Chapter 3
In the penthouse, Richie pointed to the phone, “Go ahead and make your call. I’ll go up to the bedroom and use that line to call for room service.”
“What time do you have to leave?”
“Check out is at ten.”
“Don’t you have a show tomorrow?”
“Yeah, in St. Petersburg but I don’t have to be there until four for sound checks. I’ll have plenty of time to get there.” Riche reached up and brushed her hair back. “You’re safe here with me, princess.”
“Thank you.” Richie started to go upstairs but she stopped him, stood on her toes, and placed a kiss on his cheek. “You’re my Prince Charming…riding in to rescue me.”
Putting his hand on the side of her face, he looked into her eyes. “I want to know what has you so scared.”
“I promise…I’ll tell you everything,” she replied putting her hand on his.
“I’ll be back in a few minutes. How about going for a swim? There’s a pool on the roof.”
“I don’t have a suit.”
“That’s okay. I’ll get you one. Make your call.”
Dominique watched as Richie climbed the stairs to the bedroom before turning to make her call. She hadn’t forgotten the number in three years…she just prayed it hadn’t changed.
A thousand miles away, a sleepy but familiar voice answered, “Yeah.”
“Daddy…it’s me.”
“Nikki? Where are you?”
She began to cry as she pleaded, “Please come get me, Daddy!”
To an unknown person, “Go get Jason…NOW.” Then, to Dominique, “Nikki, where are you?”
“Miami…at the Shore Club in South Beach.”
“Does Santadio know where you are?”
“No, I managed to escape but I’m scared, Daddy!”
“Are you alone?”
“No sir! I was at a Bon Jovi concert and I got Richie to help me but Chris’ men saw me leave with him. I’m scared they’ll find me and hurt Richie.”
“I’m going to call the hotel and get a room in your mother’s name. Get Richie….”
“It’s okay for now, Daddy. The room here isn’t in Richie’s name.”
By now, Jason had joined Sonny and he covered the phone to say, “Nikki has escaped from Santadio. Get my jet ready and get the men together. We’re going to get her.” Then, “Nikki, Jason and I are on our way to get you. If for some reason you have to leave the hotel, call me on the jet. The number hasn’t changed.”
“What if I don’t have time to call?”
“Meet me at the Bayside Marketplace at eight in the morning. You know how to stay out of sight.”
“I’ll do my best. Daddy, I love you.”
“I love you too, baby girl. Hang tough…it’s almost over.”
As Dominique hung up, Richie came back into the room. “Is everything okay?” he asked when he saw her wiping her tears.
“Perfect! Daddy is on his way to get me.”
“Dinner will be here soon,” Richie informed her as the elevator door opened.
Out stepped three men that Dominique recognized as Bon Jovi security but she could see that they were angry.
“Lady, you’ve got about two seconds to get out of this penthouse and stay the hell away from Richie,” growled the leader.
“Whoa! William, what is your problem?” asked Richie as he stepped between the head of security and Dominique.
“That lady has put you in MORE danger than we can handle,” he responded pointing to Dominique. “Did she tell you who she is?”
“I know her. We met a few years ago at a blues club in Port Charles that her dad owned. Her name is Dominique.”
“Last name…” demanded William pinning her with a glare. “Tell him your last name.”
“Santadio,” she whispered.
Richie looked confused for a brief moment and then the connections started to be made. “Christian Santadio? The drug lord?”
Dominique nodded her head ‘yes’.
“Go on, tell him the rest.”
Getting angry, Dominique snapped, “I had every intention of telling Richie everything. I even told him in the car that I didn’t want to put him in danger. Why don’t YOU back off?”
Richie spoke up, “What she said is true. What’s going on?”
“Richie, we’re paid to protect you from fans, not drug lords armed with guns. Bob got shot by one of those goons back at the venue.”
Dominique gasped and turned into Richie’s embrace. She whispered apologetically, “I’m sorry. I need to go.”
“No, you’re not going anywhere! William, I’m not letting her leave. Those guys were after her to hurt her. Do the best you can but don’t let anyone else get hurt.”
“Richie, this isn’t smart. Christian Santadio is an extremely dangerous man and he’s NOT going to just let his wife walk away to be with you.”
“WIFE?” questioned Richie backing away from Dominique. The hurt was plain in his eyes. “You’re married to him?”
“Please, it’s not what you think! I told you that you had already won my heart…let me explain,” she pleaded.
“There’s….”
Riche cut William off. “Do you love him?”
“NO! Richie, Santadio kidnapped me three years ago. My dad refused to deal with him so he kidnapped me…my dad is Sonny Corinthos.”
“Oh wonderful!” said William throwing his hands in the air and rolling his eyes. “You’re in the middle of a mob war, Richie!”
“Let me worry about that,” said Richie not taking his eyes off Dominique. He could see the fear she was feeling…the fear that he would tell her to get lost. Reaching out his hand to her, he said, “We’re going to the roof to talk. Have room service bring the food up there when they get here.”
