Chapter 6

• THOMAS
• Thomas gently places Melina on the bed. He stares at the wounds on her body, and a deep frown appears on his face. Every fiber in his body is boiling with rage. There’s no one on this earth he hates more than her. Betrayal isn’t something he takes lightly, and the fact that it was her makes it ten times worse.
• Thomas refocuses his thoughts when the doctor knocks on the door. He tells him to come in as he backs away from the bed to give the man room to work.
• "Make sure she doesn't die," Thomas plans to kill Melina, but not yet. He isn't going to give her the glory of an easy death. By the time he’s done with her, he’ll make sure she regrets the day she met him.
• "I will, sir," the doctor replies and begins to work on Melina's wounds.
• Thomas leaves the doctor to work and returns to his bathroom for a shower. He needs to cool down, and he also needs to wash off Melina's blood. Kimberly really did a number on her. He’s surprised Melina lasted as long as she did before she passed out.
• Thomas spends more time than necessary in the bathroom, lost in his thoughts. He walks out to see Melina entirely stitched up. Before walking to his closet to put on some clothes, he checks to ensure she's still alive. He leaves her where she is before putting on something casual and leaving her in his bedroom to go get some work done.
• Thomas walks into his office to see his IT analyst and Leo waiting for him. Thomas stays in the mafia house in Italy. His elder brother, Don Costanzo, head of the Costanzo family, travels a lot. So, Thomas manages most of their affairs here in Sicily while Stefano handles most of their international business.
• "What’ve you found on her phone Richard?" Thomas asks his IT analyst as he takes his seat behind the desk.
• "Unfortunately, nothing, sir."
• "How is that possible?" Thomas was banking on Richard finding some leads on where to find James through Melina's phone.
• "Melina hasn't been in contact with James for the last six months. The last time they spoke to each other was when they disappeared from LA."
• "Did you check all her social media accounts? He might not be using his real name. Did you check the messages with all the people she spoke to online?"
• "I did, sir, and I found nothing."
• "Wow. How can they be communicating? There must be something we missed, some secret they have."
• "I believe so, sir."
• "Keep digging; I'm sure you’ll find it. They’ve been doing this for a long time. There's got to be a way we can find James through Melina."
• "Got it, sir. I'll take my leave now." Richard stands up to leave, and Thomas waves him off as he walks to the door.
• Richard and Leo leave Thomas alone in his office. He tries to get some work done, but it's hard because his mind is filled with thoughts of the traitorous, green-eyed woman in his bed.
• "Fuck!" he hisses, throwing the papers off his desk. He pushes out of his chair and walks to the bar in his office to fix himself a drink. Grabbing a bottle of scotch, he takes a big sip straight from the bottle. He pulls a cigarette from his pocket and lights it, and takes a long drag, inhaling deeply.
• She's in his head and he hates it. Seeing her after so many months was stirring something inside him that he’d once thought dead. He still remembers the first day he saw her like it was yesterday. Thomas has seen a lot of women, but none was as beautiful as Melina. His iced heart skipped a beat once he laid his eyes on her.
• Past
• Thomas looks down, hearing something drop in front of him. His eyes widen as he sees a woman--a gorgeous woman with lovely green eyes and blonde hair. He quickly moves to help her off the ground but he can’t keep his eyes off her. He’s never seen someone as beautiful before. She looks like a goddess, glowing with unexplainable beauty as she stands before him.
• She refuses to let him help her, but he doesn't give up. He feels a pull to her and insists she get her elbow treated despite not knowing her name. He takes her hand to walk her out of the ballroom, and his heart skips a beat. As a rule he doesn't feel anything. His job working for the family requires it to be like that, so he's confused by the sudden, unfamiliar emotions. . He narrows his eyes at her and she stares back at him intensely.
• Thomas does his best to ignore it for now and walks them to the elevator. He uses his free hand to press the button, and while they wait, he looks at their joined hands. She is so small next to him, but he smiles as their hands look perfect linked together. He doesn't let go, even after they enter the elevator. He asks himself why but he's unable to answer, so he ignores it and continues to hold her hand.
