“No?” His body snapped upright, his hand clamping around the front of Aida’s neck. I jerked forward, the front chair legs smacking against Veev’s body. “It was me.” His face turned red at the force he was using. “I taught him everything he knows.”
Aida gasped for breath, her eyes popping open so wide I was sure they’d fall from the sockets from the force he was using. She squirmed, her instincts kicking in to try and fight, but it was no use because she was just as tied up as I was.
“He probably taught you the power of a wife, huh?” His chest heaved, Aida’s mouth opened on a silent plea, the life leaving her eyes, and then finally, he let go. I hadn’t realized I’d been holding my breath until it whooshed out of me. “I’m talking to you, nephew!” he roared, making Aida jump. If it was only me here, I wouldn’t have answered him. I would have played him at his own game. But it wasn’t just me. Aida’s life was at stake too. He was going to use her against me. That was what he meant about the power of a wife.
He clicked his fingers and pointed at me. “You get it now.” He stepped back from Aida and slowly removed his suit jacket. It was the same one he’d been wearing when I told him to leave the country all those months ago. I stared at him, taking in all of him. Dark circles ringed his eyes, and there was a wild look in his eyes. A look that told me he was on the edge of something he’d never come back from.
My chest burned as I put everything together, trying to make sense of it in my head. And I realized…
“You didn’t leave.” I clenched my jaw, narrowing my eyes on him, frustrated that I didn’t know he hadn’t left. Christian had watched him get on the plane, so how the hell did he get off it without me knowing? “You didn’t leave the country, did you?”
Paolo tutted, slowly and methodically undoing his shirt cuffs and rolling them up to his elbows. “For someone who is boss, you’re not very aware, are you?” He smirked. “But then again, I am good at what I do.” He stepped to the side, pulling some material off a crate next to Aida. My breath stalled in my chest as he revealed a mixture of tools—tools I knew were only used for one reason: torture.
“No,” I growled, knowing deep down that I didn’t have a say. There was nothing I could do, no way I could get to her. I pushed against the binds again, the ropes burning my skin where they cut into me, but it was no use.
Paolo’s gaze clashed with mine again. “When I was boss, I knew everything that happened in my territory. I ruled with an iron fist.” His nostrils flared. “Some may say that I was too harsh, but when you’re a Mafia boss, you don’t have a choice.” His eyes darkened. “I spent almost my entire life creating a legacy that my father would have been proud of, and they ripped it away like it meant nothing.”
“What?” I stilled, soaking in his words. “What are you talking about?”
“Your father!” Paolo shouted, his rage overtaking him. If Uncle Antonio had taught me anything, it was never to torture when you were angry. You needed control to inflict the maximum amount of pain. “He conspired against me! Me!” He threw his hands up in the air. “His big bother.” He paused. "He betrayed me.”
I opened my mouth, but he beat me to it. “He took it all away from me.” His voice lowered, his shoulders pushed back. “So, I did the same.” He grinned, glee flashing in his eyes. “My daughter was already in place with you, she had been for years, so all it took was one little slip in dead daddy’s drink and boom”—he flashed his hands in front of him—“heart attack.” He blew out a breath.
“Then you got in the way of me taking over.” He winked. “I’ll resolve that now, though.”
“You’ll never be in charge,” I gritted out, knowing deep down that without me, there wouldn’t be anyone to take over. Dante was too young, and Christian wasn’t blood, which would only leave Paolo. Fuck. He’d have it all in the palms of his hands, and there would be nothing I could do to stop it if I wasn’t alive.
Paolo ignored me, his hand hovering over the tools as he decided what to use first. “Hmmm.” He tapped his finger on his chin. “Where to start.”
He’d offered up more information than he’d probably meant to, but he’d made a mistake. His words had fueled me and made me even more determined to get out of here.
“Aida,” I called, but her attention was focused on Paolo too, her face so pale I was sure she was going to pass out. “Baby,” I said, softer this time. “Look at me.” She blinked, a tear falling from the corner of her eye. It slid down her face and down to her chest, the material of her black dress soaking it up.
