The last masked man got into the middle one's face, “I told you to be nice!” The last masked man sounded much like Cezar, so I guessed the other two had to be his brothers.
When the middle masked guy didn't back down, I knew this would get me nowhere. “Cezar, it's fine.” Facing the first masked man who did nothing to stop the other two, just kept his attention on me, I responded. “What I meant was, what does this have to do with my dead mom? How do you know her?”
Cezar tore off his mask, smiling at me like I had passed some test. “See! I told you she was dead.”
“The fuck, Cezar!” The middle man tore his mask off and revealed luscious brown hair, long enough to pull but short enough that it only curled around his ears, and a chiseled jaw that made me think this man had no problems with ladies. I mean, at least until he opened his mouth. “I told you to keep that shit on until Nicu and I were done with our questions!”
“She already knew it was me, right, my wild Roma?” I nodded, not knowing what else to do when three men towered over me, demanding answers.
Before I could say anything, the middle one threw up his hands. “She knew what you looked like but knew nothing about us. Fucking think, Cezar!”
The silent man, still staring at me, Nicu, I think he said, tore off his mask and threw it on the bed beside me. Everything about this man was dark. Black clothes, deep chocolate hair, olive skin, even his eyes were like two onyx stones fixated on me when he called out, “Let it go, Ion. You tore your mask off before she knew anything.” He stepped closer, graceful and powerful like a leopard on the prowl. “Now, tell us about your mother.”
Everything about this man, from his meticulously kept hair, sharply ironed clothes, and shoes so polished they reflected light, spoke that this man was in charge. Even the stubble on his face was crafted to perfection, not long enough to be a beard but not short enough for him to look clean-cut. Even Ion, trying to make Nicu explode with just his eyes, kept his mouth shut after speaking.
“I don't know what she has to do with you.” It sounded like they wanted something from my mom, and I needed to find out what it was. See if I could use it as a bargaining chip. The more I knew, the better chance I had to live through this, whateverthiswas.
Nicu took a few decisive steps before me, grabbing my chin and lifting it as his dark eyes glared down at me like I was nothing. Disposable. A shiver ran down my spine, fear trying to spike my nerves, but I suppressed it and stared back at him.
“Nicu,” Cezar warned, but still didn't move towards me.
He lifted his other hand towards Cezar, silencing him before he spoke in a low, powerful baritone. “I think you have the wrong idea here, woman. You’re in the hands of the Azadian brothers, leaders of one of the largest mafias in Eastern Europe.” He bent over, his lips just a hair away from my ear as he growled, “And we won't hesitate to cut you limb from limb to get what we want from you.” He traveled down to my neck, making my skin shiver as he whispered for the two of us. “I would hate to mess up this pretty little face of yours,” his fingers pinched my chin hard in warning as his voice dropped lower, “but I will.”
His head lifted slowly, letting go of my chin as his eyes tracked my every breath, every flutter, every beat of my rapid pulse. I knew nothing about this man, but at this moment, I knew he would make good on his threat. This man would kill me without a second thought. Cezar’s wishes be damned.
Fuck. What the hell did my mother get me into?
Reminding myself that letting the fear take over did me no favors, I took a breath and gritted my teeth. “I have no idea who you are; how would I know what you want from my mom.”
The expressive one, Ion, scoffed, giving me a nasty glare that looked odd on his model-perfect face. “Come on. Your mother left Armenia twenty-five years ago in a hurry; if the paperwork she submitted was correct, she must’ve brought something with her or mentioned some family. We just need a name. Was it the Hovsepian?” His eyes moved into slits, a cruel smirk on full display, “It would make sense if it were a part of those southern whores.”
Anger licked at my veins. My mom’s voice sounded in my head, and it chided me for that Lee temper she said I had in spades, but everything about this man irked me in the worst of ways. I wasn't able to keep my mouth shut as I growled, “My mother wasn't a whore.”
Something about how his eyes rolled, his head nodded like he’d heard it all before and wasn't buying it, infuriated me. Moving to stand up to defend myself and my mom, my leg jerked against the rope, making me immovable. Balling my hands into fists, a fire roared in my soul, growing more and more pissed off. Trying something else, I got to my knees just to give myself some height as I crossed my arms and faced them. “She was a Lee, a Romani princess of her tribe.” Nicu and Ion’s eyes slid to each other, silently talking before glancing back at me.
“A Lee, you say?” Nicu’s tone said he was now interested, but my gut told me I’d made a mistake.
“I tried to tell you, but you don't listen! You never listen!” Cezar threw up his hands, nodding away at something none of us could see. “I know, Nan, I know. Theyarefoolish boys. They think too much with their wiggles and squiggles, not about the thumps.”
Neither Nicu nor Ion looked surprised by Cezar’s outburst, which meant they knew he was unstable. Thinking back to Nicu’s threats and Ion’s attitude, maybe they’re all unstable.
“Where did your mother live? Why did she leave Armenia?” Nicu’s rapid-fire questions came at me quickly, but I knew I didn't want to give him those answers. If things got worse for me, I needed to have something in my back pocket.
“I don't know.”
Nicu’s eyes turned into black granite, and he took a big, hard breath like a bull before approaching me. He snatched at my throat, squeezing so tight it was hard to wheeze out a breath. “I told you not to fuck with me, woman.” His threat rang in my head as my eyes began to blur.
Cezar's voice bellowed in the background. A scuffle sounded behind Nicu’s large frame, Ion cursing at his brother, but nothing could tear my eyes from Nicu's cold, dead look. This man was going to kill me; his eyes said so, but I couldn't let that happen.
Tears streamed down my cheeks as I tried to grip his unyielding hand, desperately trying to make some room for me to breathe. “C-can’t tell… w-what… I d-don't… r-rem-memb-ber.”
His fingers were unclenched, and I fell onto the bed, gasping for air, coughing with my hand around my neck like I could protect it from any further damage. A shadow fell over me, and I turned to see Nicu’s pinched, cunning eyes and frowning mouth encompassing my view.
“You better start thinking of some answers, woman. He can’t save you forever.” Biting the inside of my cheeks, I caught my breath as I focused on the man in front of me who had no issues with choking me out.
He turned away from me, done with his threats, as he averted the two brothers fighting on the floor on his way to the door. Cezar was on his back, his arms locked around Ion’s neck, Ion howling out, “Fuck you, Cezar!”
Nicu’s voice called out with a menacing sigh, “Fucking quit it, you two. We’ll give the woman some time to think about her situation.”
