Page 49 of Taken By the Mafia King
“I’ve been out of thefamilyfor several years,” I admitted. “And I was alone back there, with Niccolo. Niccolo Marino.”
“Oh, I know him.” Her shoulders slumped. “He dated my sister for a while, before she died.”
I narrowed my eyes on her, but she didn’t seem to catch it. Tommaso fidgeted against the pillows, sitting up a little straighter.
“He was nice to me.” She tilted her head to the side. “Ricci isn’t nice. I’ve tried to do what I thought he bought me for, but he’s not interested. What sort of manisn’tinterested in this?” She gestured down at herself, and for some bizarre reason, I looked at her.Reallylooked at her.
Big breasts. Narrow waist. Pretty face. Feminine. Soft. Unblemished skin.
Had Killian been visiting her as often as he’d visited me?
I cleared my throat. “Why do you think you’re here, then?”
Tommaso gave me a warning glance but kept his mouth shut.
“I don’t know,” she sighed, running her hands over her face. “You know, when I was at the auction, I saw a woman being brought inside in shackles. She was beautiful. Thick, red hair and big blue eyes. But she was dressed very conservatively.”
My heart skipped a beat. “What?”
“I thought the whole auction thing was for sex slaves. Whores. You know? Why would a woman like that be brought to the auction?”
Her description made me think of a childhood friend, but there had to be a ton of redheads out there. We were the same age, and she’d lived next door to my grandparents in Italy. We’d grown up together, playing all summer for years. The last time I came to visit, the summer before my mother died, she told me she was going away to boarding school.
I never saw her again.
That had been years ago.
Delaney was still talking, but I’d missed part of the conversation. Something like unease licked over my skin as I tried to shift my thoughts back to the present.
“I’m just waiting for my dad to get here. I’m sure he’ll be here soon.”
“I thought he was already here?” I said before my mind had a chance to catch up to my mouth.
Tommaso grunted, pitching forward. “Sera?—”
“What do you mean he’s here?” Delaney’s eyes went wide. “Have you seen him? Did someone say something? Sera!” She said my name sharply, and I flinched like she’d reached out and slapped me.
When I opened my mouth to speak, Tommaso told me to hold my tongue.
“We’re done here,” he said.
Delaney’s eyes welled with pitiful tears. I felt sorry for her and wondered if the way I looked at her now was how everyone in this house looked at me. Like I was weak. Powerless. An outsider.
“Tell me where he is, Tommaso,” Delaney pleaded. “Please.”
CHAPTER 38
SERA
“You misunderstood her,” Tommaso told Delaney without a single shred of kindness. “Sera’s been locked up like you have. She wouldn’t have known if anyone came here. Your father isn’t here and hasn’t been here.”
Delaney pressed on, her eyes wide. “But she said?—”
“No,” I cut in quickly. “Tommaso is right. I’ve been locked up for so long. I think I’m just hearing things.”
Delaney sucked her lower lip and looked from me to Tommaso.
“If your father comes here, you’ll be brought to see him. We’ll get all of this hashed out.” Tommaso pressed what looked like a call button.
