They were speaking loudly in Italian. I was sure Gabriele and his men thought I didn’t know what they were saying, but I was fluent. My mom had seen to that, putting me and my brother Leonardo—Leo—into private catholic schools and bringing us up in what she lovingly called “the old way.”
We’d spent summers in Italy with my maternal grandparents. I’d picked oranges from my Nonna’s tree, and she’d sliced them up and served them with olives, Coppa, and fresh bread.
Tears streamed down my face as I shifted my focus back to their conversation and away from the beautiful memories of what was sometimes a loving, happy childhood before my mother died. My neck felt bare and cold without the weight of my rosary. I ached to reach up and rub it between my thumb and forefinger, but even the slightest movement of my arms sent a rush of searing pain through my hands as the handcuffs shredded my skin.
Gabriele had me in his lap. I could smell cigar smoke and sweat even through the bag. I could do nothing but let him touch me, my skin crawling as I forced myself not to vomit because I’d likely suffocate in this bag if I did.
Shame flooded my body as his hands brushed over my skin. I couldn’t even see him. I couldn’t see if his guard had turned to watch him touch me. They’d confirmed in Italian that it had been Mattia who’d tried to stop us from leaving. That was the only comfort I had.
Too much time passed. I knew I’d been taken far, far from home when I’d been kidnapped. I suspected I’d been drugged and knocked out, especially since the act of getting kidnapped and what happened in the van was a blur. Either that or I’d disassociated. I’d heard that can happen sometimes during a traumatic event for survival reasons. I felt glad I couldn’t remember.
I thought of Jim, which caused my chest to convulse. Had he seen me get kidnapped? Did he know? Had he called the police? Had he called Emma? The thought made me cringe.
If Emma knew I was missing, she’d raise all kinds of hell, likely going to my dad, a man she knew very little about—and for good reason. She’d be woefully unaware of the danger even though her intentions were pure. I prayed to whoever was listening that neither of them sought me out, if only to save their own lives.
The car rolled to a stop. Someone yanked me out of it, my hip smacking the lock hinge. I winced but didn’t dare make a sound. A hand in the small of my back and another gripping the handcuffs around my wrist forced me forward. I tripped and Gabriele cursed, smacking me soundly on the back of the head. I kept moving. A set of doors clicked closed behind us. We descended down a set of loud, metal stairs that echoed with each step. The steps turned into wet, rough concrete as the descent ended and the air became chilled.
Would I ever breathe fresh air again? Would I ever feel sunshine on my skin? Had I just walked into the pit of no return? An invisible fist tightened around all of my organs and I almost pitched forward on my knees, paralyzed by the knowing that once a victim has been brought to the final location, their odds of survival are greatly reduced. My hands and feet began to go numb.
I heard a heavy door open, and I was shoved inside a room that smelled damp and stale. I sucked in a breath as the bag was ripped from over my head. I blinked, looking around.
There was nothing in the room but a stained mattress with a single sheet on it. A lightbulb over my head provided the only source of light. No windows. Just a single, metal door. Everything was cast in a greenish hue as Gabriele moved behind me, undoing my cuffs, but he held my bloodied wrists together with one hand as he pressed his chest against my back.
“You try anything stupid,” he said softly, “and I’ll make you wish you were dead.” His free hand moved across my belly, scrunching the silk fabric. “You behave yourself, and you get a reward.”
I tried to swallow but it was impossible. He pulled on the chemise until I heard the fabric rip a little, the stitches giving way like the grip I had on my fraying panic. “Do you want to know how you’ll be rewarded for being a good little slut?” His words were clipped. Excited.
Bile stung the back of my throat. I sucked in a sob as his hands slid over my body. There was no sense of pleasure in his touch at all. It was all pain.
“I’m your daddy now, bella,” he whispered into my neck. “I want to hear you say it.”
“No,” I whispered without meaning to say anything at all. His body tightened behind mine.
“I own you. I can do what I want to you, and I will. It’ll hurt more if you try to fight me, bella. I can promise you that. But I like it better when it hurts a little, don’t you?”
