Page 76 of Curse

Disbelief and exhaustion weigh me down, and I can’t muster the strength to obey. My body feels like lead, the adrenaline drained from me, plus, whatever Aurelio’s men gave me to knock me out initially is still circulating in my system. I stay rooted to the couch, my gaze dropping to the floor.

“Siena!” Matti barks at me, turning to look at me. “You. Get up.”

Taking a heaving breath, I meet his glare through my drooping eyelashes, not even enough energy to change my expression. I grip the poker tighter and use it like a cane to help me stand. As I do, my gaze falls on Aurelio. The color is slowly returning to his face and his chest rises and falls softly. The fucker is still alive, the man responsible for my sister’s death and my father’s death.

I don’t think. I shift a step toward him and bring the fireplace poker up with both hands, hovering it over his groin. With everything I have left in me, I bring it down hard, the point disappearing deep into his flesh, blood spurting out in alldirections. Leaving the poker embedded in him, I drop my arms and lift my hooded gaze up to Matti.

The room erupts around us as Vin and Tommy run to Aurelio, yelling his name. Something flickers across Matti’s face briefly as he stares back at me. Concern? Irritation? An understanding? All three? I can’t tell. My legs give out, and he strides toward me, scooping me up like I weigh nothing, and throws me over his shoulder. Yanking the jacket hem down to cover my ass, he marches out of the room without another word.

38

Matti

It takes a few minutes to cross the Demonio estate and reach my house with Siena over my shoulder. The walk gives me time to think, though my thoughts are an angry, tangled mess.

I can barely see straight, I’m so angry that that fat fuck is still living after touching Siena. And he’s most definitely alive. The poker to his dick woke him up, and his screams were more shrill than any I’ve ever heard. But Tommy and Vin will get him medical care, and he’ll survive it. Though he won’t be trying to rape anymore females after this, thanks to my girl.

My priority now is taking care of her, making sure her injuries aren’t too severe. Once that’s done, though, it’s time to retaliate. Finish the job we started or finish him, one way or another.

Tommy’s reaction, I understand. Aurelio has his girl locked up somewhere, and killing his father now would complicate his ability to find her, possibly even get her tortured or killed. If I were in Tommy’s position, I would’ve made the same call.

Vin, though? That’s another story.

He hates Aurelio more than I do, and that’s saying something. Aurelio torments all of us, but Vin’s suffered the worst of it.

When we were twenty, Vin was dating a woman named Valentina. They’d been together for a year when Aurelio orchestrated all of us—Vin, Tommy, and me—walking in on him throat-fucking her.

Later, we found out Aurelio had been screwing her for months, that he told her to date Vin, essentially turning her into a pawn. She wasn’t cheating so much as following Aurelio’s orders: seduce his son, make him think she loved him, report everything back to Aurelio.

All so Aurelio could exert his control over Vin, humiliate him, and make it clear who was still in charge.

Father of the fucking year. And that’s just for starters.

So why the fuck did Vin stop me today? Why not let me take Aurelio out and finally end it, finally giving Vin the opportunity to step into the top spot?

As furious as I am, I know it’s complicated for him. Giovanna’s fate aside, killing Aurelio now would leave unresolved problems, especially if word got out that I was the one who did it and Vin was complicit. Taking out a boss is a big fucking deal, and right after losing Mikey, there’s no way it wouldn’t cause the men to lose faith.

Still, this isn’t like Vin. He’s usually the hotheaded one, while I keep my cool. But today, we switched roles.

I know what’s driving me. I shift Siena so that I’m carrying her in my arms, her small frame limp against my chest. She’s why I can’t seem to control myself anymore, why I’m willing to murder people for even threatening her, much less touching her. It’s Vin’s sudden personality shift that doesn’t make sense to me.

When I reach my house, I lay Siena carefully on the bed. She’s still wearing the jacket I gave her earlier, and nothing else. When I try to remove it to check her injuries, she fights me weakly, her body trembling with the effort.

“Stay still,” I growl, sliding the jacket off of her.

She stiffens under my touch, glaring up at me. “Fuck you,” she murmurs, her tone defiant but laced with exhaustion.

My tone turns cold, mocking. “Good girl, Siena. Anything else you’d like to share?”

Her eyes blaze with renewed energy. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

I don’t answer. Instead, I toss the jacket on a chair and grab her ankles above where she is cut before flipping her onto her stomach. She shrieks in fury, thrashing and kicking at me.

“STOP!” I bark. “You’re going to fucking hurt yourself.”

She stops fighting, but glares at me over her shoulder before burying her face in the blankets.

The sight of her battered body makes my stomach churn. Bruises are creeping across her thighs, back, and hips. Scrapes line her spine and wrists, and there are burns on her inner thighs and hip.

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