Page 74 of Curse

Part of me wants to hand the flash drive over to Vin right now and end this. But Aurelio is a not-so-wild card. He’ll just order her killed right here, and I need to get Siena to a safe place before I take anymore risks with her life.

Right now, that flash drive is leverage.

Aurelio emits a rough, dry laugh and mocks his son. “Yes, ‘brother.’ We will see you later, ‘brother.’” He kicks at the back of Tommy’s leg from where he’s sitting on the couch and roars, “Massacre these vermin! Am I not in charge here? Am I not the head of the family? Do not let them leave!”

“Don’t fucking touch her,” I growl at Vin and move so that I’m standing between them and Siena, but no one makes a move toward me or her.

Vin snarls at his dad. “Shut up, Pop! We’re handling this. Don’t fucking make this worse.”

Aurelio heaves forward, trying to stand, but his eyes flash in pain as he grabs his wounded hip and falls back. “I brought her here for a reason! She will not leave this estate alive!”

Vin keeps his eyes on me. “Shut the fuck up, old man!”

Tommy raises his hand to Vin. “What did you want with her, Pop?”

“I want to see what Matteo is throwing his life away for. Make him face me like a man. And then I want to fuck his little cunt girlfriend in front of him.” Aurelio leans forward heavily on one knee, heaving with exertion, getting the words out, his voice lowering to a raspy growl. “I want him punished for betraying me. For betraying the family. If he walks out of this room, Tommaso, Vincenzo, you are no longer my sons.”

No one moves. Before this moment, if anyone had suggestedthat Vin or Tommy would take me out, I would have laughed. But right now, I don’t know which way it’s going to go.

Both have been loyal to Aurelio in the face of their own humiliation and loss. At the end of the day, that’s their father. Being like a brother isn’t the same as actually being a son, and I know if I had to choose between my father and Vin, I’d be torn.

I’m staring at Vin, but it’s Tommy who makes a move first, pulling a gun and pressing the muzzle to my temple. “Don’t do it, Matti.”

“Fuck you, Tommy,” I grit out.

Aurelio grunts and struggles to stand. “Come here,piccolina. It’s time you pay for the trouble you’ve caused.”

37

Siena

Aurelio hulks toward me, his bulky frame blocking out the men behind him. He’s barely able to stand, limping heavily, and holding his ribs as he grunts with each step. It must be pure hate driving him forward.

Something primal in my brain trips off, blaring an alarm through my body.

Since I put on the suit jacket that Matti threw at me, I’ve been frozen in shock watching him fight Vin. But when Tommy put a gun to Matti’s head, cold terror gripped my heart. I didn’t even notice Aurelio rising from the couch until he blocked my view of Matti.

I lurch to my feet, intending to run, but my legs crumble beneath me. In one massive step, Aurelio closes the distance between us, his hand snatching my neck like a vise, his face twisted in pain. Before I can react, he hurls me against the wall.

The impact is jarring, but he’s wounded and weak, and the worst of it comes from the cuts and bruises I already have. A groan escapes me as I fight to stay upright, to stay conscious,to find an opening, an escape. Any opportunity.

Blinking hard, I struggle to clear my vision, and tug Matti’s jacket tighter around me. It’s not much, but it feels like armor.

Before I can move, Aurelio grabs me, a searing pain tears through my side, and I’m slammed onto Aurelio’s desk, sprawled on my stomach, gasping for air. As I attempt to push myself up, a crushing weight on my back shoves me back down, flattening me against the cold desktop.

“Right where I want you,piccolina,” Aurelio rasps, his breath hot and thick against my ear. He presses his hand between my shoulder blades, pinning me to the desk, and slaps the outside of my thigh, the sound sharp and degrading. “Legs together. I like it tight.”

Unable to stand on his own, he bears his full weight down on me, crushing my chest into the desk so that I can barely breathe. My face is turned toward the door, pressed against the desktop.

Through the blur of chaos, I can just make out Matti. He’s locked in a desperate struggle with Tommy and Vin, trying to wrestle the gun from Tommy while Vin has him in a bear hug, attempting to drag him to the ground.

Matti doesn’t see me. He doesn’t see any of this.

Aurelio’s curses grow louder as he pushes his free hand between us and claws at his zipper. His weight forces the desk to dig into my thighs painfully as he holds me down. Aurelio’s grunts of pain mix with mine.

My eyes dart to the objects within reach—a stone lamp, a marble pen holder, a heavy humidor—but with the way I am positioned, I’m powerless to make use of any of them effectively.

With a cruel chuckle, he swats Matti’s jacket up over myback and smacks my bare ass again, the sting triggering rage in my bones. Bending over me, he presses his torso against my back, grinding me into the unforgiving desk. His meaty hands clamp around my wrists, yanking them above my head.

---