"I'm so glad you're alright Angela. I'm really sorry. I'm so so sorry. Once you're safe, that's all that matters." He said, she detected the pain in his voice but said nothing, just let her tears fall down her swollen cheek as she felt the warmth of him. It was tears of sorrow, and joy and complete relief that she was finally with him again and safe, for now. But she was still stunned, and didn't know what to say or what to ask in order to get the information that she needed as to what the hell happened over the past twenty four hours?

They pulled away after a moment or two. Adriano reached out and wiped away her tears, placing his hand on the cheek that hadn't been hit. He knew he should stop now, he knew he needed to make the night of his party the first and last time he would let anything happen with Angela and he also knew he needed some restraint but it was going to be hard to do.

Adriano let his hand fall to his side now and searched her grey eyes for something, anything to give away how she was feeling.

"W-What happened back there? Why did they take me? Why-"

"I've no choice but to explain this to you Angela but it's a very long story, one that I want to leave until tomorrow." She couldn't say anything, just nodded weakly at him. "Let's go to bed, it's getting late. All that matters is that you're here now, I won't let anything happen to you."

Angela breathed a quiet sigh of relief once they began walking out of the living room. She learned that there was only one bedroom in this new place and felt uncomfortable now, wondering what would happen and remembering back to the night before she was taken. Adriano's words rung in her mind, his deep voice that crushed her even though that may not have been his intentions. He was a mystery to her, and so was everything going on around her but she couldn't help but want to know more, she craved it.

"Why aren't we staying at home?" Angela asked once they entered the large bedroom. It was decorated in creams and taupes and had a huge bed in the middle of the room. Half of the bed was covered in all kinds of cushions and it had a throw on the end of it. It looked like it was straight out of a showroom and once she took a look around the room and saw that it wasn't just the bed that looked perfect, she decided it seemed like it hadn't been lived in- at all.

"Because I have someone cleaning it up right now, we can go back as soon as possible if you like? But if you want to stay here for another couple of days that's fine too." He wanted her to feel comfortable wherever she was, whether it was here, at home or another of his properties.

"Oh..." she trailed off, glued to her spot on the carpet where she was standing. She didn't know what to say or do right now and once he saw her looking at the bed uncomfortably, she knew her reasons.

"If you want to be alone I can sleep on the couch." He suggested but that was exactly what she didn't want. Angela wanted it to be like it had been before his birthday, when they would lie awake and talk until she fell asleep or on rare occasions, he drifted off before her but she knew it was different now and she didn't want to feel rejected by him like she had after his party.

"No it's fine, you can stay in here if you like." He was studying her, the way she was fidgeting with her hands as she stood there. She breathed in and out and then walked to the left side of the bed, taking cushions and placing them gently on the floor next to the end table.

"I'll get you clothes to wear to bed, I'm sure I have something." He mumbled, trying not to stare at her any longer. He walked to the chest of drawers in the room, remembering he kept some clothes at this place just in case he ever needed them. He opened the drawer and found a t-shirt folded neatly under some other clothes. "Here." He said, handing her down the shirt. "I'm sorry I didn't bring any of your things with me." Adriano added.

"It's fine." Angela gave him a small smile before walking into the en suite and closing the door behind her to get changed.

Once she stripped herself and put on Adriano's shirt, she looked in the mirror at her appearance, her tired eyes and messed-up hair. She really needed to get some sleep. By now, Angela had calmed down and was too tired to ask any more questions about what had happened today, she knew it could all wait until the morning. She sighed, smiling slightly at the way she looked in the shirt. The hem was hitting her knees, the sleeves were just past her elbow, it made her look like she had just been shrunk.

Once she opened the bathroom door and made her way over to the bed she noticed Adriano was propping pillows on the floor with the throw from the end of the bed. He looked up at her and done a double take but needed to take his eyes off of her quickly.

"What are you doing?" she asked quietly, confused.

"I'm sleeping down here." He explained, shaking out another blanket and placing it down.

"Adriano, you don't need to do that." She felt bad now, not wanting him to be uncomfortable for the night just because of her. She knew how he could barely sleep already without sleeping on something as hard and flat as the floor. "Let me sleep down there. You can stay up here."

"Don't be stupid." He said dismissively and furrowed his brows, still continuing to make his bed up. He couldn't look at her, the guilt was already kicking in and he wanted her to stop being so nice to him. He had dragged her into all of this. If he had left her in Canada she wouldn't have to be hid away from his enemies like Adamo. There were some much worse than him too and god knows what they could do to her. She was his soft spot. Adamo had easily found this out and if others were to get this information too, that he would do anything for her, they would find her valuable, a way of getting what they wanted from Adriano.

