Page 54 of Tame Me

“Months,” I hear from behind me. I turn, and Dad is standing in the doorway with my mother.

“Hey,” I say with a heavy sigh as I stand. Dad hugs me so tightly that it throws me off for a moment.

“I know asking for any help was hard for you, son. Thank you for trusting me with this,” Dad says.

“Hey, baby,” Mom says, hugging me next.

“This is Giovanni,” I say. “He was shot twice but just some blood loss.”

“You got lucky, son,” Dad says, shaking his hand. “It’s good to meet you.”

“You too,” Giovanni says. “You can find her, right?”

“I will have my men discreetly try to find out where she is first. He will more than likely keep her in one place to prevent moving her around. He’s been looking for someone to give him an heir, and he has a lot of enemies, so if he wants an heir, he won’t risk anyone being able to get to her.”

“What do we know about him?” I ask. “Is she safe, all things considered?”

“He doesn’t seem to hurt any of the girls he keeps for himself. When they leave him, they are usually either free or sold to someone else. He’s had a couple of women knocked up, but someone always gets to her and kills her. This last one killed herself by jumping out of a hotel balcony when she was almost due,” Dad says. “So if he said he wants to get her pregnant, he won’t let her out of his sight. They will probably hold up on one property. As long as she doesn’t piss him off, she will just have to deal with the rapes. He may share her with his men, but again, in his immediate circle, I've never known the girls to get physically hurt.”

“And if she fights or runs?” I ask.

“Honestly, he will probably cut her feet off if she runs,” Dad says.

“What the fuck?” Giovanni asks.

“We’ve had this talk before,” Reid says with a sigh. “She knows if he takes her, she has to just let him do what he wants, or she risks getting hurt. He has a goal and sees her as an object. She needs to be that object, or he will make her into what he wants.”

“Exactly,” Dad says.

“I’m only worried about her attitude,” I say. “She is… strong-willed.”

“Well, I hope you taught her how to fully submit at Meridian, son, because sassing Josh Larson will get her tongue cut out,” Dad says bluntly.

“No… She will be okay. She knows there are lines she cannot cross. She will get right up on them, but she won’t get herself killed.”

“Where is she?” Allison demands, running into the room. Jerry grabs her waist and keeps her in place as I dump it all out for her. She breaks down and starts crying, but she is firm with her response. “She is a survivor. My baby girl is a survivor. I’ll find her myself if I have to.”

“She will be just fine if she is as strong-willed as you,” Dad says to Allison. “I’ll say, though, Ayla is just as beautiful as her mother.”

“Dude, her husband is right there,” Reid says with a half-hearted smile. Dad grins at Jerry. Jerry just smiles and shakes his head, telling me they know each other.

“Shut up, Victor,” Allison says with a tearful laugh as Mom hugs her.

“Y’all know each other?” I ask.

“Yeah, Jerry was my childhood friend,” Dad says. “Allison and your aunt Kristy were friends. Aunt Kristy died in a wreck a few years ago, and it nearly destroyed Mom. It makes sense she’d get close with her friend. I am wondering if there is any connection between everything and Lenord, though.”

“Did you all know her biological father?” I ask.

“Lenord? Yeah, he was a sketchy motherfucker. I don’t know what exactly he did, but he worked for Josh and Joe’s father until he died.”

“That’s how it’s connected. He worked for the Mafia. So when they connected her to me through Meridian, they knew exactly how to find her,” I say. “We had a janitor there that was caught hacking the system last week. We couldn't see if he did anything, but clearly he did. She tried to call the office, but it was routed to his phone.”

“So we just sit here… and wait?” Giovanni asks.

“We quietly investigate,” I say. “When we know for sure where she is, we can make plans on getting to her. Until then, we just pray she can play along with whatever it is he wants her to do.”

Two Days Later