“W-what?”

I dial 911 for her then put it on speaker. “There you go. Tell them to come for me. Do it, Pet.”

Her bottom lip trembles and she stares between me and the phone as if it’s some sort of doom.

“911, what’s your emergency?”

I mouth, ‘Do it.’

Her frantic gaze bounces between me and the phone.

“Hello?” the lady asks. “This is 911, how may I help you?”

Last chance, Petal.

A tear slides down her cheek as she hits the hang-up icon.

My little Petal doesn’t want me gone. Not that I would’ve allowed them to take me, but the fact she didn’t push a report despite having the chance means a lot fucking more than she could ever imagine.

She just sealed her fate.

“This doesn’t mean I’m going with you.” She juts her chin. “I won’t.”

I reach for her neck and wrap my fingers around it. It’s a soft touch that my little Petal leans into with no protest. My head lowers and I capture her lips in a quick soft kiss.

She moans against my mouth as I squeeze the two points. She barely has a moment to react before she slowly sags against me, her eyes fluttering closed. “Jasper…?”

“Sleep, my pet. We have a long journey ahead.”

Her body sags against mine, and I tuck her to me as I dial the number with my other hand.

“Enzo Morelli speaking. Who is this?”

“Alessio Vitallio,” I say.

“You figured it out.” There’s a smile in his voice.

“About that offer, I’m taking it.”

31

Georgina

I wake up in a room I don't know.

It's cold and I'm buried under what feels like a dozen blankets. There's something around my neck, too. Something heavy and constricting.

I raise my hands to touch it. It's a steel collar, firmly placed around my throat. I groan and tug at it to get it off, but when I try, a small electric current runs through the collar, shocking me. Yelping, I pull my hands back and get out from under the blankets.

I'm naked. Completely, utterly naked.

The feeling of being cold seeps away, and I realize just how sluggish and slow I feel. I dig through my thoughts to find my very last memory.

Jasper.

He kissed me in my kitchen, wrapping his hands around my throat and then… nothing.

My heart pounds hard and fast. Did he… did he black me out with pressure points or something? He's fucking crazy. Unpredictable. And the worst part is, choking me until I faint is something I can easily imagine him doing.

"Good morning, Petal."

Eyes widening, I raise my head to the doorframe. There he is, leaning against the door with a smirk on his face and my favorite mug in his hands.

I work hard so my cat can have a better life.

The words mock me. How easy my life had been when I got that mug. I never suspected any of this would ever happen to me.

"Jas, where are w-we?" I hate my weakness, the way I stutter. But I swallow down my pride and keep my gaze locked with his.

My stalker.

My tormentor.

And now, my captor.

"We needed a little break from the city," he says easily. "So I thought I'd bring you to my home country."

"Your... h-home country?" I repeat, glancing around the room again. I run to the window and look out. It's getting dark, but from what I can see, we're right in the middle of a forest or a farm or something. There's merely a gravel path leading up to an old mansion. "Where is this place?”

“Sicilia. Benvenuto in Italia.”

Sicily. Italy? Holy shit. How the fuck did we leave American soil? I never left the state, let alone the whole damn country. And how…how could he smuggle an unconscious person that easily and even find a place this fast? Knowing how crazy Jasper is, this shouldn’t be surprising, but it is.

One moment I was in my kitchen, the next I’m in Europe altogether.

I want to scream and curse at him, but I know that method won’t work and will only bring me trouble, so I pretend I’m not freaking out and lift my chin. “Why have you brought me here, Jasper?"

"We're staying. For a long time.”

"What? You can't just... fucking kidnap me! Are you crazy? What about my cats?"

He smirks, his eyes saying, Of course they're the first things you'd think of, crazy fucking cat lady.

"They'll be fine. Dinah and Katya will take care of them, won't they?"

I swallow again, forcing myself to calm down.

Okay, don't panic. Just work with him until you can get the hell out of here.

"What about my job?" I ask next. "They won't understand if I just disappear."

He shrugs carelessly. "I don't see how that's my problem."

I'm about to start arguing when I notice a little device in his hand. He sees me looking and opens his palm. It's a long tube with a button on the end of it, and he presses it, sending another shock through the collar I've been forced to wear.

"What the fuck is this thing?" I claw at my neck to get it off to no avail.

"Some jewelry for you. You like it?"

"No, I fucking hate it." I glare at him. "Why are you treating me like some kind of prisoner?"

"Because that's what you are." He sets the cup and the remote down just out of my reach, grinning when my eyes follow his motions. "For the foreseeable future, at least. Until I get tired of you."

"You can't do this. You can't just steal me away. People will come looking."

"How will they know where the fuck to look, Petal?" His lips tug in a smirk. “Or in which country?”

"I'm going to run," I warn him.

"You just try." He laughs, like this is somehow amusing to him. "I'd love to see how far you get with that collar on.”

“Jasper…” I soften my voice trying to plead to the human side of him. “Didn’t we…connect?”

“That we did and we’re going to connect even more when we play a little game.”

"What game?" I narrow my eyes at him.

"Hide and seek like we used to play when we were kids. Remember, Petal?" He steps right up to me and gently tugs on a strand of my hair.

His fingers brush down my chest and over a nipple. A shiver runs through me as both nipples tighten for attention. It doesn’t matter what he does, I’ll always, always have this dip in my stomach whenever he touches me.

“That’s the spirit.” His lips tug in a smirk.

I shake my head, whispering, "I’m not playing.”

His hand moves slowly down my stomach and between my legs. I’m hot down there. Hot and wet and so ready for more.

“I think you really do want to play,” he says, sliding a finger through my wet slit and pressing against my clit.

I can’t help the little sigh of pleasure. I want him. I hate him. I love him. I love him not.

“I’m not playing,” I grind out again.

"See, you don't have a choice." He sucks his finger clean before he walks over to the remote and shocks me with the thing in the collar again, making me scream. Not because it hurts that bad, but because I hate how much control he has over me right now. "Scream all you want. There's no one around for miles. Now, play time."