A choked sob escaped my throat as I gasped for air. I glanced around, hoping to find someone to help me. But every one of those bastards was staring at me with a twisted grin and that animal lust burning in their eyes.
Giuseppe knelt in front of me, his hand clamping around my jaw. His breath was hot and foul. “But before that, I’ve got a special ride in hell planned for you, Emily. Daughter of Sophia. There are men out there who’d pay a fortune for a scared little virgin. One who freezes whenever she hears the word ‘sex’. Do you know why? Because your fear will be real. Your panic, real. The way you’ll fight beneath their cock will be real. And that makes it so much sweeter for them. Oh, Emily, I’m going to make more money off you than I ever could from your mother.”
Then he released my chin and turned to his men. “Take her.”
One of them stepped forward and yanked a fistful of my hair, dragging me across the floor despite my screams and the blinding pain. My scalp was being ripped from my skull. I clawed at his wrist, kicking and thrashing, anything to make him stop.
Giorgio tried to fight back, but they beat him down mercilessly. I watched in horror as he collapsed, unmoving, blood pooling beneath him.
My screams echoed through the house as they dragged me toward the stairs. But halfway down, they stopped. Someone was standing there. It was Brando. Staring at me, and utterly shocked.
“What the fuck are you doing, Giuseppe?” he asked.
“This whore must know something about Tony and Lucia. I’m taking her in for questioning.”
“Please, Brando,” I cried. “Don’t let him take me. I’m begging you.”
The veins on Brando’s forehead bulged, and his pale face flushed red.
“Let her go,” he ordered the man gripping my hair.
The brute scoffed. “I don’t take orders from—”
Before he could finish his sentence, Brando raised his gun and fired. The bullet tore through the man’s skull. His body crumpled and toppled backward, crashing down the stairs in a sickening thud, like something out of a movie.
Gasps rose around us as the rest of Giuseppe’s men immediately reached for their weapons, but Giuseppe threw out a hand, stopping them.
The echo of the gunshot still rang through the house as more men rushed in, drawn by the noise. They quickly positioned themselves behind Brando, weapons raised, forming an unmistakable wall of loyalty behind him.
“Oh shit, who did this?” one of them muttered after glancing at me.
Giuseppe stared Brando down. “The girl is coming with me.”
“No. You take your sorry ass and get the hell out of here, dear uncle. The alternative is you burning in the flames before sunrise.”
“You don’t get it.”
“I get it just fine,” Brando spat out. “You’re trying to spark a bloody war, for your own gain, under my name. And I’ve told you, over and over, I’m not interested in what you want. But you never listened. Now get out. Because once Carlo sees this mess, not even Lord himself will be able to save you from him.”
Giuseppe stared at Brando for a long moment. One of his men leaned in and whispered something urgently into his ear. Without another word, Giuseppe turned and started walking toward the front door. But before stepping out, he glanced back over his shoulder.
“You’re making the biggest mistake of your life. And sooner or later, you’ll realize it. Come find me when that day comes.”
Then he left. The second he was gone, I broke into tears. The immediate danger had passed, but a heavier fear was already settling in. What would Carlo do to me now, knowing my boyfriend had run off with his wife? Would my fate truly be any better?
Brando knelt beside me. “Can you stand?”
I shook my head. A harsh cough racked through me, and I felt something warm rush up my throat. It was blood, sprayed from my mouth.
“Shit,” Brando muttered before quickly gathering me into his arms. “You’re going to be okay.”
Footsteps thundered through the hallway and Carlo stormed in. The moment his eyes landed on me, his expression turned deadly. The veins in his neck stood out like ropes, his whole body tensed with rage. He crossed the room in two long strides, his fist already rising.
My body tensed on instinct, too weak to move, just bracing for impact. But the punch wasn’t for me. It slammed into Brando’s face with a sickening crack. He stumbled, nearly dropping me, but before I hit the ground, Carlo caught me.
“Take him away,” Carlo barked. “I’ll deal with him later.”
“It was Giuseppe, boss,” one of his men said quickly. “He tried to take the girl. If Brando hadn’t stopped him, he would’ve taken her before we got here.”
