Page 3 of And Twice as Twisted
I killed him. I killed...
Chapter 1
SIENNA AGOSTINO
SEVERAL MONTHS PRIOR
“Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray to the Lord my soul to keep.” I stared out into the mesmerizing night sky above me, one arm tucked behind my head, the other resting on my stomach. “I have spent so many years asking—no, begging to hear him say those three stupid words. Words that mean nothing if he isn’t here.”
I wiped at the silent tears pouring from my eyes with a humorless laugh. I didn’t survive the insanity that was my life to end up here. Tomorrow just wouldn’t be the samewithout him.
“If you’re listening, please grant me this. I begged you for his love and now I beg you for his life…” I rose to my feet, stumbling twice before righting myself again. “Fucking mud!” I grumbled, kicking off my heels.
“Your mama is gonna beat that ass if you stomp in her gardens!” Al taunted, stepping around a rose bush. “Oh, no, Sienna. Not the red-soles.” He chastised with a sad smile, his eyes focused on my destroyed shoes.
“How long have you been listening?” I bent over, face-planting when my foot slipped.
“Long enough for you to rip my fucking heart out.” He reached down a hand, and I stared at it for a moment before I allowed him to help me up.
I raked a palm over my face, feeling my mascara clump. “Any word on Octavia?”
“No. Nothing since Mario’s call.” Al pulled me to his large chest, my head slamming against the wall of muscle. “We’ll find her, and Apollo will come home.”
“When?” I tugged from his grip, only to fall back on my ass, and rolled to my knees with my head in my hands. The cold mud seeped through my pants as my sobs filled the open air. We’d found Apollo and lost Octavia, simultaneously. There had been no demands, no more calls, and no information as to her whereabouts, while her pleas for help, for us to rescue her, served as a haunting reminder of how we’d all failed her.
“She is stronger than we think.” Al’s large hand warmed my back. “She…” He stopped, knowing nothing he said mattered.
“Why’re you playing in the mud?” my brother’s reprimanding tone called out amidst the darkness.
“Fuck off, Lucky!” I steadied my feet before charging forward. “You were supposed to protect her! You let her down!”
“We’ll find her, Sienna. Use your head, not the bottom of a liquor bottle.” He lifted the empty whiskey container from the ground. “Apollo’s gonna be pissed that you drank his expensive shit.”
My neck snapped in my brother’s direction. “Well, he ain’t here to stop me, now, is he?”
“Sienna.” There was that tone again. And I wouldn’t allow it. My entire family was acting as though my pain didn’t matter. As if I had no right.
My heart thumped in my chest, beating against my rib cage, and a red haze settled over my consciousness. A rage like nothing I’d ever felt before. He had the audacity to come here,interrupt my meltdown, and act like I was wrong for seeking a moment of reprieve.
It was true. The booze did little to heal me, and in all honesty, probably made my anxiety worse. But I was on a mission of self-destruction, and if I wanted to get tanked and play in the mud, then fuck anyone who tried to stop me.
I shoved at Lucky’s chest, screaming all my pain into his face. “He doesn’t want me! He never wanted me!”
“You need to rest, Sienna. You’re exhausted.” My brother ran a thumb over the bruises that still colored my neck. “He needs time.”
“Time. Right.” I rolled my eyes. And the moon twinkled in response, mocking me as it prepared to drop and allow the sun to rise again. “And Octavia, does she have time?”
“Sienna.” He was losing his patience.
“Tell me, dear brother. As the future-fucking-king with nomietitoreto do your dirty work, how do you plan to save your little sister?” I could feel his anger burning at my back. “Handed the fucking city, just because you happen to have a dick swinging between your legs, yet you do nothing with it.”
“Boss, I got her,” Al interjected, but Lucky’s grip on my arm was already spinning me around.
“Fuck you, Sienna. Don’t you pin this on me!” His tight hold on my shoulders was the only thing keeping me from falling. “I’m sorry he hurt you, but Octavia isn’t my fault.”
Liar.We all knewil diavolowas just as guilty as the rest of the family. Forever surrounded by flames, it was our turn to burn.
“Boss, let me.” Al pulled me from my brother’s grasp. “Breathe, Sienna.”
