Captive of My Heart | Ch 1

“I’m a dead woman walking,” Aella Torrisi thought, glancing at the gold watch wrapped around her dainty wrist while strolling out of the building that’d held her hostage for the past fourteen hours. She’d planned to clock out at least two hours prior, but the perfectionist in her wouldn’t allow it. Not with as many whispers that floated around the building about her securing her position because of nepotism.

True, Aged Creek Whiskey had been partially founded by her family eons ago. And one of her however many great grandparents founded Torrisi Corp, the company dedicated to ensuring their brand stayed as profitable as possible. However, she’d fought for the CEO of marketing position tooth and nail and despised that it appeared otherwise.

Not that she should have cared about the opinions of others anyway. Especially when she knew those words would never be spoken to her face.

Glancing at her watch again, Aella groaned, thinking about the impending lecture she was sure to receive from her father for being late. He’d requested she be present for an impromptu meeting that’d begun thirty minutes ago. It would take her at least another twenty to get back to the estate. Although it could be argued that her delay was due to a lack of proper notice, Aella knew how poorly it looked for her not to be in attendance. If roles were reversed, she’d be annoyed, too.

Her heels clicked against the pavement as Aella picked up her pace, moving toward her car. When she was nearly halfway there, a chill whipped through the air, raising the hairs on the back of her neck. Wrapping her arms around herself, Aella’s head swiveled. Her eyes narrowed as she squinted at the darkness, trying to catch a glimpse of a figure moving in the dark. There was nothing there, but she couldn’t block out the nauseating feeling that someone was watching her.

Fear snaked through her, gripping her like a vice. Forcing herself to keep moving, Aella dropped one of her arms, and reached into her bag for the small pistol she always kept on her person. Her last name struck feel into some of the hardest of hearts, but that didn’t mean someone wouldn’t try her. Operating around that fear had become as normal as breathing. It was the life she’d been born into—her reality. There was no escaping it.

Relief flooded her as her vehicle finally came into view. She had just a few more steps to go. And then…

“Do you know how much of an easy target you are?”

“Goddamn it!” She shrieked, whirling around.

The security detail/best friend turned brother she’d never asked for towered over her, giving her a lazy grin she wanted to slap from his face.

“Have you lost your damn mind!” Pulling her hand from her purse, she punched one of his massive biceps. “You scared the hell out of me. Why do you move so damn quietly? And what are you doing here?”

“You, of all people, know they don’t call me Smoke for nothing, Big Head. And your father sent me to see what the holdup was.”

Aella wasn’t surprised. If anything, she was shocked it’d taken this long for him to send someone to check on her. Typically, she had round-the-clock detail. Work was the only place she traveled to and from without someone watching her every move. And that was because of the bond she and Smoke built over the years. He trusted her not to get herself into something stupid and to call him at the first sign of trouble, and in turn allowed her the space and freedom she desired when necessary.

Her father had been pissed when he found out, but over time grew to understand just how smothered Aella felt by her lifestyle and begrudgingly allowed their agreement to continue. However, he wouldn’t hesitate to send Smoke looking for Aella if necessary. As evidenced by his arrival.

Licking her lips, Aella asked, “How upset is he?”

“Nowhere near as pissed as you’re going to be when you get home.”

One of her eyebrows quickly shot into the air with her following question. “Why? What’s going on?

***

Glancing lazily at her fresh, ombre nails, Aella didn’t bother to spare any of the dangerous, high-ranking men in the room as she uttered a very firm, “No.”

To her left, Cassius Farina released a very subtle snort. “I told you.”

“Elle,” her father hadn’t raised his voice, but the solemn tone in which he spoke left no room for confusion. Severo Torrisi wanted her attention. And he wanted it immediately.

Reluctantly raising her gaze to meet his, Aella fought the urge to roll her eyes.

“I know the situation isn’t ideal, love,” Severo’s tone softened toward her. But it is one of importance. You and your sister aren’t children anymore. I can’t keep eyes on you everywhere you go. There are men willing to do whatever to get me to bend to their whims. As the oldest, all of this will belong to you when I step down and—”

Her temper went from mild to blistering in a matter of seconds. She’d made it clear over time she wanted nothing to do with inheriting her father’s legacy, only to continuously be ignored.

“But I never wanted this,” Aella spat venomously, digging her nails into her palm. “I didn’t ask for any of this.”

“You think I did?” Cassius cut in.

