She released my neck and swung around. “Take him to my playroom and get him in position,” she growled as she threw my letter to the floor and stomped away toward the exit.
I watched the fuckers approach. One on each side held me while a third un-cuffed me. Careful not to tense my body, I let them pull me up and then I struck. I kicked out and caught one of them in the knee hard enough that he released me. I swung with my free arm but before I could connect the fucker behind me hit me hard at the back of my head, stunning me long enough to get me cuffed and drag me to hell.
They dropped me to the floor and grabbed my arms to position my cuffs on a hook. I heard the sound of gears grinding as I was raised up until only the tips of my toes touched the floor. The room was stainless steel from floor to ceiling, with a tray of gleaming knives on display. Kicking at a fucker that reached down to grab my leg I smiled at the crunch I heard as he fell back. Blood squirted from his broken nose as he came forward and proceeded to pound on me until I heard my ribs crack. I hung defenseless and in pain as the fuckers stripped me bare and put manacles on my legs to hook me to the floor. Someone pressed a button and the grinding sound filled the room again as I was raised and stretched tight. In the cold, sterile room I hung naked for hours as the fuckers silently watched me.
The longer I was forced to hang here the more my imagination tried to take me to the dark place on those tapes but I refused to let it. I wasn’t going to let this bitch break me. The creaking sound of the door sounded ominous but I smiled through my pain, unwilling to let the cunt that entered see that I was worried. “I’ve been waiting for you. What took you so long?” I chided, hiding my disgust at her lust-filled expression.
She pulled her gaze from my naked body and went to her table of knives. “I wanted to calm myself a little after our last talk. I’ve learned not to play when I’m angry. It tends for my toys not to last as long, and you Dominic, I plan to have last for a long time.” She caressed the knives gently, as if mesmerized. Picking up a scalpel, she turned to me. “I have to be especially careful with you to make sure I don’t do anything to hurt your chances.”
“What chances would those be, Caterina?” I retorted, wondering what the fuck she had going on in her twisted mind that could be worse than this.
“Why your chances in the ring, my love,” she drawled as she pressed the scalpel lightly into my chest and drew it down in one long slow line. It hurt like a bitch. I barely held back my hiss of pain as blood began to seep out. “I’ve decided to stud you out, so you can pay for your upkeep. So the best way to make sure you command a premium price is by putting you in the ring.
“What makes you think I’ll fight or fuck for you?” I sneered.
The cunt pressed the tip of her tongue to my wound and brought it from the top to the bottom. “You’ll do whatever I tell you to do or Victoria will be taking your place as you watch.”
“You’re fucking dreaming, Caterina. Nero would never let you anywhere near her.”
“Do you honestly think that I don’t have people in my brother’s family ready to do just what I want them to do?” A calculating look came over her face. “Maybe my big sister isn’t the right incentive. How about Maria joins us, hmm? You already know you have a traitor in your own family. I just bet Maria’s missing all the fun that she was having before you and Nero rudely took her from her new home.”
“You fucking cunt. I’ll kill you,” I snarled helplessly.
“You’ll do nothing but what I tell you,” she replied, and I knew that she was right. It didn’t matter what was done to me as long as she didn’t touch Maria or Tori. Gloating at the resignation in my eyes, she began our first session, relishing every demented thing that she did.
Chapter 23
Nero was on his way. His anger at me was something I was not sure I would survive. His rage at my foolishness only mounted when Lucca Salvatici ripped the phone from my hand and gave him a place and a time for us to meet. I hadn’t seen Angelica since the office. She gave orders that I was to be placed in a bedroom and guarded before disappearing back into her room. At first I just stood in my prison, unsure what to do, but eventually I began to wander around the room. It was a picture on the dresser that caught my attention first. A young boy with a woman stood in front of a lake, smiling happily. It was Dominic and his mother, I was sure of it. I had been placed in his room. Into the night and the next day I sat on his bed, wondering why she had placed me here. What point did she want to make? What did she want me to understand? The room was filled with possessions but nothing except that one picture felt personal. As if he was a guest, instead of a member of the family. I could relate to that. I loved my brother and Grams but the last time I felt as if I belonged was before my mother’s death. Since then I’d felt like an outsider in their lives.
