“That’s the point,” he teases, his lips curving into a wicked grin.
I try to smile, but the aching emptiness makes it hard to know if I succeed. “Text me when you get home?”
“Only if you promise not to ghost me for three days again.”
“That was one time,” I groan, rolling my eyes as the mood lifts instantly. Gio’s good at that—making me feel better.
“Still traumatized,” he teases.
“I’ll make it up to you,” I promise, rising onto my tiptoes to press one last kiss against the corner of his mouth. Then I step back out of his reach and turn before he can stop me.
I make it to the curb and raise an arm to flag a cab, a smile spreading across my face as I wait for Gio to catch up so he can steal one last kiss.
Instead, his distant shout raises the hair on the back of my neck, and the sound of screeching tires makes me whirl as my heart jumps into my throat.
I don’t know if his cry was in fear or pain—or even if it was for me or him.
But as cold fear settles into my belly, he’s the one I seek out for reassurance.
The world is thrown into chaos at the staccato sounds and sharp movements around me as I turn.
For one fleeting moment, I catch the look of horror on Gio’s face.
Then strong hands grip me from behind, fingers digging into my flesh with bruising force.
An arm like an iron bar wraps around my waist, hauling me back.
I scream, panic rising inside me before a gloved hand clamps down over her mouth, muffling the noise.
Kicking, I fight violently to break free.
But whoever has me isn’t letting go.
And with little effort, he lifts me bodily from the ground, dragging me back into the dark bowels of a van, the door rolling closed with a jarring clang behind him.
I struggle, lashing out with all that I have as more hands join my kidnapper’s.
They’re harsh and forceful, uncaring of the pain that lances through my wrist and elbow as they crank my hands behind my back.
Then someone gives a deep, breathless laugh as he folds me forward, bringing me to my knees as he shoves my face against the cold rubber floor.
“Whew, she’s a feisty one, isn’t she?”
“She’s going to be fun to play with,” another man responds.
“Get off me!” I scream, panic rising in my throat as I squirm beneath the man’s bone-crushing hold. But I can feel the road bumping beneath us.
We’re already moving—and now they have me restrained and isolated.
“I don’t think so, sweetheart. You see, Don Augusta sent us to teach his son a lesson, and seeing as you’re his little plaything Daddy doesn’t want causing any more distractions, that means we’re just getting started with you.”
I cry out in pain as the pressure increases on my wrists and neck, then a shiver crawls down my spine as hot breath washes across my earlobe.
“Maybe we should start by breaking in your pretty little holes. What do you say?” he murmurs. “See just how much cock you can take.”
Another dark chuckle from somewhere to my right, but I can’t see who it belongs to with my head wrenched to the side. “I doubt he’ll want her after we’re done with her, eh, Dino?”
“No names, dipshit. What did I tell you?” the man holding me snarls, straightening and giving me a moment’s relief.
