Page 112 of Sinner's Vows

“And when was the time right?” I ask, my blood boiling.

“He ran out of time,” the man says with a snarky laugh. “He’s dead if you haven’t heard. Dead.”

Gus comes down the stairs. “There’s nobody here. Just the old man.”

“Why are you so lonely, Antonio?” I ask, releasing some pressure off his throat.

He stares at me, his brown eyes sunken into the deep holes of his eye sockets. “When you’re old enough, when you’ve made it to my age without pissing anybody off too much, they leave you to die by yourself.”

What a fucking loser. Alienated from the world, a pitstop for humans in the sick trafficking business, here on a derelict farm in butt-crack fucking nowhere. How long will it take them to discover his body? Long enough that it would appear as if he died of natural causes.

“Get info on the convent in Potenza,” I instruct Gus. We might just be lucky. “Is there anything else you care to share, Antonio? Think over your answer wisely, because it so happened that you pissed me off.”

“I’ve done nothing to you,” he says. “Let me be in peace.”

Peace? After what he’s been part of? So much so, he can’t remember their names? All those girls…Ariana… I’ll hang him up to dry like cured meat. With the alcohol sweating from his pores, he’s practically cured himself already.

“Here’s the thing, Antonio. You allowed shit to go down in this house, and if you think you could stand by and let it all happen and die in peace, you’re fucking wrong. You let Franco Fiore rape Emilia Korhonen under this roof, and I bet it was with your fucking approval.”

“She’s dead.”

“Yes, and yet, she speaks to me. I know exactly what went on here. It’s time you pay.” I twist his arm into a lock, and his weak body is no match for mine. “This is for Emilia Korhonen and the hell you put her through.”

“Make it quick,” he begs.

I don’t think he deserves quick.

“Tie him up, gag him,” I say. “Then toss him with his pigs where he belongs. If we find out that Gabriella is still safe in Potenza, we’ll see what to do with him, if he’s still alive.”

“They haven’t had breakfast,” the man whines. “Can’t you hear them squealing? The boars…they’re big. They’ll trample me to death, and then—and then?—”

“Eat you? Eventually, yes.” The fucking pigs haven’t shut up since we arrived. “Let’s hope you weren’t lying about my little sister’s whereabouts then.” With that, I let him go, and he crumples to the ground.

I walk out, set the dog free, and stalk off, letting the men do as I told them to do.

60

ARIANA

I’m a bunch of twisted nerves as I wait in the car. It feels like hours. I don’t know what Dominic would find at Antonio’s place. When I escaped twelve years ago, it was already a dump, and to my knowledge, nothing’s changed.

When Dominic appears through the olive grove, I have to hold myself back from getting out of the car and running to him and jumping into his arms. He’s safe. My heart is a mess where it beats in my chest with a mix of fear and hope, and an ache I’ve started to associate with him. Not pain—more like bubbles of joy that have nowhere to go, pressing against my ribcage. I thought we were done, that he’d end me once he learned I’m in the DIA, but then I recalled Matteo is my half-brother. I might be a pawn in their hands now, but they won’t just kill me to be rid of me.

And then he said, so casually, we still have plans forthat sweet pussy.

I’d love to hear—to experience—all those plans. Memories of last night flood my mind, and I squirm in my seat. Now I can’t think of anything else as he opens the door and slides into the back seat. I blush, the full range of red heat invading my face.

“What happened?” I ask, forcing myself to think about where we are and what we came to do, not sure I want the finer details. “Was he alone? Is he still alive? Did he know anything?”

“Give us a minute, and map out the direction to Potenza already,” Dominic says to the driver who waited with me in the car. The man gets out and closes the door, giving us privacy. “For now, sweetheart, he’s still alive. Apparently, Gabriella went to a convent. I have the number, but it’s too early to phone.”

“A convent? What are the chances she’s still there after all this time?”

He shrugs. “It’s our next lead. We’ll go there and figure it out.”

His gaze locks with mine, and then it wanders over my flushed cheeks and down my neck. As if he could read my mind, his slow inspection only intensifies the heat.

“Fuck, Ariana,” he murmurs as he leans in and cups my neck to pull me closer. “Don’t look at me like that. We have work to do.”

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