Page 48 of Curse

I frown. Things are changing, and they are changing quickly.

Aurelio ignores Vin and turns to Tommy, raking his eyes over him in disgust. Tommy stands tall, staring straight ahead. Aurelio stops short with his reddened nose within an inch of the side of Tommy’s face.

“Maybe I’ve coddled you too much, let you avoid this side of the business, stay with your studies and your city hall and your meetings. But if you’re going to be like this one here,” he jerks his head in my direction. “And give meagitaover a fucking woman, then I will do to your Giovanna what I did to hisputtana. Take care of it myself.”

None of us move. None of us speak, each one of us planning how we will destroy this man.

Aurelio laughs cruelly, then glowers at us. “Get OUT.”

26

Siena

Istand with my back pressed against the cold steel door, the chill seeping through my shirt as I fix Franco with a searing glare. My voice cuts through the tension like a blade. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost, Franco. Any chance that’s because you left me for dead last time I saw you?”

Franco blinks away the wide-eyed shock on his face, replacing it with an expression of big-brother irritation, patronizing and dismissive.

“You’re confused, Siena. I had nothing to do with what happened to you. But the guy you left with? He can’t say the same.”

Before I can think it through, my fist clenches of its own accord, and I snake a punch into the side of his jaw, driving his head into the concrete wall with a dull thud. He leaps off the bed, fury igniting his features, but the chain tethering him to the frame holds him back. The rattling metal punctuates the silence.

“That’s for leaving me to be raped, beaten, and God knows what else.”

“Fuck you, Siena. Where’s your fucking loyalty?” Franco snarls, his voice like gravel.

“Myloyalty?” My voice rises, barely kept in check to avoid drawing unwanted attention. “You stood by while I was being assaulted and didnothing. And now you expect what? A fucking hug?”

Franco yanks violently against the chain, his face reddening with rage. I’ve never seen him like this before, and I don’t know what he’ll do if he gets free. I warily eye the bed, but the chain holds firm.

“You don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about, Siena,” he growls. “You have no idea what’s going on or how much you’re fucking things up. I’ve been locked up here for amonthbecause ofyou.”

The accusation blindsides me. “Because of me?” My voice trembles, disbelief washing over me. “You’ve always been delusional, but this? Wow. You think I’m responsible for you being here? I’m a prisoner too, asshole!”

“Really?” Franco spits the word like venom. “I don’t see any chains on you.” He yanks on his restraint for emphasis. “Must’ve spread your legs so wide they fell off. How does it feel to be a side-piece cum slut for the monster who slaughtered our sister?”

My fists clench so tightly my nails bite into my palms. It takes every ounce of control not to hit him again. Instead, I hold up the keys, letting them jangle lightly.

“Keep running your mouth, Franco. You’re making a lot of noise, and if we get caught, I won’t be able to save you. Just like you didn’t save me.”

Franco glares at me, his jaw tightening, but he stops struggling against the chain. “You expect me to believe you’re hereto break me out when you think I left you for dead? How stupid do you think I am?”

I tilt my head, feigning thoughtfulness. “Good question. I’m not sure how stupid I think you are. Let’s come back to that.”

“What, you think you’re in charge?”

Raising an eyebrow at him, I lean casually against the door, resting my hand on the back of a chair and crossing one ankle over the other. “I’m not shackled to a bed, and I’m the one holding the keys. I’d say that puts me in charge.”

He rolls his eyes and sits heavily on the bed. “You’ve always been an entitled cunt.”

“Sure,” I snap back. “If expecting my brother—my family—to help me when I’m hog-tied on the floor counts as entitlement, then fine. You know what else? Fuck you.”

“You survived,” Franco says flatly. “But let’s be honest. The guy who tied you up is no different from the guy who cut you loose and carried you out of there. The only difference is that you want to fuck one of them.”

“I don’t want to fuck anybody.”

“Bullshit,” he snorts. “Just because you haven’t gotten laid since Bryan kicked you out doesn’t mean you wouldn’t fuck a random asshole. Matti is the king of assholes, which makes him just your type, right?”

The mention of Bryan twists like a knife in my gut. Franco knows exactly what he’s doing. Bryan threw me out like trash after years of cheating, and Franco watched it happen without so much as a word of support. Five years together and Bryan leaves me the day his other girlfriend gave birth to their child. Class act.

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