The Mafia’s Good Wife
Chapter 39

- Damon - ----TWO DAYS LATER - "...50... 51... 52..."

Beads of sweat trickled down Damon's forehead, and his breaths were ragged. He was doing pull ups using the metal bars inside his cell. Though he was physically still stuck inside the cage, his mind was free as a bird. He already made his escape plans and

everything rested on some luck and strength. Which was why he spent all his time exercising his muscles. His broken bones were healing and with Celina's help, his strength was returning too.

Every day without fail, she would come in and bring him extra food, a blanket, and fresh clothes. Sometimes he'd ask her for vitamins and medicines and she'd get those for him too. Those things were actually just a test. He wanted to see how obedient she was, and Celina actually made a pretty good sidekick.

*CLANK

Damon heard the gate opening and he stopped counting. He jumped down and turned around, finding Celina walking into the cell. A guard was standing outside. "Hey," she beamed, carrying a stack of clean towels.

"Hey, did you get it?" Damon whispered lowly so that no one could hear him.

Celina nodded her head and opened the top towel in her hand. It revealed a small swiss army knife and a small handgun tucked inside.

"This is the best thing I can find without raising suspicion," she said.

Damon let out a smile. This wasn't much, but it was good enough. And the fact that Celina was willing to smuggle weapons into the cell, that meant she was ready.

"Alright, this'll do," Damon took the knife and gun and hid them inside his jeans pocket. "What about the other stuff?"

Celina put the clean towel down and picked up his dirty clothes on the floor.

"I've had our clothes stashed under a marked tree in the forest. I also got our passports and some cash in there," she replied.

"How much cash?"

"20,000 euros. That should be enough for a while,"

"Yeah, and the phone?"

"Well, daddy destroyed your phone because he didn't want your people to look for you. But I managed to get us some burner ones. I just need to go to town and pick it up today,"

"Great," Damon nodded approvingly. "Just be careful. Make sure no one's following you,"

"Of course, I'm good at what I do," she winked and strode over to him. Putting her hands on his toned and sweaty chest, she pressed her body to his and said, "And besides, daddy's in a great mood. He's pretty much drunk all day,"

"So I take it the board reviewed the contract?" Damon asked.

"Yes, they're still in the middle of it, but daddy's sources say it's bulletproof. They're gonna make the transition happen in less than three days,"

Celina stood on her tippy toes, expecting Damon to lean down and kiss her. Damon wasn't moving, though. He kept a serious face as Celina pouted.

"That's all the time we have, Celina," he sighed. "We have to leave before then,"

Celina stood on her feet again and crossed her arms. She realized the gravity of the situation and her face turned serious.

"I know," she said. "So what do we do?"

Damon paused for a beat before answering, "Tomorrow night. Let's leave then,"

Celina's mouth fell open. Tomorrow night felt so sudden. Even though she'd spent the last few days preparing their great escape, now everything felt so real. "A-are you sure?" she stammered.

"Yes, we're ready," Damon said reassuringly, putting his hands on her face. "Right?"

Celina swallowed hard. She looked somewhat doubtful, so Damon leaned closer and planted a soft kiss on her lips.

"Remember, it's for us," he murmured. "Your dad can have my estate, but I'll have you and you'll have me,"

Celina's lips curved up a smile. Her cheeks blushed a bright shade of pink as her eyelashes fluttered.

"For us," she nodded eagerly.

Linking her arms around his neck, she stood on her tippy toes again and crashed her lips to Damon's. Damon staggered back, but he received the kiss nonetheless. He put his hands around her waist and kissed her back. Celina let out a moan and pressed her body tighter against his. She was absolutely lost in the moment, but the same couldn't be said about Damon. On the corner of his eye, he noticed the guard outside was looking at them.

"Damon..." she breathed.

"Hm?"

"I want you,"

Celina couldn't help herself. Using all her strength, she pushed Damon until his back hit the wall. Her hands roamed all over his body and she started grinding herself against his lower stomach.