His teeth clamped down on my neck, and I screamed, trying to pull away from him. He laughed. The sound reverberated off all the concrete and hit me from every angle. I strained against the cuffs. If only I could cover my ears. His manic laughter taunted me as he threw me down on the soiled mattress. I tried to make myself as small as possible, pulling my knees into my chest, but he grabbed my ankle and dragged me back toward him.
“Do I need to share you with my men, bella?” He reached for his belt buckle as he pinned one of my legs to the mattress and knelt. “Or are you going to behave for me? They won’t be as gentle as I am, and I am not a gentle man by any means.”
I whimpered as his hand crept up my leg.
“Open your legs for me. I want to see what I spent so much money on.”
I shook my head, tearing my leg out of his grasp and kicking him, mostly by accident, right in the face.
He grabbed me and pinned me to the bed, his arm pressing against my neck so hard my vision began to blur.
“Stupid slut,” he rasped, licking the tears from my cheek. “You’ll regret that.”
I closed my eyes, but that didn’t spare me hearing the sound of him unzipping his fly.
SeraI’m dying.Gabriele was killing me, his arm pressed into my neck and cutting off my air supply. My fingernails clawed at his arm, but he didn’t move. I felt myself slipping into calm, cool darkness and it was a welcome relief.But then I heard shouting, and suddenly he released me. I took a deep, desperate breath even though I’d been reaching toward that bright light at the end of the tunnel that turned out to be the grime-covered lightbulb hanging from the ceiling instead. As soon as the humid, putrid air filled my lungs I started coughing and couldn’t stop.“What?” Gabriele shouted as he pulled on his pants and threw open the door. I couldn’t hear what the guard said, but Gabriele cursed under his breath as I brought my shaking hands up and clutched my neck where a bruise was surely forming. More coughs came, and Gabriel shoved me aside, cursing at me to be quiet.“Get her some different clothes,” he growled. “And make her eat. Force her if need be. I don’t want her losing any
SeraI clutched the sheet to my chest as a young woman entered the room. She was dressed in a pale blue uniform of some kind, her mousy brown hair pulled away from her face. I knew as soon as I laid eyes on her that my hopes of a rescue were foolish.She held a tray of food in one hand and a plastic bag in the other.“Hi.” She didn’t look me in the eyes when she spoke. Instead, she kept her gaze fixed on the tray of food. “I brought you something to eat and change into.”“I need out of here,” I said, “not food and clothes.”A guard moved into place outside the door as she closed it behind her. My heart fell into my stomach as a crushing weight settled there. What lengths would he go to in order to make sure I didn’t set one toe out of this prison? Was he waiting for his turn with me, like Gabriele had promised him? How patient a man could he be? Would he wait? Or if he saw an opportunity… I shook my head, scattering my thoughts. I couldn’t focus on every little threat right now. There
SeraGabriele moved toward me wearing nothing but a robe—a nice one. Something made of soft, cool fabric so unlike the tattered robe wrapped around me. I had no idea what time it was, but he looked like he’d slept and showered.At least he’d be clean when he forced himself on me, not that that even mattered.“Take off the robe,” he commanded in an emotionless voice that sent a chill skittering up my spine. I hesitated a second too long and anger flashed through his eyes as he stalked forward and yanked me into a seated position.I yelped as he slapped me hard across the face. I tasted blood but fought the urge to burst into tears as I remembered what I’d promised myself before I fell asleep.Let him touch you. Let him have his way. Live, for the love of God, live as long as you can and get out of here! Live, so you can kill this man with your bare hands. Live, so you can stop this madness from continuing.“What did I say about obeying me, bella?” He fisted my hair and forced me to loo
