Chapter 30Vincenzo ~~~~~~If there was anyone who understood that torture wasn’t just about breaking bones or tearing flesh—it was about timing, waiting until the mind was fractured enough to spill the truth, Fiorella was that person.I stared at the guy dangling from the ceiling, his arms stretched above him, tied to a thick chain that rattled with every jolt of his body. Fi had been working on him since yesterday, she insisted she needed the adrenaline rush and the satisfaction that came with seeing a man whimper with every move she made. The man— Benito—let out a weak groan, a pathetic sound that grated on my nerves. His face was swollen beyond recognition, if I didn’t bring him here myself, I would have assumed he’d been bitten by a poisonous snake.I was getting tired of his whiningBlood dripped steadily from the deep gash over his brow, pooling on the cold cement beneath his feet, yet he was still lying through his broken teeth. The sound of my boots echoing off the stone
Chapter 31Vincenzo °° °° °° °°I didn’t need light to see her— she lay sprawled across the bed, her face pale, her chest rising and falling with shallow breaths. She looked tortured—forehead glistening with sweat, lips cracked and dry. Vito stood by the window, arms crossed, his face etched with concern. “She hasn’t eaten in nearly two days,” he said quietly, keeping his voice low, maybe not to wake her. “I’ve tried, but she barely gets in a spoonful before clamping those stubborn lips shut.”I found myself almost smiling, “Shouldn’t you be glad she’s finally giving your ear a break?” “I should,” Vito conceded, “But she’s out of it most of the time. Between constantly checking if she still has a pulse and jumping in joy, I don’t know which is more tedious.” The smile faded just as soon as it appeared, “Any improvement since the call?”“Sleeping now, but that won’t last.” I glanced at Stacy, her body limp, small and fragile against the massive bed. Her breathing was uneven, lik
NINE YEARS AGO Englewood, Chicago. Vincenzo ~~~0~~~“It’s normal for a teenage boy undergoing puberty to have sexual urges, but acting on them is demonic and God hates it.” Said the priest.My Mama’s head snapped in my direction, a silent, accusing warning, and I rolled my eyes. She had dragged me all the way down to this place and forced me to sit through mass, but the man’s sermon sounded like the annoying sound of rusty zinc on a windy day back home.I cast Fiorella a flirty look when Mama looked away and she returned it by blowing a kiss in my direction, then a wink that promised me ungodly things. Fiorella was Mama’s friend’s daughter, she was four years older than I was, but we’d been combing the streets of Chicago together since Mama and I moved to this neighborhood and screwing the shit out of each other long before we even understood what the word meant.“The back rooms. I’ll go first,” Fiorella mouthed quietly, a seductive smirk greasing her pretty face.Yeah, she’s tha
Chapter 1PRESENT DAYGold Coast, Chicago•• •• ••Vincenzo Mancini•• •• •• “Isn’t that exactly what psychopaths do?” Marcel snarled. “Make a point outside the frame and confidently present themselves as winners.” I snatched the bottle from him, eyeing him when he tried to keep his grip on it. “You’re not going to have her, and that’s final.” “A little touchy about this one, are we?” Marcel remarked with a sly smirk. I reclined in my seat, “What can I say?” A man might want to enjoy the soft hands of these sexy, naked strippers without the constant bickering of his brother and their, but not a man like me, apparently. As it turns out, women and an endless addiction to sex and the unholy love for all the fucked up things you can imagine in the dark underworld are not the only things I share with my brother. We also share a passionate desire to bite off each other’s throats. Because, where is the fun in agreeing on a simple fact instead of bickering like two-year-olds? Nay, t
Chapter 2 Eustacia “~~~”~~~”Once a feared and revered mafia princess, but now nothing more than a caged animal.This guy, the one they called Aurelio, didn't like me from the minute I was handed to him on that plane coming here, and that was a month ago.Who was I kidding? Nobody likes me.His rough grip on my arm was firm, leaving bruises that would join the collection already marring my skin. Each step as he dragged me through the block made me wince in pain, but I didn't let out a single sound.Aurelio’s face was impassive, but I could see the disgust in his eyes. He probably thought I deserved every bit of this. They all did.“Watch your step,” Aurelio barked as we descended the stairs.I bit my tongue, suppressing the urge to lash out with a smart remark, but it wouldn’t help my situation.I stumbled but caught myself, Vincenzo Mancini was following closely behind at a leisurely pace and I refused to give him the satisfaction of seeing me fall.We reached the bottom, and he sh
Chapter 3 Stacy °° °° °° °° It didn’t take up to a second for Vincenzo to react, snatching his gun even though the car was running at a speed he could barely control, and with a burst tire, we were likely to roll off a cliff or end up in an anthill—but that didn’t stop him. Without taking his eyes off me, he kept his pistol accurately aimed at my chest, his eyes a silent dare for me to do anything stupid with the rifle. “You’re going to drive us into a fucking ditch if you don’t control this damn piece of junk!” I hissed. “You have a knack for stating the obvious, I see.” Then his voice turned serious, “But around here, you don’t take unless I give, understood?” Something in the way he said that made my ovaries jump in excitement. Fucking idiots, I thought miserably, as if one Mancini wasn’t enough. Another loud bang outside and the little control Vincenzo had over it went flying out the window. It veered straight into the thick bush, making us both bounce uncontrollably in our
Chapter 4Vincenzo°° °° °° °°She has fire, I’d give her that.Most women in her position would have broken down by now, begging for mercy, tears streaming down their faces—maybe even dead by now.But not Stacy Salvatore.No, she was too proud, too defiant to crumble so easily. I mean, when you’ve spent years learning to be wicked and making other people’s lives miserable from your father, you become like him.The way she handled that rifle was almost admirable, if I weren’t so determined to crush that pride of hers when the time came.I led her towards the truck, finding her futile attempts to free herself from my grip almost amusing. She was smart enough to know that fighting me wouldn’t get her anywhere, but that didn’t stop her from trying.There was a wildness in her, a desperate need to prove she wasn’t as helpless as she felt. It was that same wildness that would make her useful, even if it meant keeping her on a short leash until I was ready to use her.“Let go of me,” she sp
Chapter 5Stacy°° °° °° °° I slumped in the damn chair, every muscle in my body screaming in protest. It had been days—weeks, maybe—since I’d had a decent shower or a proper meal. I twisted my wrists, even though I’d done it a thousand times in the last hour, each time with the same fruitless result.I’m fucking tired, too fucking tired.But at least I’m still breathing, that’s a ray of hope there, right?Well, after the gunshot Vincenzo fired in the car, still breathing felt like a twisted miracle. Not even a scratch, maybe his target was bad? But he did kill that guy behind me without blinking.I sighed, I’d missed my only chance to run. That’s how I knew my body was losing this fight.Fuck, I’m so fucking weak!Sitting there, I felt like a piece of shit—dirty, useless. Vincenzo’s cells didn’t allow me the luxury of basic amenities, and my body’s biological functions had practically shut down for the past three months.But right now, judging by the way my stomach cramped and how h