"Not here, Celina," Damon hissed, holding her back slightly. Celina looked up in confusion and Damon nudged to the guard outside.

"I can tell the guard to leave," she whispered seductively. Her fingers traced circles around his chest. "Tell him to take a break, come back in an hour,"

"And have him suspect us? Or report you to your dad?" Damon replied flatly.

Celina let out an irritated sigh and pulled away. She crossed her arms and pouted, feeling rejected. Damon cocked his head to the side and pulled her back in his arms. He hugged her tightly and leaned into her ear.

"Hey, after tomorrow night, we can do whatever we want," he whispered, pausing for a beat before adding, "I'm gonna be all yours,"

Celina's lips curved into a smile. It was a big smile, she couldn't contain it.

"Really?" she batted her eyes.

"Oh, yes," Damon nodded. "We'll go to Paris, Barcelona, or Santorini. We'll do whatever we want whenever we want..."

Celina was smiling from ear to ear. She couldn't wait any longer. She grabbed his neck forcefully and pulled him down, kissing him with hunger and passion.

"I'll see you tomorrow night," she said as she pulled away.

Damon smiled in response.

"Can't wait,"

Damon kept his smile until Celina left the room. But as soon as she was out the door, his smile fell flat. Did he feel bad for using her like this? A little, but who cares? Everyone was using other people for their gain in this game. All is fair in love and war. And this was both.

Damon couldn't sleep last night because he was too excited about today. His strength was back and he felt better than ever. His plan was working and tonight was the final show. After Celina helped him escape, he planned on contacting Adrian and getting on the first plane back to New Jersey. Then, he'd issue a statement saying that he was under duress when he signed the contract and petition for it to be removed.

Damon will leave that into Adrian's hand and he'd deal with Hugo later. His first priority after escaping was to go see Violet again. He was imagining how it would be, getting on a plane to Texas to see her. Maybe she'd already be married by now, but who cares? Even though it was never said on paper, Violet was his wife. His one and only wife. The world may not recognize it, but the universe does. Damon believed in that so much, he believed this was the reason why he was still alive- because he had to end up with her. He couldn't die until he did.

* CLANK *

When Damon heard the metal door opening that night, his eyes lit up in excitement. Celina walked in, dressed in a dark jacket, tight jeans, and boots. This wasn't her normal style. No backless dresses or heels. She came to work. The guard stepped aside and let Celina into the cell. In her hand was a tray of tea and cookies.

"Hey," she beamed, putting the tray down. The guard didn't suspect anything as this was a normal thing Celina did lately, bringing Damon some tea before bed.

"Hey," he smiled back, opening his arms to receive Celina's hug. As he was hugging her, he glanced at the guard who had his back to them.

"So, daddy's retired to his room. There are two guards outside and one guarding the side gate," she whispered into his ear. "Plus that one," "We can take 'em," Damon said simply.

Damon figured it wouldn't be hard to take out this guy because he had his guards down. The next step would be taking out the guys guarding the basement. Two against one wasn't good odds, but Damon had the element of surprise. Lastly, he only needed to take out one guy before escaping through the side gate. Hugo's estate was so large and secluded, it was literally located in the mountains. As long as they could exit through the side gate, they'd go into the forest and it'd be hard for them to get caught.

Luckily, Celina also knew the area well and she already hid some provisions for them. They'd make a run for it all night, crossing the forest and into the nearby town. There, they'd get on a taxi and go to the nearest airport. If they could do all this under the shadow of the night, without alarming Hugo and the rest of the guards, they would be in America by tomorrow morning.

"Damon," Celina said suddenly, stopping Damon from moving.

"Yeah?"

"I'm... scared,"

Damon looked at her face and her lips were quivering. As brave and crazy as she was, Celina was rebelling against her dad and his whole army. Damon knew he needed to keep her motivated and confident. "Don't be scared, love. We got this," he smiled and leaned for her face, kissing her gently before whispering, "Trust me,"

Celina smiled and nodded her head. It was almost too easy to keep her obedient. Damon nodded back and the two of them began walking out of the cell. They stopped when they were an arm's length away from the guard, and the guard turned around when he felt someone was standing behind him.

