Finding Beauty in the Darkness - Nikki Ash Page 0,20

comforting brown eyes that remind me of my mother. She patiently smiles at me and my heart craves the love of my mom.

Ignoring the pain, I sit up to give her a hug, hoping her touch will feel like my mom’s. Her being here is the first sense of hope I’ve had that I will finally be free…or at least safe. After a few minutes of crying in her arms while she simply hugs me without saying a word, I hear the door open, causing me to jump back.

Giovanni walks in, no longer in his suit but in a pair of sweatpants and a shirt that make him look just as alluring as the suit does but in a completely different way. This man screams power no matter what he’s wearing.

They ask me some questions and I’m shocked to learn Weston has been holding me captive for close to nine months. In less than two months I’ll be turning twenty-one. It felt like I was in the basement for so much longer and to think Weston would have been holding me there for another year, until I turn twenty-two, send shivers straight down my spine.

“Giovanni, can you give us some privacy, so I can check out Aria, please?” Dr. Fox asks. He doesn’t appear to be thrilled about leaving me alone, but he gets up and walks out and into what looks like an extension of his room. Maybe a sitting room? I’m not sure. She hands me a mug and I take a large sip. It’s cold water and it feels soothing going down my throat.

“Can you tell me what hurts?” she queries.

I put the now empty mug back on the nightstand. “My face. I think my ribs are broken, my stomach is aching, and I’m bleeding heavily from my vagina.”

She gives me another soft smile and I appreciate the fact that she doesn’t look at me with pity.

“Giovanni, come here, please,” she requests.

He walks back into the room. “Everything okay?”

“I’m going to need some equipment. Can you have one of your men bring me the equipment from my trunk, please?”

After Giovanni leaves, Dr. Fox helps me remove Giovanni’s jacket and hands me the clothes that are next to the bed. “Go ahead and slip this shirt on for now. I want to check you out before you put on your shorts, though.”

“Okay, thank you.”

She gently helps me slip the shirt on over my head.

Giovanni knocks once before walking in, and following him inside the room are the three men who work for him, carrying several pieces of medical equipment. “Aria, in case you don’t remember. This is Rome…” He points to a good-looking, dark-haired man who is slightly less built than Giovanni and a few years younger but just as handsome. “…and Johnny.”

The man I recognize as Giovanni’s driver tilts his head up. He’s carrying a piece of what looks like heavy equipment. His biceps are bulging out with veins running downward. His hair is a light brown and longer than the other men. It’s slicked back but not greasy. His eyes are a beautiful shade of icy blue and he’s sporting a neatly trimmed beard. I must be appraising Johnny too long because Giovanni makes a noise in the back of his throat, which causes the guy he hasn’t formally introduced me to yet, to laugh.

“This is Caesar,” Giovanni finishes, his words coming out harsher than before.

“If you need anything, please let me know,” Caesar says as he sets down the medical bag he’s holding and steps over to me, taking my hand in his and giving the top of my knuckles a soft kiss. I flinch from his touch, but I don’t pull back.

While Giovanni, Johnny, and Rome all look like men straight out of the Godfather, Caesar gives off a more playful approach. His hair is jet black and curly, and his face is clean shaven making him appear younger than the others. They all have faint accents, which if I had to guess are Italian, but they all speak English perfectly.

Caesar’s kiss lingers for a few seconds before Giovanni growls out, “Okay, set the equipment down and get back to work.”

The three men all chuckle but do as he says. It’s obvious that while they work for Giovanni, they are all friends on some level.

“While you are here, if you need anything. you come to me first. But if I’m not available, you can go to any of those three men. You can trust