A Billion Vendettas
By: Jessa YorkThe Cornicello horn.
The Italian charm that was supposed to bring good luck, and fertility.
Apparently, it gave us neither.
I’d given her an exquisite diamond necklace—but, she’d demurely asked if she could wear this one instead.
My woman was about as romantic as they came.
I picked up her necklace, and got blood on my hands while I did it.
Eve’s blood.
It had to be.
“Fucking, Castaneda. I’m going to kill that son of a bitch,” I hollered out, promising to the universe that I’d do exactly that.
3
Eve
* * *
“Buckle up, princesa,” I heard a strange, deep voice say. My eyes immediately popped open to see Maxim Castaneda standing over me.
Shock ran through my body, and I struggled to regain my bearings.
Kidnapped.
Again.
Crap.
I felt the distinctive movements of the plane decelerating.
My fingers fumbled around for my seat belt, and I clumsily snapped it together.
I was still halfway in dreamland.
A dream where Nick, and I were dancing at our wedding.
He’d been gazing down at me as though he were the luckiest man on Earth.
And I’d been practically floating in his arms.
I looked out the window to see a dark, night sky.
Absolutely no clues as to where we were.
The lights on the wings of the plane were blinking, preparing for a landing.
I held onto the arms of the seat and crossed my fingers.
“Ricardo is an excellent pilot. You needn’t cross your fingers for luck,” Maxim said mockingly.
I turned my head toward him. “I’m not having the luckiest of days. So, I’ll do what I want, thanks.”
He threw his head back and laughed.
Again, it reminded me so much of how my husband laughed, it wasn’t even funny. “Now, I know why my brother cares so much for you. It’s not just for your tits, and ass—you’re entertaining, too.”
When he’d called Nick his ‘brother,’ I wanted to slap him across the face.
He was no brother to Nick.
A brother wouldn’t kidnap his sister-in-law.
Twice.
The plane lowered again, and my stomach squeezed at the movement.
“Why are you so nervous? Do you think I’d hire a bad pilot to fly me around?”
I stared at him for a second while I chose my words carefully. “I don’t know what you’d do, Max. You just kidnapped me—again. And on my wedding day of all days. You’ll have to try real hard to understand how I might have trust issues with you.”
Again, he laughed.
Just like Nick.
Crap.
He wiped at his eyes, and said, “I can’t remember when I’ve laughed this much. You need to relax, and enjoy the ride. I will eventually take you back home to your husband.”
My heart leaped at his words.
Words I knew I couldn’t trust.
“You don’t believe me?” he asked, his eyebrows high on his forehead. His expression looked genuinely shocked.
“Why would I believe a word you say? I don’t even know why you’ve kidnapped me. Either time.”
A wicked smile spread across his face that made my stomach turn. “Ah, venganza, mi princesa,” he said, then paused, “Vengence. I have a vendetta or two with my brother that I’ve long been waiting to rectify.”
“I still don’t know what that has to do with me.”
The plane lowered again.
Then again.
My fingers dug harder into the armrests.
“You, are what my brother loves most in this world. Which makes you the perfect pawn for my plan.”
I wasn’t sure if it was his words or his tone.
Or maybe it was that the plane had just touched down, and bounced, then touched down again.
“And what exactly is your plan? Why would you kidnap me, if you’re only going to give me back? That makes no sense.”
The plane finally stayed down, the brakes screeching as we came to a full stop.
Maxim was the first to unbuckle, and stand. “I will give you back, princesa. I promise. But,” he said, holding his hand out for me, “I will give you back with my child in your womb. Exactly how my brother returned my wife.”
The look of hate in his eyes made him appear even more sinister.
And, it scared the living crap out of me.
We offboarded the plane, and Maxim physically pushed me into an awaiting car.
