Page 23 of Souls and Sorrows

He’s wearing a fitted black suit and square glasses with wire frames, and I’m slightly daunted by how different he looks right now. Still massive and imposing yet for entirely opposing reasons. The man I met last week was suave and mysterious, and this one is incredibly well put together and calculated.

Not a strand of that almost-brown hair strays from the slicked-back style he has it in, even as smoke winds up around it. He’s clean-shaven, and for a brief moment, I let my mind wander to how his smooth jaw would feel, dragging up the inside of my thigh, coasting over my sensitive skin.

My pulse migrates south, and I clear my throat as the man’s mahogany eyes meet Ermes’s, whose grip tightens impossibly on the collar. So much that I think he’s trying to sever my head from the rest of my body.

Tears blur my vision, but I blink them away. Sucking in a deep breath, I relax my hold on the prongs, allowing the agony to absorb into my body the way I did when breaking in new pointe shoes as a kid.

Some pain is necessary. A means to a better end.

“I’m growing quite bored of these games, Barbieri.” The man shoves his hands into the pockets of his dress pants. “Do you send your regulars through such hoops to collect their winnings?”

“Ms. Ricci is no ordinary win,” Ermes says, finally releasing the collar. He toys with the attached chain, sliding the cool metal over the exposed skin of my thigh above the stockings, and then lets it fall to the floor. “In fact, we didn’t even do an assessment of her before she took the stage tonight. Perhaps we should perform one now? So you know exactly what you paid for?”

His hand comes up, a fingertip ghosting over the top of my ass. I smack it away, and he chuckles.

“A real-life firecracker, this one. You’ll certainly have your hands full.”

The stranger’s voice is a low, gravelly rumble when he responds. “And you’ll have yours in a box if you do not remove them from her person immediately.”

Mikey’ P.s face turns ashen, and Ermes pauses his caress.

“A man of the law threatening bodily harm to a civilian? Interesting.” He glances at me, letting his hand fall away. “Youmustbe something special, gattina.”

A lawyer?I study the stranger, recoiling slightly in disgust.

He still doesn’t look at me, as if I’m as insignificant to him as the chipped purple paint on the walls.

No one moves for a few beats, and the silence throbs around us, threatening to crush us in its grasp.

“Well, go on, girl. Say hello to your new husband.”

My head whips toward him. “My what?”

A slow, sadistic smile blooms on thecapo’s mouth. “You heard me. What did you think I meant by permanent?”

Clearing his throat, Mikey reaches up, gripping the back of his neck. “Boss, Vitus is gonna be pretty pissed—”

“Well, he should’ve bid faster. What’s that saying? You snooze, you lose?” His arms extend, drawing the two girls from where they drifted off to the side, beckoning them closer. They settle back at his feet, like they think they belong there. “If he has a problem, he can take it up with the newlyweds.”

Newlyweds.

That’s not possible, right? Aren’t there stipulations in place, licenses to sign, before you can marry someone?

My throat burns, the urge to call my sister and have her rescue me from this absolute mess overwhelming. Pressure builds, rushing between my ears the longer I stand frozen in place, in time, wondering what the fuck I’ve just done.

Did Papà know when he sent me here?

Sliding my gaze past the stranger to where the exterior door is still propped open, I weigh my options. They aren’t great really—stay and accept my fate or take my chances running.

I’m not sure I want to know what kind of monster justboughtme. If he outbid the other people here tonight, the odds of him being decent are likely not in my favor.

I don’t think I’ll make it. There are three massive men standing around, poised as if waiting for me to spring into action.

But I never have liked to disappoint.

They want a show? I’ll give the performance of my life.

Without waiting for anyone to unlock the collar from my neck, I gather the chain in my hands and bolt, sticking to the wall so it’s tougher to stop me. Mikey P. lets out a whoop of surprise, but by the time I reach the door, no one has grabbed me.

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