Page 555 of Sinfully Savage Mafia

“Yeah,” I growl. “That bastard deserved to be punished for what he did to our family, for what he did to Salesi. He needed to pay.”

“See, that’s loyalty right there,” Gallo says. “You putting your ass on the line for the family, for Papa’s business interests. Not thinking about the risks to yourself, just doing what you thought was the right thing for us.”

“Loyalty or plain stupidity?” I sigh. “I think I’m leaning in the direction of stupidity.”

“I hope Salesi appreciates what you did for him and his daughter.”

“I hope his daughter appreciates what I did for her, too,” I say, a smirk lifting my lips.

“You fucking dog.” Gallo rolls his eyes. “Only you could prioritize sex over survival.”

“Yeah, see? I told you. Stupidity.”

“I hope it was worth it since your dick is going to its grave with nothing more than the memory.”

“Okay, talk like that makes me think you’re dumber than I thought.” I narrow my eyes scouting the area around me for something, anything to help me carry out the next part of my plan.

I swallow the whoop in my throat when I see the exact answer to my prayers. Salvation has fucking arrived.

“And trust me, there’s no way I’m letting us go down in flames today. Messina’s a big boy. He knew the risks and he didn’t give a shit about them when he went after us and after the Salesi family. So…”

“Sowhat?”

“So, we fight back.”

“Uh-huh. And that won’t be a problem since we have full use of our arms and legs.” Gallo scoffs. “You know, Papa thinks you’re a liability because you’re dangerous, but really, I think it’s because you’re fucking delusional.”

“Not delusional,” I say with a wink. “Just determined. Salesi’s daughter managed to get away by stabbing Messina’s other son in the eye.”

“Because she wasn’t tied up, I’m guessing?”

“You’re thinking about this the wrong way,” I say. “Don’t focus on what we can’t do. Remember what wecando.”

“You can’t fuck your way out of this one, Zeno.”

I smirk at him, then nod up toward the areas where the chains are looped above my head. “Do you see there the ends are nailed into the wall?”

Gallo squints, peering upward until his eyebrows fly up. “Holy shit…” he breathes.

“Yep. Stupid is what fucking stupid does.” I want to scream it out loud so I can hear the words bounce off the walls in here, but I restrain myself. Messina will find out soon enough what an idiot he is for this oversight.

Someone didn’t bother to remove the rusted nail from the side of the loop. It’s sticking right out of the wall, primed for the grabbing. All I need to do is climb up and snatch it. Then I can get the cuffs open and save the fucking day.

Determined is an understatement right now.

I left out the part about being desperate.

“How the hell are you gonna get up there?” Gallo grumbles, casting a quick glance toward the door. “You think you’re Spiderman or something?”

“Or something,” I mutter, looking around. There’s another chair a few feet away but I can’t get to it with my arms flailing in the air, and I only have so much give around my ankles. I need to get high enough up to get my hands on the nail.

Climbing obviously isn’t an option.

A scraping sound jolts me, and I twist my head around to see Gallo struggle to slide his chair toward me. His face is pinched in agony with each push and pull of the chair. He’s still too far from me, though. I can’t do a damn thing to help him get closer.

He grunts and groans, dragging himself over the uneven floor. “Jesus, this is fucking murder,” he groans.

“No, but it will be if you don’t get here fast. I’m not gonna have time to unlock myself if you move much slower,” I say in a breathless voice, straining my ears to hear if we’re about to have any surprise visitors.

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