Whipping her head in his direction, Aella admired the smooth, raven skin of the striking gentleman seated beside her. He was dressed simply in sweatpants and a t-shirt that clung to his broad chest and thick arms. Tattoos covered both hands and his right arm. His hair was cut neatly, with waves spinning in every direction. And despite his broody demeanor, Cassius possessed hypnotic chocolate eyes you could easily get lost in.

Although their families traveled in the same circles, the two hadn’t had the pleasure of meeting face to face until now. Under different circumstances, she might have been willing to give him the ride of his life.

Aella’s anger, however, staunched her lust.

“I never said that,” Aella retorted. “But you damn sure don’t seem as resistant to this as I am.”

“Because my son knows the importance of duty and family,” Cassius’ father, Armond, said, having been silent until that moment.  As annoyed as she was by his presence, it was to be expected. She was halfway surprised the third member of the faction, Antonio Cavataio, wasn’t present.

Her scoff couldn’t be contained as she addressed Armond’s statement. “Right. I’m sure whatever payment my father has offered in exchange for this has nothing to do with it,” her eyes darted to Eric, one of her father’s security guards, who’d been around so long he was more of an uncle to her. “Did you know about this?”

“Hey now,” he held up his hands. “This was your daddy’s doing, Baby Girl.”

“And you couldn’t have given me—”

“Elle,” Severo called sharply. “That’s enough.”

Unable to keep her temper at bay any longer, Aella used the arms of her chair to push herself to her feet.

“That’s enough?” She repeated, eyes ablaze. “I haven’t even gotten started. I can’t believe you summoned me to your office to suggest I tie myself to a stranger for the rest of my life based on some unfounded fear about someone potentially coming after me. And you thought I would be okay with this?”

“Sweetheart, I don’t like it either. Things would certainly be different if I had a son, but—”

“But instead, you were cursed with daughters to inherit the throne you’ve built,” Aella sneered. “Lucky us.”

Severo slammed his palms against the oak desk so violently that Aella nearly jumped out of her skin. Her father very rarely lost her temper with her or her sister, so his display of rage unnerved her. For his anger to rise so quickly meant something was wading below the surface of his otherwise calm demeanor.

Taking in the dimple in the center of his forehead, just above creased worry lines, and the twitch of his temple, Aella realized he was on edge.

“The situation isn’t ideal. We all know that. But it’ll keep you protected. With our families combined resources, it’d be a hell of a lot harder for someone to penetrate its defenses than it would if it were just one.”

Folding her arms, Aella studied her father intensely. “What aren’t you telling me?”

“Nothing. Everything is fine.”

“Daddy, clearly—”

“Elle, what did I say?”

“I—”

“Someone put out a contract on you,” Cassius answered coolly.

Aella’s blood ran cold as she dropped her arms, turning to him. “What?”

“Cass,” Severo growled, teeth gritted. “I made it clear that—”

Cassius returned Severo’s glare without remorse as he interrupted the older gentleman. “You dragged me here without warning for a rushed, pop-up meeting, to ask me to marry your daughter to help protect her and, on the back end, to combine our families’ resources. I don’t like it, but I understand and see the business potential, so I’m willing to bite the bullet and do it. But I won’t lie or hide anything from her. Especially about something like this. She’s not a child, nor is she stupid.”

A sense of admiration flooded Aella at how Cassius defended her. At least someone in the room had a shred of respect for her. Forcing herself to turn away from him, she focused on her father.

“Daddy, what is he talking about?”

Clearing his throat, Armond answered instead of Severo. “Your father and I have spoken several times this year about our fear of someone attempting to using our children means to get to us. We put out word that if there was so much as a whisper of something happening regarding our kids, we’d pay handsomely for the information to be brought to us first.”

“The contracted job wasn’t a hit, thank God,” Severo continued. “But a kidnapping. God only knows who wanted you or what they would have done to you while awaiting a ransom or whatever the hell they wanted, but it opened my eyes, Elle. Despite my cautiousness, they’ll always be a fool willing to try his hand.”

Shock, then fear briefly took hold as she thought back to the earlier eerie feeling that someone had been watching her.

“And you think a man,” the word dripped from Aella’s full lips with annoyance and disgust. “Is a solution to the problem?”

“I think that a marriage and securing Cassius as my son-in-law, who will take over when I step down, takes the heat from you to him. You and your sister will always be taken care of. The pre-marital agreement will, without a doubt, see to that.”

Tears blurred Aella’s eyes as she listened to her father speak about her as if she were nothing more than an asset to be traded. She’d always understood the dangers of having a crime boss as a father. Especially one as notorious as hers. Yet, she never thought she’d see the day when their lives would collide in such an irreparable way.

