Kidnapped By The Italian Mafia

"Nazareth…" My foamy finger was scratching underneath my eye area, where a pesky loose eyelash was making my life an itchy hell. "Nazareth!"

"Madame?" Nazareth came running into the bathroom with a stack of towels in her hand. She was a very nervous girl, I wonder what that was about. Definitely nothing to do with me yelling her name more than once.

"Can you please go downstairs and check if breakfast is anywhere near ready? I don't want it to be cold by the time my friends get here."

Giving orders from my bathtub made me feel like a whole new level of bitchy. Maybe this is what Marie Antoinette felt like when she said let them eat cake. I was so nervous about Connor finally coming to my house that I took a shower and a bath. Well, that didn't really count because I normally took a shower before getting in the bath. I took baths solely for p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e, never to get clean. Taking baths to get clean seemed counterproductive. How do you expect to get clean if you're sitting in a tub of your own filth water? It made no sense.

My probably-husband-to-be was coming to see my estate for the very first time. It would be the first time any outsider stepped on my lands, and I was excited to show him around. The surrounding property was vast and mostly forestry, which was amazing for me because I loved the woods. Trees were my solace, that was for sure. Henri assured me that Connor and his accompanying party wouldn't be able to find their way to the estate unless someone was guiding them, so they wouldn't be able to bring anyone here.

I wasn't going to question anything Henri told me. The man was too wise to be questioned by foolish me, so whatever he said was law. It was only when my fingers began to prune that I drained the tub and got out of it to dry off. My body wasn't as flawless as it had been once, but I still had minimal scruff to worry about, thanks to the laser treatment I had insisted on getting for my fifteenth birthday. My appearance was everything to me, and my train of thought was that even if I was stranded on an island by myself, I never wanted to worry about hair.

Vanity was my best friend.

"Madame, Henri has arrived, they have just entered the gate," the voice came through the intercom, but I could tell that it was Anten, a chambermaid Henri had hired for whatever reason. He said an estate as regal as this one needed its thorough line-up of servants, but I just thought it was unnecessary. Whatever, though, the decisions were ultimately up to him.

"Very well. When they enter the house, have Ester show them to their respective rooms," I still had a few things to take care of before seeing them in person. And by a few things, I meant my skincare routine. There was no way I could skip it after days of being locked up in a hostage compound without my vitamin C serums. My skin had deteriorated quicker than my s.e.x drive, and the dullness on my cheeks was driving me insane.

Also, there was the matter of syncing the surveillance system to my tablet. Without my knowledge, Henri had installed a surveillance system around the house that would pick up on certain keywords and begin storing audio files. I wasn't sure if the whole ordeal was illegal or not, but we had it.

My skincare was no problem. I got through that right quick, but syncing was somehow harder than I thought, because the security system that the surveillance was connected to required me to sign in and prove that I was who I said I was. Even though the primary holder of the account was supposed to be me. Time felt like hours, but finally I was able to sync with my tablet and phone, which ton away most of my worries. Now I could survey my house even if I was away, which was great because the interface of the security system was very compact.

Security cameras, landmark sensors, audio recording, cloud storage access… it was all here in one space, and I could access it whenever I wished. There was just something about being adequately prepared to take action when a threat was present that just made me feel like such a badass.

"Madame," Henri knocked before pushing the door to my room open. He was the only one who could do that when I was around. He was the only one who had the balls to do that. Everyone else had to wait for permission. "Our guests are in their rooms and breakfast is being taken out to the screened gazebo in the backyard."

"We have a screened gazebo?" I wasn't even aware that we had a gazebo. "Where?"

"In the rose garden, for privacy. We have a pergola and a pavilion in other places as well."

"The only thing we're missing is arbours, then."

"No, we have those too, but they don't provide much shade. Come along, then, we don't want to make them wait," Henri looked at his smart watch. "It's ten in the morning."

"That explains my growling stomach," I grabbed my phone and slid off the bed to wander into the closet. "Are there mimosas?"

"No, but there is cranberry vodka to accompany your meal," Henri called back from his place at the door of my room. Picking out my shoes was hard, especially with this outfit I had picked out of a sheer and flowy paisley dress. Wedges seemed like the best option here.

"Vodka this early in the morning?" I raised an eyebrow at Henri as my feet slipped into the heels that were picked out. "Is that wise?"

"Madame, this is France. Being drunk in the early hours of the morning is our entire modus operandi," he wasn't wrong about that. The French knew how to party, and party they did. They always went big or went home, and that's what I loved about them.

"Right then, I won't question your judgement. Let's go," Henri stepped aside to let me walk past him and into the hall. What a gentleman! "How did Connor look?"

"Pardon? I do not understand your meaning, madame."

"Is he healthy looking? Is he buff? I don't know, just how did he look?"

"Mister McBride is a strong, healthy young man, madame," Henri replied curtly. "Come through the kitchen before going out into the garden."

Well that was weird… "what's in the kitchen?"

"This," Philipe turned around with a large parfait in his hands, making my mouth drop. Well, as much as it could with all the botox in my face.

"For us?!" I couldn't believe it! The French really went above and beyond for luxury. "Dear lord, how many layers are there?"

"Seven. Madame, are you stalling?" Henri looked at me curiously. Damn, once again he cut straight to the point and hit the nail on the head. "It seems like you are."

"Don't be ridiculous, I'm just interested in this beautiful dessert," I took the large glass bowl from Philipe and admired it. "Beautiful."

"Alright come along," Philipe himself began to lead me out of the kitchen and out the open French doors.

Was I nervous about seeing my friends for the first time in I don't remember how long? Absolutely not, I was just completely unprepared for seeing them again.

"Do I look okay?" Henri looked at me when I whispered to him. "Is the dress too colourful?" Everyone knew I didn't do loud prints. Flower print dresses? No. Multicolored prints? No. Multi shaped prints? Hell no. They all made me look fat.

"You always look good, madame."

Henri was my personal hype man.

"Welcome to my garden," I smiled when Connor finally looked up from his phone. "It's good to see you guys."

"You have so much explaining to do," Moira wrapped her arms around me as soon as I placed the parfait down. "You've been gone for months."

"I know, I'm so sorry," I let go of her to embrace Connor. "Promise I'll explain everything."

"When your butler said 'country house', I wasnna expectin' ta see a buggering royal estate," Connor motioned to the enormous rose garden surrounding us. "This is grand, very grand."

"Thank you. Now sit, I'm actually starving and we have a lot to talk about," the table was completely set and ready for us to start eating, which I wanted to do, but not before announcing something first. "Before we start, I need you to know that whatever is said on my property stays within the confines of my property, okay?"

"Our lips are sealed," Connor nodded. Henri and Philipe began to retreat back to the house after excusing themselves to let us talk and discuss in peace, which I was very grateful for. They knew everything about my whereabouts these past few months.

"By the way," Moira began whilst looking off into the distance where my staff disappeared. "Is Henri single?"