A Chance in the Night by Kimberly Van Meter Read Free Book Online Page A

awed by his display of wealth, his obvious fine tastes reflected in the works of art hanging on the walls and the opulence of his home but that was before she’d realized how he consumed lives to pay for his lifestyle. Now it just turned her stomach.
    “You wanted to see me?” she asked, nerves stretched thin at the request. At first she’d thought he wanted sex—and though the thought of that man touching her body made her quake with disgust—she’d endure to keep up appearances.
    But that wasn’t his intent and she should’ve known when she saw Vivian standing beside him, her eyes aglow with barely concealed glee that something far worse was coming her way.
    “Aren’t you happy being a Belleni girl?” he asked, throwing her. “Do I not see to your every need?”
    “Y-yes,” she said, her gaze darting to Vivian, uneasy at the questions he was asking. “Of course. I’m quite happy,” she lied.
    “I want to believe that, I truly do, but something troubles me,” he said with a heavy sigh, his solid body rippling with the motion. He pulled a small slip of paper and gazed at it a long moment, his mouth pursing with displeasure and her blood chilled as she realized what he was staring at.
    An ATM slip. Her mind tripped over possibilities. Had she been sloppy and dropped it somewhere in the apartment? She thought of the last time she visited her bank to make a deposit into her secret account and she held her breath, too afraid to give anything away. That money—painstakingly deposited away from Vivian’s watchful eye—was her and Nico’s ticket out of this hell. She finally had enough to run. She was just biding her time, looking for the perfect opportunity to slip away….
    He let the paper drift from his fingertips in perfect timing as two men Belleni hired as muscle came soundlessly into the room, blocking the exit with their solid mass.
    “I took you in off the streets,” he began, steepling his fingers as he regarded her with the sharp eyes of the predator he was but she resisted the urge to make a run for it. To run would signify guilt and so far he hadn’t actually accused her of anything. “You were such a sad thing when I found you. Full of broken dreams and heartache. I nursed you to health. I gave you purpose. I gave you Nico. ”
    “I—”
    “Silence!” he interrupted her with a snarl, losing the act of gentle benefactor, shedding it like a snake lost its skin in the heat of summer. “I have nurtured you, cosseted you, protected you…and you repay me with treachery?”
    She lifted her chin. “I don’t know what you’re talking—”
    “Stop lying,” he demanded, holding her stare for a long moment as her heart banged painfully against her chest. Did he know how much she’d saved? If so, he knew she’d been planning to bolt. He gestured and the two men advanced on her, grabbing her arms, startling a yelp out of her. He shared a look with Vivian then said, “Here’s the situation, my darling. Tomorrow you will go to this bank of yours and you will make a withdrawal…”
    Nooo! She struggled against the grip on her arm but they were like steel manacles clamped against her skin and it was no use. Tears sprung to her eyes—born of pain and despair—and began tracking down her cheeks. “I can explain,” she began in a desperate bid for damage control but Belleni waved away her attempt.
    “You will close your account and the balance will be brought to me as punishment for your deceit.”
    “It’s for Nico,” she protested the half truth on a sob, too devastated at the realization that their hope was dead to hold back her tears. She couldn’t imagine losing all that she’d saved, not when they were so close. “For his college education. Please…please don’t take that from him.”
    “I want to believe you but I would be a fool. Would you like to know what I think you were going to do?” He continued without her answer. “I believe you were going to use that money to