’m positive that my whole ass would be hanging out.
My gaze flicks back to Levi’s and he takes a step back, his dead eyes scanning over the subtle curve of my body and taking me in, but his face doesn’t change. He gives absolutely nothing away, and just like that, he turns on his heel and stalks toward the cell door.
“Move,” he demands, not bothering to look back, assuming that I will follow him blindly, but what choice has he really given me? I can either stay here in a fucking haunted cell, or I can follow him, getting a brief understanding of the property’s layout and hopefully learning a little something about why the fuck I’m here. So without another second of hesitation, my bare feet drag along the cold stone and I move my fucking ass.
Levi’s strides are wide, making it nearly impossible to keep up with him, but I do my best while keeping myself far enough away to make a run for it if I see an opportunity, but something tells me that an opportunity like that isn’t going to fall into my lap. Besides, judging by the size of him, he’d be able to catch me within moments.
If I’m going to try and escape, then I have to be smart about it, and running rampant around their home, having absolutely no idea where I’m going doesn’t exactly classify me as the sharpest tool in the shed.
Levi leads me through a dark tunnel-like hallway, dimly lit by small pendant lamps that send waves of yellow light flowing around them, but it doesn’t go far. The walkway looks like it comes straight out of some twisted medieval torture chamber. It’s fucking creepy as shit. Maybe this really is an old castle that they’ve got me in.
Just fucking perfect. A castle is exactly what I need. This place probably comes fully equipped with a million different rooms, a hundred kitchens, a thousand bathrooms, and the perfect murder chamber laid out to each of their specifications. Even if I did decide to run, I’d be lost within seconds.
We come to a big wooden door with thick, black hinges keeping it locked, and I watch as Levi grabs hold of it and gives it a hard tug, his muscles rolling through his suit, telling me just how fucking heavy this door is. If a guy like Levi struggles with it, then I have no chance in hell.
He glances back at me before nodding through the open door, silently telling me to get a move on. Holding my head high, I walk past him and a chill sails right down my spine. He closes the heavy door behind us and indicates for me to walk ahead of him.
The tunnel is dark enough as it is but having him behind me where I can’t watch his every single move? It’s the most nerve-racking thing I’ve ever experienced.
We approach a narrow set of concrete stairs and I slowly make my way up them, being careful with each steep step. Levi quickly catches up to me and his hand presses against my lower back. If he were a gentleman, I’d assume he was trying to keep me from falling, but the way he presses against my back tells me that he just wants me to hurry the fuck up.
Natural light shines at the top of the stairs and it has me moving a little faster. Natural light means that I’m almost on the main floor of the building, and surely there’s a million different options to escape. Hell, I’ll even throw myself out a window or scale my way up the chimney of an old fireplace if that’s what it takes. Knowing my luck, the bastards would probably just light the fucker and laugh as the flames licked closer and closer to my ass.
I reach the top step and I don’t miss the way that Levi begins to hover closer. His hand doesn’t move from my back as we walk through a wide opening with magnificent marble floors. It looks fucking expensive, and my gaze instantly begins shuffling through the wide space.
There’s huge floor to ceiling windows built into what looks like some kind of fancy sandstone walls, and I find myself wondering again if this really is an old castle. The space is empty and I can almost imagine it being filled with hundreds of people. Women in fancy ball gowns with fake smiles, struggling to breathe in their corsets gowns while men in ridiculous penguin suits court them around the room. It could be like a scene out of Pride and Prejudice, but my reality is anything but.
Levi pushes me discreetly through the property with one hand, and as we exit the giant ballroom, we move on to yet another hallway paved in the same exquisite marble floor. Haunting windows create enough light that even the hall glows brightly despite the late hour.
We bypass a number of rooms, some that look lived in and others cluttered with old furniture covered in white, dusty sheets. “What the hell is this place?” I murmur, unsure if I’m just musing to myself or actually seeking out a response, though it doesn’t matter because he doesn’t offer me one anyway.
We walk and wind through random rooms and I can’t help the feeling that he’s leading me on a wild goose chase, trying to get me lost so that I don’t learn my way around. But the second I smell a delicious roast wafting through the old building, every last direction falls from my mind.
I’m starving. I’d do just about anything for a meal, but that doesn’t mean that I’m about to trust any food given to me by the DeAngelis brothers.
I’m doomed to starve.
“Through here,” Levi mutters behind me, indicating to his right.
I turn to face the large double doors, and as I step toward them, they open wide, revealing the final two DeAngelis brothers leaning back in their chairs around a massive dining table. Wicked grins stretch across their faces, more than ready to fuck with my fragile mind.
4
The dining room is as grand as they come, and as my gaze quickly sails around, I come to the conclusion that we’re definitely in an old castle. There's no other way to describe this place. It's like something out of a Halloween movie designed to fit their every whim.
Low hanging chandeliers hover above the massive oak dining table that’s big enough to seat at least thirty people. Gorgeous, gold-trimmed chairs line the big table and I stare in shock, feeling as though I’ve just walked into a scene from a movie. These are the sons of the most powerful mafia boss in the country. They probably wipe their asses with gold sheets.
Oversized windows line the room, showcasing the magnificently manicured gardens lit with strategically placed spotlights as the evening sun drifts lower in the sky.
Levi strides past me as I hover awkwardly in the open doorway. The need to turn on my heels and run sparks low in my nervous stomach, but I think about the maze of halls we've been wandering through with hesitation. “Don’t even think about it, Empress,” a low, rumbling tone comes from across the room.
I follow the sound to meet Roman’s hard stare. He’s fucking gorgeous. They all are. There’s no other way to put it.
Roman leans back in his seat in an impeccable suit, exuding the cocky confidence that comes with wealth. When I first saw them in my dingy apartment, they hid in the shadows, covered by black hoodies and their cryptic silence. It was nearly impossible to see the sharp edges of their jawlines or just how defined their massive bodies really are. But here, standing before their judgmental stares, they can't hide from me anymore. Though the same could be said for me.