The doorknob turned, and I was surprised to find myself face to face with Lucca. I forced myself not to step back when he came into the room and closed the door. “We’ll be leaving to meet with your brother soon, so there are some things that need to be said before we go,” he said coldly, while gazing at me with barely disguised disgust.
I met his gaze. “What could we have to discuss?”
If possible his whole demeanor became even frostier. “Your involvement with my brother Dominic ends now. Should we find my brother alive you’re to have nothing more to do with him.”
“That’s not your choice.”
“You’re very wrong. It is my choice. Dominic is a member of this family, and I will never allow him to sully himself with a Genovese. You were a job, nothing more. I sent my brother to get information from you. I honestly don’t care if this was all your sister’s doing. As far as I’m concerned your family is all the same, and I will not have it destroy my brother as it destroyed my sister. My brother ran with you to save our family. I see that now and so must you. He did not take you because he had feelings for you. If you try to force the issue it will only continue this war.” He turned and opened the door, then stopped with his back to me. “Now prepare yourself. We’ll be leaving to meet with your brother in twenty minutes, and I fully expect it will be the last time I will ever see you.”
By the time the guard opened the door and told me to follow him I had at least been able to wash the tears from my face, if not my heart. Lucca had been cruel, but truthful, saying everything that I had said to myself. Why would Dominic want me when he could have his choice of women? He never would have looked at me twice if I hadn’t been a job. I wasn’t beautiful like Maria or Angelica, or sultry like Caterina. I was a mouse. The sooner I accepted it the better. It didn’t mean I wasn’t going to save the man that stole my heart. It just meant that I knew what I felt would never be returned.
At the bottom of the stairs the first thing I noticed was that Angelica wasn’t among those waiting. Panic began to set in. Was this a trap? Seeing the look on my face, Don Salvatici spoke. “My daughter in-law will not be joining us. The one that we were searching for has not been found, so she will not leave the children unprotected.” He motioned to two people I hadn’t noticed before and thought I’d never see again. “Christopher and Marcus have agreed to come in her stead, so that you’ll feel more comfortable.”
. Stiffly the two moved forward and smiled grimly at me. Christ, they looked terrible
Surrounded by the closest thing I had to protection we went to the waiting cars and left. In silence we rode. When I might have spoken a quick squeeze of my leg by Chris told me to remain silent. Obviously he had doubts about his own family. I held my nerves down for the ride, but they almost exploded when the car stopped at warehouse. I could see Nero through the tinted glass and he didn’t look happy. When Chris, Marcus, and I exited the car his face went stoic at the sight of them. I left them and hurried to Nero. I was ready for his disapproval so I was shocked when he pulled me into his arms. “I’m going to lock you in your room and throw away the key if you ever do anything so foolish again,” he whispered hoarsely, hugging me tightly be
fore releasing me. He brought me to his side as he faced Lucca and his father. “Thank you for returning my sister to me.”
“We have a debt to the girl. If she hadn’t done what she had, we never would have known that we had a traitor in our family and that we had been manipulated,” Don Salvatici admitted. “I was wrong, and I say that I was wrong. I had already judged you based on my knowledge of your brother, thinking that your whole family was the same before I even met you,”
This was as close to an apology as a man like this was going to give and Nero understood. “It’s over. Right now we need to find and dispose of Caterina before she’s able to cause more havoc.”
Don Salvatici nodded in agreement. “Have you come up with any leads to her whereabouts?”
“No. Caterina is good at covering her tracks.”
“Then it’s hopeless,” I murmured. My hope of finding Dominic alive began to fade.