“Lorenzo,” she whispered, her breath catching in her throat. I wasn’t sure what to say to her, not when I couldn’t get to her.
“Keep your eyes on me, baby,” I told her, nodding to drill my point home. “Just keep looking at me.”
“Okay,” she croaked out, blinking rapidly and wincing as Paolo moved closer to her. I glanced at him, just long enough to see what he’d chosen, and wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or not. He’d chosen a whip, one that had sharp teeth on each of the strands.
She hadn’t seen what I had, so as he widened his stance behind her and brought his hand in the air, she didn’t see it coming. I wasn’t sure whether that was a good thing or not.
He slashed his arm out, the strands whipping through the air and whistling at how fast they moved. They hit her back in what felt like slow motion. The slap of the strands hitting her skin had me wincing, and she squealed so loudly that it hurt my ears. I fought even harder against the ropes. I needed to get to her. I needed to do something to help.
Fuck! Why did it have to be like this? Why did I have to fall in love with her? If I hadn’t, then what Paolo was doing wouldn’t have bothered me.
But I had.
I’d fallen head over heels in love with her, and there was nothing I could do about it. The train had left the platform with no way back. It was her and me now in our own world as she kept her eyes on me, screaming at each of his lashes. Blood sprayed over his crisp white shirt, and I knew then that he’d broken skin. I imagined all the ways I would hurt him for touching her. Imagined having him tied to the chair and giving him a taste of his own medicine. But it did nothing to take her pain away, nothing to relieve the ache I felt in my chest from watching her get hurt.
My breath stuck in the back of my throat. I was powerless.
CHAPTER 20
AIDA
My head lulled forward; all of my energy zapped. Blood trailed down my back, burning the cuts like someone was rubbing salt into an open wound. My skin was a weird mixture of numbness and pain, all mixed in together, my nerve endings not sure which one should have taken prevalence.
Paolo groaned from behind me, the whoosh of air giving a moment of sweet relief until he slapped the whip against my skin again. My throat burned from each of my shouts, so all that managed to come out was a broken cry, enough to tell him that he’d hurt me again. I’d lost count after twenty, the numbers all blurring together just as Lorenzo had. I tried to keep my focus on him, needing something to center me, but I could barely keep my eyes open.
I was falling…
Falling into something I wasn’t sure I’d come out of.
AIDA
I wasn’t sure what was happening around me, but the grunts of pain and threats of death slowly worked their way into my ringing ears. My body was cold, but my back burned so hot I was sure I was pressed against an open flame.
“I can see your mind working.” I cringed at the sound of Paolo’s voice. “It won’t work, though. I have plans for you.”
“And I have plans for you,” Lorenzo gritted out. At the sound of his voice, I slowly lifted my head, gasping as the skin on my back stretched and expanded. I blinked, trying to stop the room from spinning, but it was no use. My body couldn’t take it. It couldn’t handle the pain.
The smell of burning skin wafted over to me, and I willed my head to stay upright, for my eyes to make sense of what was happening in front of me. I counted to ten in my head
, determined to get a clear picture, but I hadn’t even made it to five when my world went black once again.
AIDA
“Aida.” Shuffling, a whoosh of air, and then. “Aida.” I hauled in a deep breath as the sound of a chair scraping across the ground echoed around me. “Baby, wake up. Wake up.” My body swayed to the side, my instincts to right myself kicking in.
And I howled.
Screamed.
Cried out.
I’d never been in so much pain in my life. The agony was too much to bear. It was all too much to bear.
“Just keep breathing, baby.” His voice drifted toward me, offering solace when I needed it the most. “Hang in there. I’ll get us out.” Footsteps neared. “I promise. I’ll get us out of here.”
AIDA
“Motherfucker!”
My eyes snapped open, each of my senses trying to take everything in. A pained groan came from in front of me, the scent of burned skin mixing in with…was that bleach? I frowned, not trusting myself as I turned my shoulders, testing out the pain in my back. It stung like someone had pressed a white-hot poker against my skin. I tried to move as little as possible, only raising my head so that I could see what was happening around me.
