Page 90 of Inside the Sun

"None of your business, sweetheart. But since you’re asking… yeah, I finally decided to give this thing a shot after years of thankless work for Rocco. I fucking earned it, and they finally saw it."

I nearly bug my eyes out at him. I’m just a teen, but even I can read this guy like a book. If Rocco brought this brat in, that was a huge mistake.

Can’t say I’m super educated about how the mafia works, but blabbing to me about this kind of shit, when the mafia lives by strictomertà? That shows he’s an idiot with a big ego, someone who doesn’t deserve an ounce of trust.

He leans in a bit, proving even more what a moron he is.

"If you ever dump Anzo, look me up. Name’s Vito."

"You shouldn’t be talking to me. Anzo wouldn’t like it," I mutter darkly.

But the man just stretches his face into a disgusting grin.

"I heard from the other guys that before Moon came around, Anzo used to pick up random boys off the street. When he got bored of them, he passed them on to Rocco. And thenRocco passed them on to the guys. Who knows, maybe we’ll meet again, just under different circumstances." He flashes me a filthy smile.

My lips tighten.

"Anzo didn’t mind?"

The idiot shrugs. "No idea. Maybe he didn’t know. Rocco’s doing his own shit. Supposedly everything changed when Moon showed up. But now that he’s gone, maybe things will go back to how they used to be?"

He takes a step toward me, and I automatically back away, but behind me are high garden planters. My body is getting tense, I clench my fists nervously…

"You okay?"

The voice comes from behind, and I spin around. Standing just past the planters is Ragnar. There’s something different about his face, something darker than I’ve ever seen on him before. His eyes look different too, though I can’t tell what it is exactly. All I know is that I feel relief.

"Never better. You done mowing the lawn, gardener? 'Cause it looks like you missed a few blades, over there, to the left," Vito growls.

"I’ll get to them in a moment, don’t worry. But I think you might also be needed elsewhere," Ragnar replies, voice calm as ever.

"You don’t get to tell me where I’m supposed to be, lackey."

Ragnar steps to the edge of the line of garden planters. Now he and Vito are only about three feet apart.

Ragnar towers over thesoldatoby several inches. Vito might be my height, maybe an inch taller.

"It’s just a friendly suggestion. Pretty sure Anzo wouldn’t be too thrilled to see you here with him."

"Anzo wouldn’t be too thrilled to see you sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong!" Vito snarls.

Another voice cuts in from behind. I whip around. Shit.

It’s Luca. This is getting messy!

"What’s going on here?"

Shit again. I still haven’t figured him out. Out of all the brothers, he’s the hardest to read. He keeps his distance. Since he doesn’t live in the fortress, I rarely see him, except at meals.

I need to act before things go too far.

"This soldier just told me he can’t wait for Anzo to be done with me, so he and the others can gangbang me," I say loudly, without sugarcoating a single thing.

My eyes meet Luca’s for a brief second. His are amber, and they do not blink. He stares at me like he’s trying to gauge if I’m telling the truth. And then…

He swings his arm out and punches Vito square in the face.

The soldier stumbles back and drops to his knees. Blood instantly gushes from his nose.

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