A Chance in the Night Read Online Free Page B

must remember that I am not a fool,” he reminded her, straightening his cuffs with slow, methodical movements that betrayed his need for control in all things. “Get your rest. We will discuss things further after you’ve had a chance to think more clearly.”
    He left her alone and when she heard him leave the apartment, she shuddered and tried to draw a deep breath but the air felt trapped in her lungs. There was nothing she didn’t understand with the clarity of glass. Belleni knew if he didn’t keep Nico she’d try to run again.
    She’d tried to run away when Nico was born but Belleni’s watchdog, Vivian, had caught her as she’d tried to board the train. Belleni’s punishment had been to take Nico from her physically. She hadn’t even been allowed to breastfeed her own child any longer. At six weeks old Nico had been taken from her breast and put on a bottle. The punishment had served its purpose. The second time she’d tried to run, Nico had been two years old. Vivian had found a credit card receipt for airfare out of the city. Her punishment for that had been even worse. Belleni had kept her son from her for three months. By the time he’d allowed her to see Nico, her son had nearly forgotten her. Belleni had known the effect it would have on her when Nico shied away from her open arms and returned to cling to Belleni’s leg.
    The pain had been unimaginable.
    This time, she’d thought she’d get away.
    Everything she’d worked for, all the money she’d managed to squirrel away…useless and for nothing. Her future stretched out before her in an endless road of servitude and the magnitude of her despair drowned the last ounce of hope she’d been fostering since the day Nico was born.
    “Oh, baby,” she whispered as a wave of shame overtook her. She couldn’t go backward and she couldn’t move forward. She was permanently stuck under Belleni’s thumb. Tears burned her eyes and she didn’t have the strength to hold them back any longer…so she didn’t.

    I T’D BEEN A WEEK SINCE the incident with the mystery woman but that coupled with the other things on his mind had served to cripple Christian’s REM time, leaving him grouchy and fatigued by morning. He rose early in spite of having hit the sheets only a few hours prior and went to the gym. Christian melted into the busy streets and walked the short distance to his local fitness center. He felt like crap, the lack of sleep was really starting to wear on him, but there was more to his edge than fatigue. His buddy and business partner Gage had been pressuring him to take a meeting with this bigwig money guy so they could finally open their own nightclub, but Christian wasn’t warm to the idea of bringing more people to the deal. That saying “Too many cooks in the kitchen…” came to mind and he could almost hear his foster mother’s voice in his head saying it, too. Mama Jo may be a couple of states away in West Virginia but her voice was firmly in his subconscious. Most times, it was a good thing because it kept him walking the straight and narrow when he might otherwise feel pulled in a different direction. Other times it was a bit annoying to have the female version of Jiminy Cricket on his shoulder.
    He entered the fitness center and was met by loud music and a tattooed woman who looked as if she could bench-press him without breaking a sweat. She smiled, revealing her tongue piercing—something Christian had never found attractive—but he returned the smile as he swiped his membership ID.
    Christian met Gage at the weight station where he was already doing his reps.
    “You’re late,” Gage said, his face tightening with the exertion of a curling exercise set with major poundage.
    Christian pulled his sweatshirt over his head and tossed it aside. “Cut me some slack. I just went to bed about three hours ago. You’re lucky I came at all.”
    Gage grunted and allowed the weight to slowly release. “Yeah, yeah, cry me a