SeraThe body of the man who’d bought me continued to bleed all over the bed as the man who’d shot him in the back of the neck entered the room.Without thinking, I pushed the body off me, flailing as I tried to stay calm but lost the battle.He was fucking dead! Right on top of me.“Calm the fuck down,” my alleged savior said, coming at me. He growled through gritted teeth, but I smacked at him blindly, trying to get away.Manhandling me seemed to be no problem for him. Within seconds, his strong hands clasped my arms, twisting them as he pulled me against him, putting yet another bag over my head and hoisting me over his shoulder.He didn’t tie my wrists though. Still wild, I bucked and tried to comprehend what was happening. He merely adjusted my weight with a little toss that sent me a couple inches into the air. When I came back down and landed on his shoulder, it took the wind out of me. A hiss of involuntary sound left my lungs. He patted my rear end as if calming a skittish do
SeraTommaso spoke with kindness that made me instantly suspicious. “Your wrists look a bit rough. Infected, maybe. I’ll send someone upstairs to take a look at you.”I said nothing as he led me up a wide staircase that branched off into two separate wings of the enormous, echoing mansion decorated in dark wood and rich, gray and emerald tile.“A shower too, I think,” he said, his voice clipped and lifted. I looked up at him then, noticing the way his eyes creased sympathetically as he smiled. “Are you hungry? Thirsty?”“I…” I trailed off. What was he playing at? Did he think he could appease me with hot water and a trip to the doctor? Maybe a lollipop if I behaved? Not likely. “No.”I faced forward, trembling slightly as he shrugged in defeat and motioned for me to turn down one long, darkened hallway. Runners stretched the length of the wide hallway, lined with art in heavy wooden frames that might have cost more than the art itself. If my hands hadn’t been bound I would have reache
KillianI pursed my lips as I watched the grandfather clock in the corner of my office. It ticked and ticked away, each second like a breath I imagined Giuseppe de Luca taking as he arrived at his father’s house after a long night with whores and dice.My mouth twitched into a smile at the thought of what he’d find.The clock chimed seven, and I looked up as Francesco Abate entered the room, his face twisted in exhaustion. Francesco was a few years my junior. Tall and burly, he dripped with brute force and a violent disposition that had taken years to rein in. He was still working on that, but I was in no hurry to tame him. Terrifying man, truly.Francesco crossed his thick arms over his chest. “He knows.”“Well, that didn’t take long,” I said.A maid hurried in with a tray of coffee, her eyes flicking up to Francesco for a split second before she bristled and hurried over to me. She poured me a cup and I arched my brow at Francesco, who glared at the maid.“Thank you,” I said, but sh
SeraI mulled over my options as I took a shower, washing the blood and grime and the feel of Gabriele’s skin from my body. Food had been laid out, but I hadn’t touched it. An assortment of cheeses, breads, and cured meats sat alongside freshly washed green grapes and dried apricots. The sort of meal I’d have ordered off a menu to share with a friend. Or with Jim on our date, had a date ever come to fruition. As soon as Jim’s name skittered through my mind my chest tightened.Don’t think about him. A nice older man, possibly a butler, had cleaned and bandaged my wrists and a few other cuts and scrapes on my head. I’d been worried about being alone with a strange man again, but he’d brought a maid with him.He’d asked if I’d been… touched. I’d known what he meant. I only had the sense to shake my head and look down at the fresh, clean bandages covering the broken skin along my wrists as he gently told me I would heal. At least, my physical wounds would.But my mind had been elsewhere.
KillianDelaney Lombardi’s bleach-blonde hair stuck to her tear-stained cheeks as she rounded her bed, her body clothed in nothing more than a thin silk chemise the color of roses. I crossed my arms as I leaned against the door to the bedroom. She approached me slowly, her throat bobbing with serious effort as she took several calculated, but nervous, steps.“Does the-the nightgown suit me?” she asked. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes as she slipped a shaking finger across her breasts. “Do you like it?”“Where is your father?”“He’s not here,” she answered, swallowing hard again. “But you are.”I kicked off the door and stalked toward her. She yelped in surprise and moved away from me, climbing up and over the bed. Not so confident now, was she?I grabbed her by the ankle and pulled her to me, pinning her legs against the bed.“Don’t toy with me,” I spat, my lip curling over my teeth as I watched her tremble. “Where the fuck is Eduardo?”“I swear,” she sobbed. “I-I don’t know where