He looked up to find her standing beside the bed, her knees almost touching the fabric of the duvet on the other side. His shirt was hanging loosely on her, it accentuated how tiny she really was. Adriano lay down on the floor, turning off the lamp on the end table on his side of the bed before he did so and turned with his back facing her, knowing she had still yet to get into bed.

"Why are you still standing there?" he asked, looking at the wall in front of him but knowing exactly how she would look.

"Why don't you just come up here?" She asked, not wanting him to stay on the floor tonight.

"I'm fine down here."

"No you're not."

"Yes I am, honestly Angela, just get to bed. You need to rest." Adriano still hadn't looked at her.

"I'm not going to bed until you come up here too." She crossed her arms and waited for him to turn around. Once he did he saw the determined look on her face and sighed in frustration before rolling his eyes and getting into bed. She smiled and then followed suit, getting into bed too. She noticed how he kept to his side of the bed, almost hanging off of the edge, but said nothing.

Angela turned off the light and now the only thing giving in light to the room was the moon shinning outside through a crack in the curtains. She lay on her side facing him but he remained with his back to her, his eyes open wide. He knew he wouldn't be able to get any sleep tonight.

Angela was upset and completely confused by his actions now, because only a while ago he was hugging her and telling her how relieved he was to see her again. Did he care? She wanted him to, but it seemed like this cool exterior had come back whether she liked it or not. She just hoped it wouldn't last for too long. All she could do now was relax because she was safe and although she hadn't got his arms wrapped around her, although they hadn't talked or shared anything tonight, Adriano was still there beside her and that would have to be comforting enough.

"Goodnight Adriano." She whispered quietly, not knowing whether she would get a reply or not.

"Night Angie." She had heard him say. He was holding back, but she hadn't known that at the time. Adriano wanted to reach over, to hold her tight and kiss her. He wanted to tell her how everything was going to be alright and how he would never let Adamo do anything like that again but he didn't. He was afraid for himself and for her. Putting a barrier up between the two of them was what he thought was best but he hadn't expected it to be this damn hard.

He turned around after a couple of minutes, knowing she had fallen asleep and moved closer to her. Adriano looked at her sleeping face and how relaxed she seemed. He placed a soft kiss gently on her forehead, she began to stir and he moved a little away from her.

"I'm sorry." He whispered quietly before getting comfortable and faced her in bed. He meant it. He really was sorry for everything, for being selfish enough to not have let her go before any of this could happen. He was sorry for acting like he didn't care for her when on the inside, it was killing him to not show her how he really felt. He was sorry for bringing her into this mess he called his life. He was stuck, and now he had made her stuck too, not wanting her to leave in case Adamo got his hands on her again, or anyone else he associated with for that matter. But some way or another, he would find a way to make her unstuck, whether it freed him or not too.

Angela woke up at noon, the light of day shining through into the empty bedroom. Adriano wasn't there again but she knew not to be surprised this time. She wondered where he had gone, and whether he would continue to make his presence rare. She just wanted him to be here for her but he wasn't and it was disappointing for her.

There was a man in a dark suit sitting in the living room, casually watching TV with one leg crossed over the other. He looked familiar and as soon as Angela saw him, she immediately jumped but calmed down after a couple of seconds. She recognized him to be a guard and relaxed a little.

"Where's Adriano?" she asked with little force, Angela was still tired despite the great amount of sleep she had gotten the night before.

"He's gone out for a little while. He told me to stay in here with you until he comes back."

Angela just huffed and walked back into her room, getting ready to have a shower. The warm water soothed her and when she got out she had to get dressed into her worn clothes from yesterday. She wanted to get out, her calmness was starting to dissolve into a mixture of anger and complete confusion. Why had she easily forgotten everything that happened last night? Why had she not demanded answers from Adriano as soon as they had gotten here? What the hell was going on around her? She needed to know, now.

Once she was dressed, she looked at herself quickly in the mirror before taking a deep breath, trying to calm her thoughts. She walked out into the living room and past the guard who was sitting down. Angela thought she might be able to sneak out without him noticing, she wanted to go for a walk or do something to pass the time while she was waiting for Adriano.

"Hey, where are you going?" he stood up quickly and walked in front of the door just before she could reach up to open it.

"Out." She snapped, not in the mood for anyone to stop her from going out.

"You can't. Adriano told me to look after you while he's gone."

"Come with me then, I don't care." Her voice was softer now for her want to not be rude to someone she barely knew.

"You're not allowed out even with guards, the boss said it's for your safety for a couple of days."

"So I'm supposed to sit here all day waiting for him?"

"Mhm." He nodded and crossed his buldging arms, towering over her.

