Page 15 of Ruined By Blood
I study her face, searching for resemblance to the dangerous man who's keeping me here. Her eyes, perhaps. Same intensity.
"I'm Sienna."
"I know." She moves to the armchair, curling her legs beneath her with casual grace. "Do you mind if I sit? Enzo said you're hurt."
I shrug, unsure what her purpose is here. A softer interrogation strategy?
"I was watching Gossip Girl reruns. Do you watch it? Enzo pretends to hate it, but he knows all the characters."
The image of the intimidating Enzo Feretti watchingteen drama makes me blink in surprise. "I... wasn't allowed to watch much TV."
"Oh." Lucrezia tilts her head. "What about music? I'm obsessed with Taylor Swift's new album."
"I like classical," I admit, the response automatic from years of my father's programming about what constituted 'appropriate' culture. "But I secretly listened to pop sometimes. On earbuds."
"Secret listening parties. I get that." She smiles, revealing a dimple in one cheek. "How old are you, Sienna?"
"Twenty-one."
"I'm twenty-two. Just barely older," she says with a grin that momentarily transforms her face. "Do you like art? I paint. Well, I used to. I'm trying to get back into it."
The careful way she says this catches my attention. "I do. I... take photographs. When I can." When I was allowed. When I could steal moments of freedom.
"Really? What kind?"
"Landscapes. Empty spaces." Places without people who could hurt me. "Sunrise over water."
Lucrezia nods slowly. "I get that. Open spaces feel... safer sometimes."
I study Lucrezia's expression, wondering if this apparent openness is genuine or calculated.
"My brother says you were hurt." She doesn't phrase it as a question, which I appreciate. No prying for details.
"Yes." I twist the edge of the blanket between my fingers, an old habit. "I'll survive."
"You're safe here, you know. The compound is like a fortress."
I almost laugh. "A beautiful cage is still a cage."
"True," she concedes with surprising honesty. "But some cages protect what's inside from predators outside."
"Your brother..." I start, unsure how to phrase my question.
"Is intimidating and bossy and overprotective," she finishes with a small smile. "But he'd die before hurting a woman."
Suddenly, memories of why I'm here flood back—Cortez's hands, the alley behind the casino.
My breathing quickens.
Lucrezia notices immediately. "Sienna? What's wrong?"
"I have to leave," I whisper, panic rising. "My father will be looking for me. The longer I stay missing..."
"Henry Sterling," Lucrezia says flatly, all warmth draining from her voice. "Enzo told me."
I flinch at my father's name.
"He sells women, doesn't he?" Lucrezia asks, suddenly direct. "Is that... is that what he was going to do with you?"