Paolo stood to the side of Lorenzo, a sadistic grin on his face as he held a rod. “Hold still,” he warned Lorenzo, but I knew it wasn’t out of kindness and worry. He was saying it for his own amusement.
He smashed the bright orange tip of the rod against Lorenzo’s stomach. I winced as the sizzling of his skin got louder. Every part of Lorenzo’s body was tense, his jaw twitching as he clenched it, trying not to make a sound. My heart sped up, pounding in my chest so fast I was sure it would jump from my body.
I narrowed my eyes on them, willing Lorenzo to look my way. The warehouse had darkened, a signal that we’d been here at least an entire day. The hope of someone finding us was starting to dissipate. Surely Mateo would have—
I gasped, so loud it caused Paolo to pause inches from Lorenzo’s stomach. And it was then that I realized they’d changed his binds. He wasn’t tied up like I was anymore. His hands were behind his back, his legs still tied to the chair, but he was shirtless now, his bare skin on full display for Paolo to do whatever he wanted to.
“Ahhh, sleeping beauty is finally awake.”
My breaths turned to pants as I darted my gaze over Lorenzo’s chest and abs. His perfectly tanned skin had been painted with burns, some round, some lines, thin and thick. A few looked fresh, but a few looked like they were trying to heal.
Paolo took one step away from Lorenzo, his gaze meeting mine, and I hoped he’d come for me again because Lorenzo was barely holding his head up now. What had they done to him while I was passed out? And how long had it been? I’d assumed it had only been a day, but from the way the bruises on Lorenzo’s face were changing colors, I was starting to realize we’d been here longer. All sense of time was lost.
“Watch this,” Paolo said, his sweaty face grinning over at me a second before he whipped his arm out and slammed the metal pole into Lorenzo’s stomach. It wasn’t hot enough to burn the skin now, but whatever he’d hit had Lorenzo growling. “Fun, no?” Paolo dropped the pole to the ground, the pinging ringing in my ears, then took two steps away from Lorenzo. He crossed his arms over his chest, smiling in appreciation as he glanced at the both of us, proud of the work he’d done.
“Bastard,” Lorenzo croaked out, not giving up his fight. I smiled at him, a warmth spreading through me at the sight of him trying to hold on to his strength. Paolo was trying to break him, trying to cause him as much pain as possible using both his and my body, but he wasn’t successful. He’d never be successful.
“Name-calling isn’t nice.” Paolo tutted, a yawn breaking free as he did. “Rest is in order, I think.” He nodded to himself. “Yes. Tiresome work this game is.” I wasn’t sure whether he was purposefully trying to sound weird or whether that was just the way he spoke. Either way, with him gone, it meant a reprieve for Lorenzo.
Paolo took slow steps toward Lorenzo, walking around him in a circle, then moved over to me, doing the same but halting behind me. “Wow.” His finger trailed over my shoulder. I jumped from the impact of the soft touch, then yelled as he jammed his fingertip into one of the lashes. Wetness poured out of it, trickling down my back, the healing skin crying out. “It’s even better than a great work of art.” He whistled, then chuckled. “Now, all that’s left is the front.”
I felt his body come closer, his front smashing into my back. The burn intensified to such a point where the warehouse spun again, my body threatening to give up. But I couldn’t. Not now. Not now that he was about to leave to rest. It was our only opportunity to get out. The only way I could talk to Lorenzo without him around.
Lorenzo tried to lift his head, his dark gaze meeting mine and then Paolo’s. He’d heard what he’d said too, but unlike earlier when he barked threats at him, he stayed silent.
Paolo’s hands landed on my shoulders, his fingers digging into my collarbone. I tried to move away from him, but the bindings and burning of my skin stopped me. “What do you think, nephew?” He waited for Lorenzo to answer him, but when he didn’t, he continued, “Should I make her front match her back?”
