Page 35 of Claimed
I cleared my throat. “Vito again.”
“What about Maximo?”
I shook my head quickly. “No. He didn’t bruise me.”
“Just Vito?” Gianni pressed.
I nodded, feeling a sense of foreboding settle over me as his lips curled into a smile. It wasn’t akindsmile, not even close. It was the sort of smile that promised pain, a smile that sent a cold chill down to the very marrow of my bones.
“Thank you for your honesty,” he said softly, though the softness in his tone only made it more terrifying. “You will find in our marriage thathonestywill always serve you best.”
My stepfather and Vito got to us, along with more of Gianni’s men.
Meanwhile, all the female guests had disappeared from the ballroom.
What the fuck is about to happen?
My stepfather spoke, “Why is Sofia going to be involved? I honored this arrangement. What did she say?”
Gianni turned to him. “There was no honor in your bringing her to me.”
“We did not have time to get her to change.”
Gianni turned to Vito. “Talk to Sofia about it.”
I opened my mouth to respond, but the words died on my lips as a man entered the room, carrying something large and menacing.
Oh wait. . .is that, Sofia?
My eyes widened in horror as I recognized what it was—a massive, battery-operated saw, its blade gleamed menacingly. Jagged, sharp teeth lined the long blade. Its body was made of sleek metal. And at first, I thought the handle was red, but the closer it got I realized it had been black and there was just lots of dried blood on it.
Regardless, the very sight of that saw was enough to make my stomach churn.
My blood ran cold as the truth hit me like a freight train.
Sofia wasn’t a person.
Sofia was the saw.
Gianni’s eyes lit up with a sick sort of delight as he took the saw from the man.
“Aww. Sofia,” he murmured, his voice taking on a mockingly sweet tone. “I didn’t think you would make an appearance this evening.”
Oh. Hold on. Wait. . .what is he going to do with that?
Now I regretted even saying Vito’s name, although he didn’t deserve my feeling bad for him. Surely, he had never felt bad for me this evening. But he was still my brother. It was still hard to not see Vito as the sweet baby boy in my mother’s arms.
What did I do?
Terror crashed over me, and I fought the urge to recoil, to run as far and as fast as I could.
My stepfather pointed to him. “This is not what we agreed to, Gianni.”
“Your son attacked my soon-to-be wife.” Gianni turned Sofia on. The blade began to spin, blurring the jagged edges as it gained speed. The hum of the saw's motor grew louder. “Did you really think I would let that slide, once I saw those marks?”
My stepfather fell silent, the color draining from his face as he glanced at Vito who was still trembling visibly. Vito seemed to be on the verge of fainting now.
Maximo cleared his throat. “We had to. . .get her here which may have caused some bruising, but Vito did not harm her.”
