Months Later

I sold you.

Roman’s words play over and over in my head.

The light trickles in, striking my face, so all I can see is the light. I can’t see the arch of the doorway overhead made of dark gray marble stone. I can’t see the sharp edge of the windows next to me that open up the living room to the garden below. I can’t see the beauty of the green oak trees that have been here for hundreds of years, the only things on this property entirely untouched by darkness.

All I can see is the weak shit standing in front of me. Asshole, cunt, manwhore, gold-digger, scum of the earth, piece of shit… Words keep coming, but they make no difference. I can call Roman whatever I want in my head, but it doesn’t stop what’s happening. And I won’t give him the satisfaction of seeing my anger.

Roman doesn’t get to see my pain. My regret. Or my anger.

He means nothing to me.

He used to be my entire world.

Now, he’s nothing.

I sold you.

Roman was the one. He’s sexy, charming, and despite how he dresses, he owns a string of wineries. He has money, not Carini level money, but he isn’t poor. I thought he loved me. I thought I was special. I thought I was his everything.

He fucked it up once.

I thought today was about fixing his mistake.

Instead, he’s fucking my life up forever.

I shield my eyes, as I see the men approaching me. I stand stoically because I know there is nothing else to do at the moment. Running is useless, I’ll just end up hurt. I’ve seen it happen to too many women before.

I will look for an opportunity to escape once they have me, but I know that won’t be more useful. In this world, there is no escaping. Even Nina and Eden didn’t escape. They remained. They just changed their circumstances in their favor until this world no longer terrified them.

My only hope is that Matteo and Arlo save me. That they realize I’m gone and still have enough power in this world to save me. If they can’t, I’m as good as dead.

I feel the cold, rough hands on my arms as they are jerked backward.

I sold you.

Roman’s words play again.

I should focus on the men tying rope around my wrists. I need to learn as much about them as I can. Find their weaknesses. Study their faces so when I’m free, I can come back and get my revenge. But I can’t focus on anyone but Roman.

Roman stands stoically as he watches the men tighten the rope around my wrists. He seems pleased with himself. His lips curl up into a wicked grin, while his eyes deepen with a mix of lust and greed, watching me lose my freedom. He thinks he’s won. But the war has only just begun. He may have won the battle, but the war is long. Carini’s hold grudges, and we always get our revenge in the end.

I smirk.

“Happy to be taken? Oh, that’s right. You are desperate for a man’s attention. Any man. Even a demon like Dante.”

Dante. That’s the first time my captor has been mentioned. It doesn’t ring any bells. He didn’t run in our immediate circle of friends.

I continue smirking, shaking my head. “I’m not smiling. I’m smirking. You think you’ve won, but you forget that I’m a Carini. My days aren’t numbered, but yours are.”

Roman narrows his eyes at me and laughs, glancing at the men holding onto my arms. Arms that are now firmly tied behind my back. I pull at the rope, and I know there is no way my hands will break free.

“I don’t think so. You are the one whose days are numbered. I’d bet good money you don’t survive the week where you are going. I not only made sure to get the highest price for you, but I made sure you went to the most ruthless owner in all of Italy. Dante Russo will beat you, rape you, and kill you when he realizes how ordinary you are. You have no fight in you. Your brothers will quickly forget about you. No one will save you. And when you are dead, no one will come after me.”

I search his eyes, and I find exactly what I would expect from scum like him.

“Then why is there fear in your eyes?”

Roman clears his throat and then walks toward me. “If there is any fear in my eyes, it’s simply the reflection of your own.”

I spit in his face.

My head whips to the side as I feel the sting of the slap against my cheek. I take a deep slow breath as the bite spreads across my cheek and to my eye.

I will not cry.

I will not show anger.

I will not show my pain.

Roman will get nothing from me.

I slowly turn my head back. I can’t stop my hand from reaching instinctively to calm my cheek, which is no doubt turning redder as the seconds pass. The ropes stop me before I remember my hands are tied behind my back.

Roman’s jaw spasms as he notices my hands squirming against the ropes. I know the rope is digging into my delicate skin, and will undoubtedly leave a burn in its wake, but I can’t stop fighting against it. Not now that Roman has me so worked up.

He takes a step back, while the men hold me back. One of the men’s hands clenches my arm so roughly the pain pulls my attention away for a second from Roman. I feel the nails digging into my flesh, and I want to cry out in pain. Tell him to stop, but I don’t.

Instead, I keep all my wrath for Roman. Giving him my full attention assures him I will come after him. I will watch the whites leave his eyes as he slowly slips away from this earth to hell. Everything that happens to me from this point forward is because of Roman. And I will make him hurt for every prickle of pain I endure.

“Everything going okay in here?” a man says from behind Roman.

I force my eyes away from the snake before me and stare at the man who just entered. Clive is standing in the entryway with a cup of coffee in his hand, like this is a typical morning. Erick enters behind him, and he smirks at me.