Nero read between my words. “No, not hopeless. Just difficult. As soon as Caterina realizes her plan has failed she’ll strike fast and hard. We need to locate her before that happens.”
As I listened to the men go back and forth on how to find Caterina I realized something that should have been obvious. Reaching out I grabbed Nero’s arm. “Caterina is like Enzo,” I said, realizing what we were missing.
“I know, Tori.”
I shook my head. “That’s not what I mean. I mean that she has the same desires as Enzo, making it impossible for her to stay away from a certain type of entertainment. There can’t be that many clubs around that cater to her tastes.”
Sympathetically Nero coved my hand with his. “More than you can imagine.”
“But it’s a place to start,” I suggested.
“Won’t she just leave and try again later? It’s what I would do,” Lucca interjected.
Nero shook his head. “She knows that both of our families will be hunting for her. If she runs now she may never get the chance to dispose of us again.”
“How is she even surviving without Enzo funding her? Where is her money coming from?” I pondered out loud.
At my words everyone looked at me.
“She’s right,” Nero exclaimed. “Where is Caterina getting her money? I cut off all her income when I took the family over after Enzo’s death. How the fuck didn’t I see it, Tori, you’re a genius.”
“Why don’t you let the rest of us in on this?” Lucca snapped.
“Caterina blew through our parents’ money years ago. Enzo supported her after that. That’s why she made her move to get rid of us—so she could get her claws into our money. She has to be running something that’s generating her funds. What we have to look at isn’t what’s been running but what has just started running since Enzo’s death. It’ll probably be something fairly new to our areas. Something that she moved with her when she set up shop here. I’d figure about a year old or less,” Nero speculated
“It makes sense. The bitch would go with what she knows,” Lucca agreed. “But we know about the torture clubs. Do you think that she’d be stupid enough to set one up again?”
“No, not sex clubs,” Nero replied. “Not sex clubs, fight clubs. Underground fight clubs would draw the type of money that Caterina is looking for, and a champion fighter can generate a huge amount in and out of the ring. It’s perfect. She can move it between each of our cities to keep an eye on us, and no one would think twice about it.”
“And the after parties are where she runs her girls through. Even with the sick shit she would allow, no one would say anything. You’re right, it’s perfect.” Lucca agreed. He stared at Nero for a long moment. “I’d like Marcus and Chris to help search on your end if you’re agreeable,” he said, ignoring the stiffening of the two of them. After all of this, Lucca still didn’t trust them.
I could tell Nero was about to say something but Chris beat him to it. “If you’ll have us Nero, we’d like to go with you. If Dom’s still alive we need to help find him. He’s family,” Chris finished, his barb at Lucca striking true.
As much as I wanted to watch Lucca get his ass handed to him we didn’t have time for it. “But what about our other problems? The traitors in our families? Won’t they just inform her that we’re onto her and shut them down?” I asked, worried that this had all been for nothing.
“Why do you think there are so few of us at this meeting?” Lucca told me. “I contacted Nero after the initial call and changed the meet in secret, sending our men to the first meeting as a precaution. Each of us brought only our most trusted men with us.”
Don Salvatici stepped forward and snapped his fingers for attention. “All right children, we all know what we have to do. Caterina will already be suspicious when her people report that they were sent to the wrong meeting place. Hopefully this will cause our traitors to get sloppy so we can identify them, but we can’t bank on it. What we will have to do is hurry if we’re going to have any chance of catching her. Nero, contact us if you find anything, and we’ll do the same. The quicker this is finished the safer both our families will be. Move quickly but be careful who you trust,” he cautioned, before he and Lucca left.
Standing there watching their car leave, I wondered why I didn’t feel more confident. We were closer than ever to finding Dominic and finally disposing of Caterina, so why did I feel as if we had never been farther away?