“There has to be another way,” she replied stubbornly, her hands resting on her hips. “Something that isn’t so archaic or cruel.”

“There are worse men than me, Aella,” Cassius’ electrifying baritone ripped through the room.

Sniffling, she straightened her shoulders, refusing to show vulnerability. “I’m sure there are. And none of this is meant to offend you. I don’t doubt that plenty of women are beating down your door for the opportunity to be with you, but I won’t be one of them.” With that, she turned her eyes to her father. “Find another way.”

“Elle.”

“I said find another way. Because I'm not getting married.” She blurted, fleeing from the room before any of the men noticed she’d lost control of her emotions. However, her escape wasn’t as clean as she thought, and it wasn’t long before a comforting voice reached her ears.

“Underneath all that brattiness, you know your father doesn’t mean any harm. He only wants what’s best for you.”

Wiping her face free of tears, Aella turned to face him. “Yeah, well, he has a funny way of showing it. Selling me the highest bidder doesn’t feel like what’s best for me.”

Chuckling, Eric pulled her into a warm hug. “You know damn well that’s not what this is. Your father loves you too much not to vet the man he chose to set you up with.”

“I don’t want to be set up with anyone.”

“This is the life you were born into, Love. You’ve always known that.”

“Knowing it and liking it are two different things,” Aella sniffed, pulling herself out of his embrace.

“Just keep an open mind. Things may turn out better than you think.”

“I won’t hold my damn breath,” she muttered, shaking her head. “Please talk to him and get me out of this mess as you always do.”

“I’ll try. Can’t make any promises.”

“Thank you. You’re the best uncle a girl could have when you aren’t conspiring against me behind my back.”

Eric’s laughter followed Aella as she fumbled down the hall to her sister’s bedroom door. Turning the knob, she pushed open the door, swiftly closing it behind her.

“Hey, girly,” Ilaria sang, poking her head out of her closet. “You’re just who I needed to see. I—” she broke off, noticing Aella’s distress. Dropping the clothing in her hand, she rushed over to her sister, wrapping her in her arms. “What’s wrong?”

“Your father has lost his fucking mind.”

“What happened?” Ilaria urged.

As the two made themselves comfortable on the bed, Aella relayed all the details of the disastrous meeting to her sister, including its reason.

“Fuck,” Ilaria pushed a hand through her thick hair. “That’s…a lot.”

Sniffling, Aella wiped her face. “And he expects to what? Bow down and go along with this stupid-ass agreement like an obedient puppy? Tie myself to some random man and throw away my life plans because he said so?”

“As much as I hate playing devil’s advocate…”

“Don’t, Ria.”

“Elle, I understand you’re upset. But we can’t pretend that we didn’t know this could be an eventuality. Especially for you. Daddy couldn’t have made a boy if you paid him.”

Aella laughed, thinking about their estranged half-sister, who shared a different mother.

“I don’t have to be happy about it just because we knew it might happen. What if I meet a man and fall in love?”

Ilaria folded her legs so they were crisscrossed. “Who’s to say that if this marriage happens, you won’t fall in love with your husband?”

That pulled a hearty laugh from Aella’s gut. “Yeah, right. I don’t even know him.”

“Well, if you marry him, you’ll have a lot of time to get to know him. You might like him more than you expect.”

“That’s not happening, Ria. Even talking about it out loud even sounds crazy. This isn’t what I pictured or wanted for myself.”

“Is he at least cute?”

“He’s a’ight,” Aella downplayed Cassius’ appeal. “I’ve seen better.”

Reading her sister like a book, Ilaria chuckled. “Right. You’re in distress right now, so I won’t call you out on your shit, but we’ll revisit at a later date.”

Aella sighed deeply, stretched out on the bed, and cuddled a pillow. Elongating her limbs, Ilaria did the same, resting her hand on her sister’s shoulder before addressing the more pressing topic.

“Are you scared, Elle? Not about Cassius but the reason why. The kid...” she trailed off, unable to continue her sentence.

If it were anyone else asking, Aella wouldn’t have admitted it.

“I’m terrified, Ria. But giving up freedom to erase fear isn’t something I think I can do.”

“Then you better start working on a backup plan, sis. Because, similar to you, Daddy isn’t one to back down without a fight. And as much as I hate to back him in this situation, I’d gladly be content with whatever keeps me from losing you.”

“You’re not going to lose me, Ria,” Aella sighed wistfully, blinking slowly. “I'll figure something out. Something that won't involve me losing myself.”