FOR NOW

ADELINE'S POV

"You're crazy." Colton says. "How exactly do you think we're going to get out of here?"

"Look I have friends, okay? My best friend Liam is a lawyer, and my boyfriend. His name is Dante Russo. I can give you their numbers. You can find a way to contact them and then we'll figure out the rest from there."

"Your boyfriend really is Dante Russo?" He asks me wide eyed and I know that look like the back of my palm. Something's wrong and I need to know what.

"What do you know?" I ask him.

"I don't know. I just…" he trails off. "I heard Veronica talking about someone like that some few days ago. I think she was on a call or something, I don't know."

"You spy on her?" I ask him.

"From time to time yes." He answers.

"And you're sure she mentioned the name Dante Russo? How do you know she was referring to someone that had a link to me?" I raise my brows in curiosity. Fear travels through my heart because what if Veronica tries to hurt the people I care about to try and get me to do things.

"She was." Colton declares. "And I think your boyfriend is the hero that erotica has been trying to find for years now. He's the one who's been killing all those people. Oh my God." Colton starts pacing back and forth now, laughing hysterically at the realization of the situation. All I am is confused because he's not making any sense.

He has to be mistaken.

"Colton what are you talking about?" My voice takes a different route.

"I'm saying your boyfriend has been targeting erotica for a long time now. I'm saying he has been killing and dropping bodies left right center trying to find this place. Veronica has been trying to get her hands on him for years but she couldn't. I mean-"

"You're wrong." I cut him off strongly. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"Listen to me. The day we took you from Adrian's house, I heard gunshots. A lot of them. I've been spying on Veronica lately and she thinks Adrian was kidnapped by someone called Dante Russo."

"Adrian Wellington?" I ask. "The same guy who sold me out."

"Yes, that one. He's been missing for days and Veronica is sure Dante has him. Wait, didn't you know about this?" He gazes at me with a newfound pity in his eyes.

"No, Colton. No the fuck I didn't. I didn't know that I was dating a murderer. I didn't know that my boyfriend was a psychopath." I push Colton away from me and face the plastic mirror that is almost unbreakable in front of me. I stare at it and I try to find an emotion inside me. When I do, I push it back away and turn back around to face Colton.

"He's a legend. I've been trying to find him for the longest time. Your boyfriend might be a psychopath but it's for a good cause." Colton says with even more hope in his eyes.

What I'm listening to is shocking. I can't understand anything that is coming from Colton's mouth, and I don't want to. Whatever he thinks Dante is, I refuse to believe it until I hear it from Dante himself. This a man that I kissed, that I slept with, that I gave my heart to. I don't want to believe that everything I knew about him was a lie.

I refuse to believe it, because if I do, I know it will break me and I don't know if I'll be able to stand it. I don't know if I'll be able to survive the lie that was my entire life with Dante fi what Colton is saying turns out to be true.

"Look. I don't know what you've heard about Dante and I really don't want to know. You said you've been looking for him right Good. I have his phone number. His and Liam's. I can give them to you and whenever you have time to contact them, then just do it. Do we have a deal?" I give him a serious look.

"Are you in denial right now?" He raises his brow. I scowl.

"Damn it Colton, do we have a deal or not!?" I ask him, almost raising my voice.

"Fine. Fine yeah. Yeah we have a deal." He finally says. I don't know what I was expecting but I didn't expect Colton to agree to work with me this easily. I mean I can't promise him anything and if Veronica finds out about this, something really bad could happen to him and his sister and it'll all be my fault. We have to be extremely smart about this.

"How exactly does Veronica plan on getting your sister to this place if you ever cross her?" I ask Colton.

"She knows my sister lives. Where her university is and she has guards watching her 24/7. All she would have to do is make a call. All she would have to do is pass an order and my sister's life will be ruined in seconds. That's all it would take.

"Okay. Okay so the first step is to get your sister somewhere safe." I say. "You're not going to betray me, are you?" I snap my head at him. I don't know if I can trust him. I don't want to put all my faith in him only to be extremely disappointed in the end.

"Of course not, Adeline." He says genuinely. "I can't sleep at night, okay? Every time I think about this sick place, I feel like I'm going to die. I want out of here. I want no involvement with veronica or anyone that is part of erotica."

"Then how did you even find yourself here in the first place?" I ask him.

"My sister needed surgery. A heart transplant. A friend of mine, the one you killed. Well, we weren't really friends. He was more of an acquaintance. Anyways, he linked me up with Veronica. He didn't tell me how dangerous it would be but at that point, I was desperate. I was willing to do anything. By the time I found out what was going on it was too late. Veronica needed men to do her dirty work for her and I was desperate. I was in before I could even realize what was going on. I used to be a marine so Veronica must have seen some potential in me or whatever to give such a huge amount of money." 

"Or maybe she's just a sadist obsessed with ruining people's lives." I say. "People dot always have a logical reason for doing what they do Colton.

"I suppose not." He says. "Adeline I-"

"Don't." I cut him off.

"I have to fucking say it, okay?" He gabs my shoulders and looks me straight in the eyes. "I'm sorry. I'm so fucking sorry for all this." Before I can say another word, he goes down on his knees in front of me.

"I've been tormented night and day. I know I can never understand what you're going through but I want to make it right. I'd do anything to make it right Adeline."

"Colton please..."

He stands up abruptly and places his palms on my cheeks. "I'll find Dante. I'll find Liam. I'll bring them here. I promise." He finally lets go of my face, gives me a look that I can't decipher and then walks out of my room with his first aid box.

I reflect on everything that just happened. Thoughts about Dante keeps crossing my mind and I keep pushing them deep down to the darkest parts of me. I refuse to think about what Colton just revealed to me about him. I refuse to let any of those thoughts trouble me.

Right now, all I need to worry about is putting my faith in Colton. I have to believe that he won't betray me. I have to believe that he'll bring Dante and Liam to me. Then I can ask Dante all the questions bothering me. For now, my emotions will have to wait.