Chapter 24
Night after night Chris and Marcus went out. Each time they came back they were more withdrawn as their searches brought them no closer to finding Dominic. The Salvatici family had no better luck than us. We were all on edge, waiting to see what Caterina would do next. Sitting on the stairs I pressed against the railing as I desperately try to hear what went on tonight. It seemed to be the only way I could learn anything. Nero was serious that day. He had no intention of letting me have any chance of getting myself into trouble again. My home had become a prison, keeping me in and all others out. No one was trusted.
The ringing of the phone was loud in the early morning light, stopping all conversation. I hurried down the stairs and pressed myself into the wall next to the library. “Who is this?” Chris asked harshly, telling me that it was his phone that rang. “Angie, is that you?”
Uncaring I rushed into the room, ignoring Nero’s looks. I stared at Chris as he listened to the voice on the other end. I watched his face become pale. Terror filled me when he said, “All right, I understand.” and set down the phone.
….
Chained to the wall like a fucking dog, I watched the bitch that held my leash. The pain from the last match I had just fought was still fresh in my body. Each fight was to the death. Mine, if I lost. I don’t know why I was surprised that so many faces in the crowd were familiar. Friends and allies showed surprise then barely suppressed glee when they realized who I was. Some were smart enough to pretend that they were wrong, while others openly taunted me or bought me for their own twisted pleasure. Those will be the first that I kill once I’m free of this nightmare.
“You’re quiet tonight, my pet.” My tormentor purred, running her claws over my body as she straddled me. I grit my teeth to hold back the bile as she rubbed herself over my hardness, a thing I had no control over because of the drugs she constantly pumped into me. “You did well tonight. This beautiful body has made me a small fortune. Who would have thought when I took you that it would pay off so well for me?” She laughed as she grabbed my cock and slid it into her. Shuddering with her pleasure, she rode me, praising me as she did. I wished I had enough slack in the collar around my neck to lean forward and rip her throat out with my teeth. Her orgasm came quick once she slammed her palm into a huge bruise on my shoulder hard enough to cause a hiss of pain from me.
She was still shuddering her ecstasy when Vic, my brother’s number two, walked in, snarling, “We have a problem.” How no one realized that this motherfucker was a traitor still had me boiling in rage. It explained so much—like how my family thought that I was the traitor. This motherfucker had
set me up so well that no one suspected him, whispering into Lucca’s and my father’s ear while giving them everything they needed to kill me. He was the reason that this cunt was able to get to Angie and Maria. This motherfucker even took a turn with my sister. Caterina had taken great pleasure as she told me how the fucker wore a mask as he beat and fucked my sister. Caterina was so right when she told me that sacrificing my and my friends’ lives was for nothing. My letter never would have reached Angie. It had no chance.
As she climbed off my still hard cock, Caterina didn’t try to hide her irritation at the interruption of her playtime. “Stop being so dramatic. What’s the problem now?” The cunt asked as she sat in a chair and rubbed her legs together, spreading her juices that ran down her thighs.
Lust filled the fucker’s face as he watched her. “That bitch Angelica is on to me,” Vic said.
Caterina rolled her eyes. “Not this again. You think she’s onto you every other day. You’re being paranoid.”
Vic ripped his eyes away. “I’m telling you, ever since that bitch sister of yours showed up she’s been watching me. We need to make our move and wipe out the Salvatici family before it’s too late,”
“If she thought for one moment that you were involved with me she would have killed you by now. So for the love of God stop boring me with this. I’ve told you we can’t make a move until we have her brats. If you’re so worried, get me those little monsters and we’ll finish this,” Caterina snapped impatiently.
Rage filled me like it did every time they talked about putting their hand on those children but I pushed it down, knowing that Angie would be guarding them with her life. “Caterina, you should know by now that Vic will never help you get those children. He values his life too much. No, your pet Vic comes here to bait you into acting so that you can be caught and he can have it all. A traitor has no loyalty, especially to his partner.” I earned a hard punch in my face for the trouble. I spit out the blood that filled by mouth, looked up at Vic and smiled. “Truth hurts, doesn’t it?”
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