Six

 

 

Aria

“No, sweet girl. I’m about to get you out of here.”

They are the sweetest words I have heard in a long time. He’s going to get me out of here. With the dirty blanket still wrapped around me, I try to stand but my body isn’t cooperating. I have been beaten and taken advantage of every which way over the last week to the point that I have blacked out several times. I am convinced I have several broken ribs, and the blood coming from my vagina can’t be a good thing. On top of all that, I haven’t been given a single drug in days, so I am feeling every ounce of pain and I’m pretty sure my body has been detoxing cold turkey.

Taking the blanket off me, he removes his jacket and wraps it around my body. It’s thick and warm and smells clean with a bit of a woodsy scent to it. Carefully, he picks me up, and holding me bridal style, walks us up the stairs. There’s a man holding the door open, the one he called Johnny. He gives me a sad smile, one that looks a lot like pity, but I ignore it. I’m getting out of here. They can look at me however the hell they want to. We get upstairs and make it to the foyer when the door swings open and in walks Weston along with Derek and behind them are the two men I saw with Giovanni the last time he was here.

Giovanni sets me down, still holding on to me, but I’m already planning my escape. There’s no way I have made it this far, only to be shoved back down in that basement. I see the side door leading off the kitchen and wonder how long it would take me to hobble to it and try to make a run for it. I know realistically I wouldn’t get past all these men, but at this point I’m so desperate, I’m willing to chance it.

Like he can hear my thoughts, Giovanni leans down and whispers, “If you run, I will catch you. You are mine now.” The heaviness of his words spread goosebumps down my arms.

Weston must hear him because he starts to freak out. “You can’t take her. She’s not yours!” Weston stalks toward us and just as I’m about to make a run for it, Giovanni picks me back up in his arms. His men grab Weston and hold him back. He starts bucking his body, attempting to flee the men. Giovanni holds me tighter, walking around Weston and his men.

“I’ll meet you back at the club,” he says to his men. “Just make sure his heart is still beating when you’re done with him.”

“She’s mine, Valentino!” Weston spits out. Giovanni turns around and gives him that same smile I fell for the other night. “Consider your debt paid in full. You’re welcome. And if you so much as breathe near her, I will personally end your life. She’s mine now.” Then he walks us out of the house, Johnny opening and closing the door behind us.

The cold air hits my face and I shiver. It’s been months since I have been outdoors. I take a moment to inhale the fresh air before Johnny opens the passenger door to the Cadillac sitting in the driveway. Giovanni places me on the seat then waits for me to move over before he scoots in next to me, closing the door.

“Where to, Boss?”

“To the club,” Giovanni confirms.

“You got it.”

After a few minutes of silence, I get up the courage to speak. I don’t know how far it is to this club but I know I only have a short time to convince him to let me go. Where I will go? I have no clue. I have no money, no clothes, and I am in desperate need of medical attention. I need something to take the pain away. At this point, I will take anything. My heart rate starts to pick up, my body going into emotional overdrive as I work myself up. There’s an anxiety attack building quickly and I can’t do anything to stop it. “Can y-you please let me go?” I am freezing and my teeth are chattering. My hands are shaking and I am on edge, needing something to calm me down before I hit bottom. I need something to numb me before my body goes into full-on panic mode. My head is pounding and it feels like I am having a heart attack.

Giovanni looks up from the phone he’s using and puts it back in his pocket. He twists to face me. Framing my face between his hands, he locks eyes with me. “What drugs are you on?”

Pulling back out of his grip, I look down, ashamed of what my life has become. “I’m not a druggie. Can you please just let me go?”

“You’re coming off something. Don’t lie to me.” With his thumb and forefinger, he lifts my chin so I am forced to look at him.

“You are mine now. What drugs are you on?” Mine. That one word causes me to slip over the ledge. I yank my face from his touch. My hand goes to the door handle in an attempt to escape, not even caring that if I jump out and the car is going too fast I’ll likely hit the concrete and die. I would rather my life end now and join my mom in heaven than live another day in this hell on earth.

Hands grab my waist and suddenly I am being pulled into Giovanni’s lap. My brain and body finally snap. “I am NOT yours! I am nobody’s! You can rape me and drug me and force me into another basement but I WILL NEVER BE YOURS!” A great tremor overtakes me as sobs break free from the deepest part inside me. My fists pound against his chest as I beg him to let me go. Streams of tears flow faster than my elevated heartbeat as I release every pent-up emotion I have had to keep down. I have no idea what this man is going to do to me for my outburst but I can’t stop. It’s like being in the middle of a tornado; the basement door has been swung open and there’s no closing it. All I can do is ride out the storm and pray I make it through alive.

“It’s ok,” he says soothingly as he rubs my back. “It’s ok, sweet girl; Let it out.” And I do. I yell and scream and continue using his chest as a punching bag. I cry and beg, and when my body and mind and heart can’t take it anymore, I shut down and everything goes black.