Page 7 of Taken By the Mafia King
Curiosity.
“Let’s go,” I said, motioning to the guards as I started walking forward. I walked outside and saw Tommaso standing with the door open, his hand curled over the window as he watched a car speeding off into the night. I followed his gaze and stopped in my tracks as Mattia fucking Greco, Andre Bianchi’s right-hand, bolted back into the mansion. I turned to Tommaso, shock rippling over my skin as he met my gaze.
“Holy shit,” he said under his breath. “You won’t believe what I just heard.”
“Get in the car,” I said hastily, looking back over my shoulder as Tommaso began to relay what he’d overheard between Gabriele’s man and Mattia.Gabriele, who had just bought Mattia’s boss’s daughter. This was big. “We need to leave, now.”
“What are you going to do?” he asked as he rolled up the partition so Delaney couldn’t hear our conversation as she sat in the back seat with two of my guards. I took the wheel and peeled out of the driveway, my mind reeling.
“Nothing.” I gritted my teeth. “Not my business.”
Tommaso grunted, tapping his knee. “You sure about that?”
What had that girl gotten herself into?
I had to make a decision. The clock started ticking the second Seraphina was dragged from the stage.
“I want men following both Gabriele and Mattia,” I said after a moment. “I need to know why she was auctioned off before I doanything.”
Part of me wanted to go straight to Gabriele right now and take her away from him. But that feeling could’ve been based on that look she gave me, the way her doll-like, expressionless gaze snapped with sudden rage that sent a tremor of heat licking down my spine. It had been a fleeting glance, but it had cut right through me. That girl would be mine. All I had to do was reach out and take her.
If something was going on between Gabriele and her father? Well, two birds, one stone, right? She’d be wanted by both of my enemies, and inmyclutches. That itself was worth something. Power. Advantage. Amusement. Tommaso had called me a Tom Cat once and a bastard for playing with my prey. Who could blame me for seeking out a little fun every now and then?
But I also had Delaney to consider. Her father thought he could go behind my back with no recourse, so I’d taken his most prized possession.
What a game this was, I thought to myself.
And I really liked to play it.
CHAPTER 7
SERA
They were speaking loudly in Italian. I was sure Gabriele and his men thought I didn’t know what they were saying, but I was fluent. My mom had seen to that, putting me and my brother Leonardo—Leo—into private catholic schools and bringing us up in what she lovingly called “the old way.”
We’d spent summers in Italy with my maternal grandparents. I’d picked oranges from my Nonna’s tree, and she’d sliced them up and served them with olives, Coppa, and fresh bread.
Tears streamed down my face as I shifted my focus back to their conversation and away from the beautiful memories of what was sometimes a loving, happy childhood before my mother died. My neck felt bare and cold without the weight of my rosary. I ached to reach up and rub it between my thumb and forefinger, but even the slightest movement of my arms sent a rush of searing pain through my hands as the handcuffs shredded my skin.
Gabriele had me in his lap. I could smell cigar smoke and sweat even through the bag. I could do nothing but let him touch me, my skin crawling as I forced myself not to vomit because I’d likely suffocate in this bag if I did.
Shame flooded my body as his hands brushed over my skin. I couldn’t even see him. I couldn’t see if his guard had turned to watch him touch me. They’d confirmed in Italian that it had been Mattia who’d tried to stop us from leaving. That was the only comfort I had.
Too much time passed. I knew I’d been taken far, far from home when I’d been kidnapped. I suspected I’d been drugged and knocked out, especially since the act of getting kidnapped and what happened in the van was a blur. Either that or I’d disassociated. I’d heard that can happen sometimes during a traumatic event for survival reasons. I felt glad I couldn’t remember.
I thought of Jim, which caused my chest to convulse. Had he seen me get kidnapped? Did he know? Had he called the police? Had he called Emma? The thought made me cringe.
If Emma knew I was missing, she’d raise all kinds of hell, likely going to my dad, a man she knew very little about—and for good reason. She’d be woefully unaware of the danger even though her intentions were pure. I prayed to whoever was listening that neither of them sought me out, if only to save their own lives.
The car rolled to a stop. Someone yanked me out of it, my hip smacking the lock hinge. I winced but didn’t dare make a sound. A hand in the small of my back and another gripping the handcuffs around my wrist forced me forward. I tripped and Gabriele cursed, smacking me soundly on the back of the head. I kept moving. A set of doors clicked closed behind us. We descended down a set of loud, metal stairs that echoed with each step. The steps turned into wet, rough concrete as the descent ended and the air became chilled.
Would I ever breathe fresh air again? Would I ever feel sunshine on my skin? Had I just walked into the pit of no return? An invisible fist tightened around all of my organs and I almostpitched forward on my knees, paralyzed by the knowing that once a victim has been brought to the final location, their odds of survival are greatly reduced. My hands and feet began to go numb.
I heard a heavy door open, and I was shoved inside a room that smelled damp and stale. I sucked in a breath as the bag was ripped from over my head. I blinked, looking around.
There was nothing in the room but a stained mattress with a single sheet on it. A lightbulb over my head provided the only source of light. No windows. Just a single, metal door. Everything was cast in a greenish hue as Gabriele moved behind me, undoing my cuffs, but he held my bloodied wrists together with one hand as he pressed his chest against my back.
“You try anything stupid,” he said softly, “and I’ll make you wish you were dead.” His free hand moved across my belly, scrunching the silk fabric. “You behave yourself, and you get a reward.”
