“He was a spy, planted in our family by Rafe’s enemies. He didn’t love you. I’m sorry to have to say that, but it’s true. He was playing you, Gia. He was just using you to get information on Rafe and the business,” I told her.
“Hedidlove me and you took him from me! Just like you’ve taken everything from me!”
She stormed across the room in her heals like she had been walking in them all her life, and before I saw it coming she slapped me hard. My body moved to retaliate, but I fought it. I wasn’t going to hit my sister. She had been brainwashed into believing the bullshit she was spouting. None of it was her fault. I refused to hurt her unless she gave me no other choice.
I knew personally how easily our mother could get into your head. The woman had convinced me my loving brother would kill me, and I had believed her, even though, deep down, I had known how much Rafe had loved me as a kid. Isabella had gotten into my head though, and I had fallen for it. The woman had been a master manipulator and she had manipulated Gia now, too.
“Gia, they’re all using you, sweetheart. Please just listen to me. I love you. Rafe loves you. We can fix this if you stop it now,” I told her, desperate for her to listen and hear the truth in every word.
“I don’t believe a word that comes out of your lying mouth,” she hissed, then she hit me again, this time with a closed fist. She had a huge ring on her finger and it cut into my cheek. I cried out as the hit knocked me sideways, then slammed my bound hand over my cheek as blood started to trickle from it.
“Enough!” The guy, who had stood back and just watched on until this point, called loudly.
Gia instantly stepped backwards away from me, as the guy came at me, grabbing my arm roughly and wrenching me hard from the room. All I could do was stumble after him as he dragged me along.
The small room opened out into what seemed to be some kind of empty warehouse. The space ahead of us was vast, and evencolder than the room from which I had come. It was dark for the most part, but I could see two chairs, sat in the centre of a small area, which was illuminated by some overhead lights.
“Oh God!” I gasped as I realised Cal and Arran were tied to those metal chairs, and surrounding them were five, very clearly armed, men.
I set off running as much as I could with the pain I was in and my hands bound. The closer I got, the more afraid I was of the amount of blood I could see on both guys. Arran clearly had a head injury because I could see the open wound on the side of his head, and his hair was soaked in blood. His face was bruised and he was slumped forwards as if he were unconscious.
Cal’s right ankle was sat at an odd angle and he had two huge, deep gashes on the arm I could see. There was blood dripping from a cut on his forehead, but he was awake at least and looking right at me as I raced to him. Both of them were tied by their wrists to the chairs they sat in.
“CAL!” I screamed, as I dropped to the floor before him and hesitated with my bound hands held up between us, not sure if I should touch him for fear I’d hurt him more. He was gagged with something tied around his mouth, but he tried to speak anyway as his intense eyes met mine and tried to tell me something I was too messed up to read.
I barely been there a moment before rough hands grabbed me and dragged me away from Cal. I hadn’t even seen Arran properly. I didn’t even know if he were alive.
I screamed and fought to get free of the hands, desperate to get back to the guys, but my body was too painful and broken, and I didn’t have the strength. I was tossed down brutally to the side,landing hard on the rough concrete ground with a grunt of pain, but as soon as those hands released me I was fighting to get up again, to get back to Arran and see if he were breathing.
This time when hands landed on me, they shoved me down so hard, my head smashed off of the ground and I was left seeing dancing black spots and fighting nausea as I pushed up to sitting again.
I could hear Cal trying to shout through the gag, but nothing of sense was coming out. I just wanted him to stop. He had a head injury too, and he’d only cause himself pain.
“Fuck me! Settle down, lover boy! They’re not going to kill her…yet,” Gia said with a smirk as she strode in. I saw the moment Cal froze and just stared at her with shock.
“Gia!” I called, my voice trembling as I fought not to throw up. My head felt like someone was stabbing a blade through it over and over, and opening my eyes was making it worse, but I sat tall and looked to my sister with desperation. “Please, let them go. I know…you h-hate me. I know that, but the guys…they’re your family. You love them. Let them go,” I pleaded.
“Correction. I did love them, until you got your claws into them. Now I’m just going to enjoy them being forced to watch you being ripped apart.” Gia said it so brazenly it was terrifying.
I started to think for the first time, that maybe Gia really was mentally ill. When we got her away from here, I would need to talk to Rafe about getting her some real help and maybe a diagnosis. If we could get her the help she needed, maybe we could get her back.
“Enough talking, Gianna. I think you have already said enough,” A deep, accented voice spoke, then a figure emerged from the shadows to my right.
He was tall and built, dressed in a suit with an open collar shirt. I guessed he was around Rafe’s age. He wasn’t anything special to look at, just a regular face, with a goatee beard and dark hair, neatly cut. The only standout thing about him was a large scar that ran up from the collar of his shirt, up his neck and onto his face. It was huge and looked like the result of a blade.
“What does it matter? None of them are leaving here alive,” Gia pouted as she looked to the newcomer.
“It matters because I told you to keep your annoying mouth closed! Do not question me!”
Gia seemed to grimace at the power and threat in the strangers words, but, as always, she didn’t heed them, or the tone.
“Excuse me? None of this would even have happened without me! You should remember that,” she snipped as she glared at him with a pouty scowl.
“Gia…” I tried to warn her. She was playing with a monster. Even I could see that. I looked between the biggest threat in the room and Gia, praying she would get wiser, really quickly.
“You should heed your sister’s warning. It seems she’s the smarter one. It’s a shame really,” the stranger said as he slowly stalked closer to me.
“Smart? She didn’t even finish high school. She’s a whore. Don’t forget that! I’m the one you need to work with, not her! She’s just a means to an end!” Gia screeched irately.