“Yes, just about to have the garbage taken out,” Roman answers.

I snarl. I can’t help it. At this point, I want the men holding onto me to drag me out, so I don’t have to look at Roman for another second.

Clive stands with a raised eyebrow, no doubt waiting for me to beg him to rescue me. He’ll be waiting forever. I will never ask for his help. Matteo may have been willing to ask for his help to save Eden and kill my father, but I’m not willing to ask this slime for help. The cost would be too high. Matteo had to give up everything he worked for to get Eden. If I asked for Clive’s help, I would merely be trading my life from Dante to Clive. I still wouldn’t be free.

Roman turns from me and walks into the kitchen before returning with a stack of money. He holds it out to Clive who isn’t surprised to see the money. He takes it from him eagerly.

“Thank you, Clive, for assisting me. I wasn’t sure if the pull of old love would be enough to persuade Gia to come back. But I knew she couldn’t resist coming back to her old home.” Roman turns his head to me, and the evil oozes out of his dark eyes. “But then again, I think Gia is desperate enough that she would have come back just for a chance at my attention.”

The men chuckle as if he made the funniest joke.

I hold my tongue, keeping my snark remarks to myself. Whatever I say won’t help. But I will remember every word. And every bone I break on his body, every cut I inflict into his flesh, every bullet I shoot into his body will be my revenge. I will not let him live. I’m a Carini. It may take me a week, a month, or even years to escape my fate, but when I do, revenge will be sweet.

I pull on the ropes again as Roman turns away. Maybe if I can get free for a second, I can inflict some pain right now. I can’t wait.

I get one arm free of the man’s grasp, but the other man holding onto me jerks me back.

“Gia’s feisty. She won’t go easily, but it won’t take long to break her. Tame her. She’s already broken.”

“You fucking asshole!” I yell, no longer caring what Roman thinks. I can’t contain myself any longer.

Roman turns around and walks back to Clive and Erick. None of them pay me any attention as I continue to curse and yell out my threats. I will come for them all. They think my family was evil before. That Enrico was the worst, and my brothers were demons that would fight to the death. They have no idea I’m worse than all of them.

Roman, Clive, and Erick ignore me as they turn the corner and disappear into the shadows of the house. My house. They may occupy it now after Matteo gave it to them in exchange for their help, but I’m getting it back when I take all their lives. I’m not as forgiving as Matteo and Arlo. Clive and Erick may have little to do with me being taken, but they could have done more to prevent it. They didn’t. They are just as culpable.

“Time to go, whore,” the man on my left says. He has dark eyes and a scruffy beard. His biceps bulge, covered in a sleeve of tattoos. He’s meant to look menacing, but he doesn’t realize I’ve dealt with men like him my entire life. Grew up around them. His looks don’t scare me. He’s nothing but muscle working for his boss, Dante. He follows orders, nothing more. He won’t touch me or hurt me as long as I behave.

He thinks a word like ‘whore’ will degrade me. Make me feel like I’m nothing. Start the process of breaking me. He doesn’t realize I’ve been called much worse. I don’t easily break, despite what Roman says.

Roman was an important lesson. One I learned far too late, but will never repeat. I will never fall in love with a man. I will never be that vulnerable again.

The other man holding my arm doesn’t say anything as they start leading me to the back door of my house. This man isn’t the leader. He’s smaller and therefore seen as weaker. I need to wait until I’m left alone with the weaker one, then I’ll make my run for it.

They don’t have to pull me hard as we walk. I go willingly. Or at least that’s what I make them think. Really, I’m planning in my head for when I return and slaughter all of them.

We walk out into the hot sun. Will this be the last time I see the sun? For how long? Days? Weeks? Years?

Will I be locked away in a dark dungeon? Or will I be given the freedom to walk around the house like my family always gave their slaves?

I have no way of knowing. So I lift my face up and soak in every drop of warmth. Letting the sun warm my heart and provide a memory of something positive I can take with me.

The door to the back of an SUV opens, and I’m quickly tossed into the back, just before the door is thrown shut behind me. I take a deep breath and wiggle myself up into a sitting position, recovering from falling on my face on the chilled leather seat.

Both men climb into the front without a word to each other. The car is started, and we drive off. I don’t dare turn around or look in any of the side mirrors to get a last glance of my home. I refuse to let it be my last glance.

My heart beats rapidly in my chest, but other than my heart, I can’t feel anything. Not fear or pain. Nothing.

But they made their first mistake. They tied my hands together, but not my legs. They sit in the front and not the back. They don’t think I will run. They believe I’m already broken as Roman said. That I’ve relented to being someone’s slut already.

I try to keep my lips thin, my expression blank, as if I’m in shock. It doesn’t matter though, because the men in front pay me no attention. They think there is no way for me to escape. They’re wrong.