The guard grumbles and puts his knife away, letting his eyes flick down to my lacy white thong. His eyes pop open wide and he holds up his hands and stands abruptly. “I swear I didn’t touch her, boss.”
Between my legs, red stains the white lace and darkens my skin, dripping across the orchid scar that Tommy left on my inner thigh. Blood. My period has started.
Aurelio laughs, a cruel, barking sound. “Well, well. Our little whore is a virgin again.” He claps his hands like he’s at the opera. “Too bad for our purposes. We’ll be here a bit longer than planned.” His voice lowers, cold and dismissive. “Ah well. Antonio, until this has passed, she will be for your pleasure then. Take her however you like, just make it clear what her role is here. And do not stop until it is done.”
Aurelio turns and walks out, boots scraping the wood floor, leaving the stench of cigars and sweat behind him.
The door slams closed, leaving me along with Antonio. He doesn’t move.
Finally, I huff a breath. “Don’t stop until what is done, Antonio?”
He sneers at me. “You don’t deserve answers. You fucked everything up, you and your fucking asshole boyfriend. I told you that marrying me was the only way you’d stay alive. Did you really think that love would conquer all in this scenario? That’s not how shit works, Giovanna!”
Unexpected tears press painfully against the back of my eyes, and exhaustion settles over me. “You don’t want to marry me, either!”
He lunges at me, shoving his face in mine. “That’s not the fucking point! It’s not something I’m willing to die over!”
“Well, maybe I am,” I whisper, dropping my chin to my chest. I can’t stop the tears from sliding down my cheeks.
He grabs my jaw and squeezes, forcing me to look up at him. “Unacceptable. If you die, I die, and that’s not going to happen,” he hisses. He lets me go roughly, glancing down at the blood between my legs. “You’re useless like this. I’ll be back in a few days when we can actually accomplish something.”
“Wait!” My heart thunders in my throat. “Are you trying to—Are you supposed to be getting me—”
“Pregnant? That’s what married couples do, Giovanna. They have children.”
“We’re not married.” I can barely get the words out. I feel like I’m suffocating.
He scoffs. “Saying a few words in a church doesn’t make us married. If Aurelio says we are, we are.” He stops and looks down at me. Antonio’s face is carved stone, his jaw ticking. “You grew up in this world. How do you not know how this works?”
I close my eyes and turn away from him, willing away the tears.
I do know how it works. And I know what happens to women who stop fighting. I vow not to be one of those women.
Instead, I imagine Tommy wrapped around me, falling asleep with his cock buried inside me, his warm breath on my neck. Holding me close to him. Telling me everything is going to be okay.
4
Tommy
The phone feels heavy in my hand, heavier than it should. My thumb spins the ring on my right hand while the phone rings again and again. He’s been avoiding my calls—all of our calls—for days, shut down airspace around his private island, refused messages from emissaries. He can’t possibly believe that he’ll be able to hide forever.
He doesn’t answer my first call, my second, or my third. Gritting my teeth, I try again.
Finally, he answers, his voice smug. “Tommaso. What is so important that you must call me over and over?”
I suck in a long breath, willing my voice to stay even, calm, steady. “Sir, there’s been a development with the Mikey situation.”
Aurelio pauses. I know he expected me to go off about Giovanna. Ask questions, make demands, show emotion. I wantto do all three, but I don’t. I’m committed to playing the long game.
“Which is?” Aurelio sounds almost worried. “If it were good news, you would not call four times in a row.”
“It’s not good news. A small private plane went down in rural South Carolina. We’ve been monitoring transportation modes of all kinds since Mikey left, and this hit our radar before it got off the ground. Vin sent Franco down to meet it when it landed, find out if he was on board. But it crashed instead. We think Mikey and his wife were on board as well as a couple of Irish mafia members.”
For a moment, there is silence. I wait, let it hang there, empty and heavy.
Finally, Aurelio’s voice explodes through the phone. “Che cazzo!”
Yes, what the fuck, indeed.