"Miss Celina-?"

* SMACK! *

Damon whipped the side of his head with his fist, rendering him unconscious. Before he fell to the ground, Damon caught his body and laid him down so that he wouldn't make a loud noise.

Turning his eyes to Celina, Damon stretched out his hand and she took it. Walking hand in hand, they reached for the door handle and opened the metal door. Damon could taste the freedom in the air, his blood was pumping with excitement. But as soon as the door was opened, his jaw fell to the floor. Hugo and five of his men were standing in front of them.

"Just what do you think you're doing?!" Hugo said angrily, but the anger was directed at Celina.

"Daddy?" she gasped, completely shocked.

"You are such a disappointment to me, Celina," Hugo shook his head disapprovingly. "You were going to break my prisoner out of my own home?"

"He's my fiance, daddy!" she squeaked. "I'm not gonna let you hurt him!"

"Who says I was gonna hurt him?"

"You did. You told him you'll kill him after the contract is finalized,"

"I never said that,"

"You lied, Damon told me you did,"

"And you believe him?"

Hugo turned his eyes to Damon this time. Damon had the gun and knife in his pocket, but it wouldn't be enough to fight six guys. So, he held his ground and waited for an opportunity.

"So, what's the plan? You're gonna break him out and run away with him?" Hugo scoffed mockingly, turning his eyes back to Celina. "We found the clothes and money you stashed under the tree,"

Celina was left totally flabbergasted. Her mouth fell open, but she couldn't speak. How did she get caught? Was she not being careful enough?

"You think I won't notice the things going on inside my own house?" Hugo said again, glaring daggers at Celina.

"Daddy... please..." she begged.

Hugo shook his head and pulled her arm roughly, yanking her away from Damon. She tried fighting him, but it only angered Hugo further. "Celina, you're a complete fool if you think he's gonna be with you after you break him free!" he roared.

"He is gonna be with me! We love each other!"

"Bullshit!" Hugo spat. "Well, you may love him, but he doesn't love you. Anyone with a pair of eyes can see that,"

"Daddy!"

"I'm telling you this for your own good. This man never loves you and never will. He's only ever loved one girl and she's not here!"

Celina felt like she was struck by lightning. She turned to Damon for support, but Damon was also lost. At that moment, she knew her dad was right. "Send her to her room," Hugo said to one of the guards. "Lock the door and don't let anyone in or out,"

"Yes, sir," the guard nodded and took Celina away. She squirmed and fought, but to no avail.

"Daddy, wait, no!" she cried. "Daddy!"

Though she was kicking and screaming, the guard didn't relent. He picked her up and threw her over his shoulder, carrying her away.

"Tough love," Hugo said with his head cocked to the side, eyeing Damon from head to toe. "Sometimes that's what you gotta do to teach someone a lesson,"

Damon fell silent. He stared at the five men before him, wondering if he could somehow take them all at once.

"I must say, I really underestimated you, Damon. You are a cunning man. Even under this circumstance, you still find a way to fight back at me," Hugo stifled a laugh.

"Is that a compliment I hear?" Damon replied, buying himself some more time.

"Sure, and it's the last one," Hugo said as he pulled out a gun, aiming it at Damon's head.

Damon kept his expression as unreadable as possible.

"You can't kill me, Hugo," he said through gritted teeth. "The contract isn't finalized yet,"

"Not tonight, but it will be by tomorrow," Hugo shrugged. "What's the point of waiting a few more hours?"

* CLICK *

Hugo clicked the safety off the gun and stared Damon in the eyes. Damon swallowed hard. One pull of a finger and his brain would be on the floor.

"Say your last words, my son," he said with a menacing smile. "It was truly a pleasure knowing you,"

Damon's eyes were filled with fire. This couldn't be the end for him. He had to see Violet. He had to-

*BANG! *