“Got the munchies.” I try again. “Even death row inmates are given a last meal of their choice.”
“Death.” He seems to savor that word for a moment. Damn, he got it bad. “Tell me what I want to know, and you can get an apple.” He sits on the coffee table once more. His knee is an inch from mine, and the acrid smell of cigar is too close for my liking.
“Are you going to starve me if I don’t?” I raise an incredulous eyebrow. I need much more than a sole apple. I need hot dogs and donuts and French fries with melted cheese and chili.
“If I have to.”
I don’t like any inch of that sentence. He’s already found my Achilles’ heel. I call myself a foodie in the sense that my body needs more fuel than normal. I don’t mind it one bit since I love to eat.
“If you don’t comply, the new bruises on your body won’t be from one of your fucks,” he hisses.
I chuckle bitterly. Who said they are? Well, a few of them, maybe. “Did you stalk me or something?”
“Monitored your movements to snatch you easily,” he deadpans.
I’ve imagined having a stalker numerous times, but more as part of a dark, sexy fantasy. This sucks big time. He must know my routine…and he’s probably the one that fucked with my phone. I got the burner one because mine got suspiciously hot, overheated in my hand, and the battery didn’t last long. A clear sign of cloning. I thought Coretti did it, to keep an eye on me. But boy was I mistaken.
I was too careless. I yank on the cuff to flare the ache around my wrist in response to my self-recrimination.
A cloud of smoke travels my way. “If you don’t like to be tied, I can just make sure you can’t walk anymore.”
I sniff. He thinks threatening me with violence would make me talk?Too late, asshole, I’m already a total wreck.
“You don’t have to overdo the cold-hearted asshole persona,” I clip. “You work for Sebastiano Leone. I know you are the worst. You can’t stand me, and it’s quite reciprocated, I can assure you.”
“Not a persona, Enzino,” he articulates every syllable of my surname between gritted teeth.
“Art, my name is Art. Use it!” I can’t help snapping. It bothers me to no end to hear him calling me by my family name. I hate it.
Instead of answering me, he stubs the cigar in the cheap ashtray and takes an apple from the bag on the table—too far for me to reach.
“Talk,” he simply states.
“Ask,” I retort, looking at the apple and then straight into his eyes.
Fuck, I’m hungry.
What fresh hell time is it?That’s the first thought that painfully pierces my brain. I try to swallow, but my saliva seems to have vanished. It unfortunately reminds me of the cheap vodka and the man from hell, even before I open my eyes.
The horror persists, and so do I.
The cracked taupe ceiling and the spine-killer sofa confirm I didn’t imagine any of this shit. My throat feels fine, but my shoulder and my cheek, chin, and lip hurt as I open and close my jaw. Yesterday’s clothes are wrinkled and constricting, the body chain has dug a path into my skin, and with every move, I can feel each ring and bead sinking deeper. I try to spread my legs, but before going to sleep, the wacko cuffed my ankles as well. Fucking paranoid. Does he think I’m some kind of Houdini? I wish.
Clang. Tap. Tap. Bang!What’s that noise? I want to sleep. What is he doing? Renovating the shitty place?
“I lost my will to live,” I mutter, rolling on one side. My eyes stay closed as I pull the thin blanket over my face. Blanket? Where did this come from?
“Let’s hope,” I hear Luca spewing from somewhere in the room.
Thatstronzomade me drink all the vodka yesterday to loosen my tongue. He killed my buzz before it even started with all his questions. At least I slept like a log, but my sore body is paying now for every hard inch of this sleeping trap he calls a sofa.
“Get up!” he orders, his voice too close for my liking.
I can’t get up. I can’t even find my face at this hour—whatever hour it is. I can’t even contemplate eating at this godforsaken time.
“How?” I whine, trying to prove my point by tugging on the cuff and creating the familiar metallic noise.
“If you want breakfast, fucking sit up,” he states.