"Oh, okay." She said gently, making it look like she thought she was defeated. The guard relaxed a little but as soon as he thought she would turn around and walk away, she quickly jumped around him and opened the door. He caught the door as she tried to slam it behind her and made a run for it, forgetting there were also guards outside the front door and at the elevator. Adriano clearly had his security bumped up, there seemed to be guards everywhere.

They caught her as she was running towards the elevator and she struggled to get loose from two guards as they had both her arms on either side of her.

"Let me go!" she said, she wasn't in pain and they weren't trying to hurt her but she just wanted to be free of their grip. She was putting up a good fight but as soon as she heard the elevator doors ping open, she stopped struggling and looked up to find Adriano with a confused look on his face.

"What are you doing?" he asked her in bewilderment. "Let her go, she's fine." He added, speaking quietly to the guards.

"I was trying to go out when I was told I'm not allowed. Why didn't you tell me about any of this?" she was angry and he could tell.

"Let's go inside. C'mon." he spoke calmly, taking her upper arm and steering her to the front door. He had bags in his hands but gave some to the men outside once he stepped into his apartment with Angela.

"No, I don't want to go anywhere with you. I want to go out. On my own, I don't need to be babysat Adriano." She shrugged him off and knew she sounded like a spoilt child but she like a pot beginning to boil over now.

"The guards are for your own protection."

"So now I can't go outside because it's for my own protection too?"

"Not for another while, not without me. I need to know you're safe and it isn't safe to go out yet."

"Why the hell not?" she narrowed her eyes at him, sparks of annoyance beginning to burn into a flame inside of her.

"Because- because you just can't right now. Do you want a repeat of last night?" she stiffened a little at his words and he knew he had messed up.

"Oh, do you care now? You gladly left me alone when it suited you, did I disgust you that much? Was I not as good as those women you bring over for the night whenever you want?" she knew she was being scornful but she didn't understand his concern for her when he had been acting completely stone cold and icy the past couple of days.

"Angela you don't know what you're talking about, please-"

"No, I think I do. I think I know exactly what I'm talking about. You got what you wanted from me and now you're turning me away at every possible opportunity. Why are your emotions just something you can turn on and off like a switch? Damn it it's confusing." She tugged at her hair a little in frustration, not even paying attention to him anymore. Her thoughts were shouting, screaming in each ear for her to say more, to let it all out.

"No, it's not like that-"

"Well then what is it like Adriano? Why don't you tell me?" Angela finally turned to him, looking at his pained expression. He opened his mouth to speak but she held her hand out in a stop signal. "No, actually, I'd rather you answer some questions I really need the answers to. Like why the hell strange men were in your apartment yesterday and why they took me away? Why was I taken last night? Why the hell do you all carry around guns? Who even are you Adriano?" that wasn't nearly enough questions to ask, she needed to know everything.

"Just calm down Angela."

"No!" Adriano noticed how this was the angriest he had ever saw her. She usually had an even temperament and was calm. She had never raised her voice this much before. "No I won't. I don't know what's going on around me, you're keeping me in the dark about so many things that I just can't keep track of. It's not even safe for me to go outside anymore? I have no life; I have no money, no job, no friends. You have me locked up here away from everything and since I first came back to New York, I haven't asked much from you Adriano. But will I ask for something right now, and that is answers." Her words were the truth, the truth she had been too afraid to voice until now. It hurt him to think about their situation the way she put it but it was something he had to do. Adriano grew frustrated, raking his hands through his hair and letting out a deep breath.

"It's fucking complicated Angela. I didn't mean for any of this to happen."

"Why won't just tell me?" she had quietened down a bit now, noticing how uncomfortable he had become. This was something serious, something he was holding back for a reason and it scared her. Angela had never wanted be kept in the dark and know something so much at the same time before.

"Because I know as soon as you know everything, it's real. I'm a bad man Angela, a real bad man. I'm a monster. As soon as you find out, you won't want to be here anymore and I need you." His voice was that of an aching tone, it made her heart melt, it made her anger die down and make room for other emotions that she knew were about to make an appearance in her heart. 'I need you', it rung in her ear and echoed around her mind for a moment or two, had he been serious? She wondered.

"Don't say that, it's not true." She said gently, wondering what had gotten into him. He had his face in his hands, sitting on the arm of the sofa in her direction. "Just tell me what's wrong. I need to know. It's okay-" She tried to sooth him.

"I'm in the mob Angela."

*******

Hi guys, SO... the big reveal?:o Don't worry, there will be more of them soon in this story, this wont be the last. Any thoughts on this chapter? I also wanted to ask if you guys would be interested in another story I've been coming up with? Sort of like a CEO romance novel but obviously it won't be your typical CEO romance story. AND, this week there will be an early update on Friday instead of Sunday. Thanks again for reading, voting and commenting, I'm delighted some of you are liking the story. It means the world to me.

A. Summers xo