• Present
• Thomas releases a sigh as the memory comes to an end. He couldn't believe how things had changed in just a few months. He takes a drag of his cigarette and gulped his drink. Melina melted the ice around his heart months ago. Now that ice has refrozen and is colder than ever. She caged all the demons that lived inside him while they were together. Since the day he learned about her betrayal, they've been set free. The monsters inside of him are hungry and in need of something to satisfy their urges. Thomas puts out his cigarette in the ashtray and stands. He walks out of his office and heads upstairs to visit the food his demons crave to devour.
• Thomas walks into his room to find his bed empty. His nose flares up as he pulls his hands into tight fists. He can’t believe he didn't think of the possibility of Melina running away. She keeps making a fool out of him, and this time when he finds her, he'll make sure Kimberly gets to carve her face any way she wants. Thomas pulls out his phone and quickly dials Leo's number. He's about to bark orders to find Melina when his bathroom door creaks open, and Melina steps out. Thomas ends the call and puts his phone away.
• "Do you love him that much?" Thomas asks the question that’s been roaming his head all night.
• "Oh my God! Thomas, you scared me," Melina says, clutching her chest.
• "Answer my damn question!"
• "No, I don't," she says. Thomas isn't surprised she knows who he's talking about.
• "Don't fucking lie to me!" Thomas walks closer to Melina. She doesn't move.
• "I'm not lying, and as much as you might not believe me. I don't know where—"
• Melina is cut off when Thomas wraps his callous, muscular hand around her tiny neck. Melina grabs at his and tries to pull them off her neck as he blocks her airflow. Her hands are small and weak compared to Thomas’. Frown lines appear on his forehead as he squeezes the life out of her. Those demons in him feed as her face reddens and her veins look ready to pop.
• "Will you stop fucking lying to me? Do you think I can't kill you?" Thomas' nails dig into Melina's neck, drawing blood as he chokes the life out of her. Her nails scratch his hands to pry him away but to no avail.
• "Please," Melina manages to rasp out. Thomas feels a tug in his heart as he gazes into her eyes. They’re begging him not to kill her. His frown lines increase as the ice around his heart shakes from staring into her eyes.
• "Please, Thomas, I don't want to die," Melina pleads and a teardrop falls on Thomas' hand. He looks at it and feels that strange tug in his chest. His hand begins to loosen as he looks at the teardrop. Melina removes his hands and drops to the floor, coughing, and massaging her neck.
• Thomas watches her as tears fall down her cheeks. Before he knows what’s happening, she begins to wail and clutches her chest. His brows pull together in confusion as he watches her begin to hit her chest.
• "Why are you hitting your chest?"
• "It hurts," she cries out, her face red and stained with tears. She rubs viciously on the area above her left breast.
• "What hurts? Did your wounds reopen?" Bending down to her level on the floor, Thomas tries to check if the cuts around Melina's neck and chest have reopened. But he doesn’t get a chance to as Melina scrambles out of his reach. Thomas moves closer and tries again to check on her wounds, but Melina pushes his hand and turns away.
• Thomas' hands turn white as he pulls his fingers into tight fists. He stares at her, wondering what the fuck she's doing. He grabs the collar of her shirt and lifts her off the ground. He backs her against the bathroom door and pulls her hands down from her chest. He grabs her dress and rips it off her body. Melina gasps as she finds herself half naked in front of Thomas. The room is so silent the buttons hitting the floor make a loud tink as Melina and Thomas stare at each other. Melina quickly covers her chest area, which is already covered in bandages. Thomas forces her hands away and cages them above her head.
• His breath fans her face as he stares at her. Looking at her chest, he notices it's moving faster than it should, but none of her wounds have reopened.
• "Why the fu—" Thomas is cut short by the knocking on his door. "Who the fuck is it?" Thomas barks..
• "It's me, sir,"
• "Who the fuck is me?"
• "Sorry, sir, it's Richard. I have something important to tell you."
• "Can't it wait until tomorrow Richard?"
• "I wish it could, but I'm sure you'll want to know what I found."
• "Alright, I'm coming. Wait for me in my office."
• "Okay, sir."
• "Stop hitting your chest or you'll open up your stitches." Thomas lets go of her hands. Walking to his closet, he grabs a black shirt off the rack, he throws it at Melina and she struggles to catch it.
• "Put it on and wait outside for Leo," Thomas says, approaching the door.
• "Thank you,"
• "Don't thank me, just put it on and get the fuck gone by the time I'm back," Thomas says and walks out of the room.