Dominique placed her hand in Richie’s and followed him as he started towards the steps. Richie didn’t give William a chance to question him.
Upstairs, Richie took a seat on a chaise lounge by the pool and pulled Dominique into his lap. “What happened with Santadio and your dad?”
Putting her head on his shoulder, Dominique gave a deep sigh and began her story. “Daddy owns a coffee business in Port Charles and Chris went to him three years ago to ask him to work with him. He wanted Daddy to use his coffee to smuggle drugs into the country. Daddy hates drugs and told Chris that he would never agree to the deal. Chris was furious and threatened Daddy. Daddy tightened security on me but I was too hard-headed to listen. One night about a month after Chris approached Daddy, there was a show at the club…B.B. King was playing and I wanted to see him but it was a school night and Daddy told me ‘no’. I gave my bodyguard the slip and Chris grabbed me. He flew me to South America so Daddy couldn’t find me and then we went to an island in the Pacific … we were at each place for six months before we returned to Miami.”
“Did your dad ever try to rescue you once you were back in Miami?”
“I don’t know if it was to try and rescue me but about a year and half ago, Jason tried to climb on stage while I was dancing. It was the first time Chris ever made me dance at his club…where you saw me. I was so high from the drugs that Chris had shot me up with but I remember seeing Jason being grabbed by Chris’ men. Later, in the back room, Jason was tied to a chair and forced to watch me give him a lap dance. I cried the whole time and afterwards, Chris shot me up again, then beat me.”
Softly, Richie asked, “I take it the lap dance was done without clothes?”
Dominique simply nodded ‘yes’.
Richie waited, holding Dominique close, giving her time to regain her composure. Then, he asked, “What about marrying him?”
“When I turned 18, he forced me to marry him. He paid a judge to perform the ceremony and ignore my protests.” She stopped for a minute then said, “Richie, the last three years have been a nightmare….especially after we returned to Miami.”
“What happened before, while you were out of the country?”
“Chris wasn’t around that much and he let me do whatever I wanted….I even got to call my dad a couple times but I couldn’t tell him where I was…not that it would have mattered. I had no clue. The only rule was…if I left the compound, I had to have a bodyguard with me. I found out where we were after we returned to Miami but it was so beautiful.”
Richie was quiet, contemplating if he really wanted to know more. He’d heard rumors of how cruel Christian Santadio could be and he’d heard Dominique say he shot her up with drugs. Finally, he asked, “What happened after you came back to Miami?”
“At first, he was
just as nice as he’d been at the other places.”
“What changed?”
“He told me that he loved me and when I told him that I would never love him, he got really angry. He locked me in my room where I stayed for almost a week with only one meal a day. From there, it just got worse. He would tie me to the bed and rape me or shoot me up with drugs. Some times, if he didn’t want me to be seen for a while, he’d beat me.”
Dominique’s voice had dropped and Richie could feel her body trembling. He watched as she played with his fingers and his heart broke. How had she endured?
“If he loved you, why did he make you dance?”
“To show me and my father that he had control of me.”
“Is that all you did…dance?”
“No,” she whispered. “He had me do lap dances and … service his friends.”
Richie hugged her
tight as he said, “No one deserves to be treated like that.”
Dominique felt the tears streaming down her cheeks but she made no attempts to
wipe them away. She needed to feel safe and warm and protected and that’s what
his embrace was doing. It was a good feeling.
As the couple sat in silence, William came into view. “Richie,” he said softly so as not to startle Dominique. “Room service is here.”
“Thanks, send them….”
“I had them put it in the dining room. I didn’t want them to interrupt you…or see you. The fewer people who know it’s really you here, the easier it is to protect you.”
“Thank you.”
William was standing beside the chaise and now knelt down. Touching Dominique’s leg gently, he said, “Dominique, I want to apologize. I had no idea what you’d been through.”
“You were just trying to protect Richie.”
“And we’ll protect you too. You’re safe here.”
“Thank you.”
“We’ll be down in a minute,” said Richie. The bodyguard nodded and left. Alone, Richie lifted her chin to look him in the eyes. “Be my girl.”
“You mean….you still want to be with me?” she asked in disbelief.
“With all my
heart, Dominique. You didn’t ask for any of this to happen to you.”
“No, I didn’t but…how are we going to see each other? You’re on tour and Daddy
is going to take me somewhere safe.”
“We’ll figure it out. Come on, I can hear your stomach growling.”
Dominique giggled despite the tears. “I am really hungry.”
“Hope you like seafood.”
“I love it.”
Hand in hand, the couple made their way down to the dining room where a feast had been laid out. Richie held the chair for her then took a seat across from her. As they ate, Richie watched her closely. She devoured the salad ravenously and he wondered what she’d had to endure to be able to go to the show.