He pushed into my back harder as he flattened his palm and shunted downward, grabbing my breast and squeezing. I wasn’t sure what was worse, being whipped from behind or him touching a part of me that was reserved only for Lorenzo. Fear built the longer his hand stayed there. Fear that it wouldn’t end there. I could take the physical punishment, but I wasn’t sure I’d be able to take anything else.
Lorenzo’s eyes fired to life, his body jerking forward. “Death,” he growled out. “Death is coming for you, old man.”
Paolo laughed, his whole body moving with the force and scraping against my back. “Promises, promises.” He ripped his front from my back, purposely causing even more pain. I squealed, sobs bubbling up inside that I had no way to hold back. My ears rang as he said something else, but I couldn’t make it out. I was falling again, falling into a darkness I couldn’t afford to be consumed by. But there was nothing I could do to stop it.
LORENZO
Two days.
Three nights.
That was how long we’d been here, trapped inside Paolo’s hell. He’d created a cycle I wasn’t sure was going to end. For hours he’d hurt me in any way he wanted, then he’d leave, appearing again just as my body was starting to rest. The only positive was that he’d concentrated on me, leaving Aida out of it after he’d ripped her back to shreds.
Each time he disappeared for a few hours, I was sure it would be our chance to break free, to get away from him, but he knew what he was doing. He never left us alone, always placing guards on the two exits that I’d been tracking. There weren’t any cameras that I could see, no cars coming and going. It was locked up tight, just like I’d expected.
Except…there was a fundamental flaw in his plan. He wasn’t a native, but his guards were. I recognized each and every one of them as people who had crossed me before. All of them had a missing limb, and I wondered how Paolo had managed to find them. It had taken hours of watching Aida passed out for me to finally realize that this wasn’t a quick, off-the-cuff thing.
Veev had been in my life for years, trying to get closer and closer to me, and if it hadn’t been for Aida, she’d be in that position now. She’d been his inside person, the one who was able to relay all of the information back to him.
I glanced at Aida, my stomach churning at how at peace but also in pain she looked. Part of me was glad her body was passing out and protecting her because it meant she didn’t have to witness what Paolo had been doing to me. He’d gotten bored of her and paid extra special attention to me, and that was exactly how I wanted it. The more his eyes were turned to me, the less she had to suffer.
The door squeaked open, and the bodyguard stood to attention. They were starting to tire of their jobs, a clear sign that the
y had no loyalty to Paolo. He paid them to do the work only true loyalty could take care of.
Paolo stepped inside the warehouse, the sunlight blaring in behind him, and I knew from the moment Paolo had landed in the States, this had been his plan. Aida hadn’t, though. She’d just been a wrench thrown in the works.
A wrench he’d used against me.
A wrench he was going to regret.
He clapped his hands, causing Aida’s head to snap up. Her face screwed up, a groan ripping from the back of her throat. I couldn’t see her back from here, but I had no doubt the longer she sat there with it trying to heal, the worse it would get. It made getting out of here even more of a priority. I just had to work out how. I’d gone over and over scenarios in my head, tried to figure out if someone would find where we were, but I knew it was down to me. I had to get us out of this. I had to end Paolo’s reign of terror before it was too late.
“Time for round…” He paused, halting in the middle of the warehouse and tilting his head up to the leaky roof. It had rained over the last few hours, leaving behind wet patches on the concrete. “Huh.” He shrugged, then continued forward. “I’ve lost count.” He halted next to Aida, winking down at her. “Shall we have some more fun?” He knelt down next to her, slipping his hand up her leg and to her knee. All I could think about was chopping it off. My mouth salivated at the thought, my brain working overtime on all of the ways I would destroy him for hurting her.
She narrowed her eyes on him, her feistiness pushing through, but she didn’t answer. She stayed silent, having worked out that it didn’t matter what you said to him, nothing made a difference to what he was going to do.
He reached up, lightning quick, and grabbed her face in his hand, squeezing so hard that her lips puckered at the force. “Answer me.”
Lorenzo Beretta Page 21