by Ella Miles
I suck in a breath, knowing that she’s right—at least, in part. I’m not sure if either brother really loves me or if I’ve just become a new plaything that they don’t want to share anymore. But, whatever their true feelings are, I know that the fight to claim me as theirs is about to get ugly. And I have no idea how to stay out of the crossfire.
“What do I do?”
Her eyes are blank stares. I see an emptiness there that I’ve felt many times before.
“Hide or run.”
I swallow. Neither of those options has worked for me before. If I hide in my room, I’ll eventually have to come out to eat, to survive, and when I do, all of my problems will still be there.
And, if I run…I glance down at the bracelet that Matteo threatened me with the first day I came here.
The story he told me about it was easy for me to believe then when the fear was fresh, but now, I’m not as afraid. I know that Matteo rarely tells me the truth—or at least, the whole truth. He likes to play games with my head. I look down at the thin bracelet that I’m sure holds a tracker, but what else is inside?
I glance up at Gia to ask, but she has turned her attention back to staring outside. I doubt she would know what my bracelet contains anyway. She doesn’t seem to care about anything anymore.
It comes down to if I believe if Matteo was telling me the whole truth or not. I know he lied when he told me the story about the brothers who saved the princess. And I’ve caught him in several fibs. But would he fib about something like this? And is it worth the risk?
I could die if I take it off.
I could die if I stay.
Two choices, just like Matteo always gives me. Either way, it’s my decision. Neither has great odds of me surviving. But one would end much faster than the other.
I drop the books and what’s left of my breakfast, and I head outside into the warm sun that I haven’t seen in days. The sun has just barely started coming up. The Carini brothers aren’t awake. Enrico is gone. And Gia won’t come after me. Now’s my chance. If I can get rid of the tracker, then I can actually escape. I know the direction of town. I can run. I can be free again.
I look down at the bracelet that I forgot was even on my wrist; it’s so lightweight. There is no way there is a bomb inside. Poison maybe, but I doubt poison touching my skin would actually kill me.
I find the fastener and click the latch, surprised that it opens with ease. I watch as the bracelet falls to the ground, and then I run.
24
Nina
My lungs burn from my heavy breathing as I run as fast as I can through the field and into the forest behind their house. I haven’t exercised once since I arrived here—unless you count sex. And, while the sex was definitely enjoyable and kept up some of my stamina, it’s not the same as running. My legs are clumsy from using muscles that I haven’t used in weeks. Arlo’s sweatpants slide down my body with each step I take since they are far too big for my slim body. And my feet ache with each step. I didn’t even bother to put shoes on before I started running.
None of that will stop me though. Despite all of it, I run faster than I ever have in my life.
When I dart into the forest, I feel a false sense of safety wash over me. I know that no one can see me from the house now that I’m covered by the trees. But that doesn’t mean I’m safe. I will probably never be safe again, but at least, I can be free.
Ten miles stand between me and a chance at freedom. Not an easy feat for an experienced runner, much less someone who hasn’t run in months. But I have something that no other runner has. I have the adrenaline and anger that has built up inside me every day since I was kidnapped propelling me forward. I have more determination and need to succeed than any professional runner. I won’t fail. I can’t.
I glance up at the sun overhead. It’s still early in the morning. I have all day to run before it gets dark. I just don’t know how long it will take Arlo or Matteo to realize I’m gone. Did they realize the second I took the bracelet off? Are they already on my tail? And, even if they realized I was gone, would them come after me? Or would they let me have my only chance at freedom?
I don’t know.
I don’t know if they are already trailing behind me.
I don’t know if they are still in bed.
I don’t know if they have let me go.
But, until I know otherwise, I’m going to assume they discovered I was gone only minutes after I left. So, I keep running, knowing that I will eventually make it to town. To someone with a cell phone. To someone who cares enough to protect me from these monsters.
I will get to see Heath again. I will get to see Eden again. I might even get a life again if I can just run fast enough.
I use them as a motivation, but as much as I run for them, I run mostly for me. I run to save myself. Not for any other person, just me.
Images of Heath, Eden, Matteo, Arlo, Gia, and Enrico pop into my head from time to time. But I don’t let any of them in. I just feel the power of my body, and I let that propel me forward.
I run and I run and I run.
I run until I start to see buildings in the distance and hear the faint sounds of cars. I’m close, so close. I don’t let my legs slow down as I run. Even though my body aches with pain and exhaustion, I won’t let myself stop now. Not until I’m on a plane back to America will I allow myself to slow down. Even when I get to town, I will have to carefully choose whom I speak to since I’m sure half of the town is indebted to the Carini family.
I make it to the edge of the woods and finally to a street that leads into town. All have to do is follow the road for a quarter mile, and I will have made it.
It feels a bit dangerous, coming out of the woods and out into the clearing, but it also feels empowering. I can make it.
I stop suddenly as I see a car drive by, heading into town. I could try to flag a car down, but who would stop for me, and what would I tell them if they did stop? I can’t tell them the truth. No one would believe me, and those who did might try to take me back to get a reward or get their owns debts erased. I can’t trust anyone. I just need to borrow a phone to let Heath or Eden know I’m safe, and then I need to get to an airport. That’s it.
I let the car pass, and then I walk out of the woods and begin following along the side of the road toward town. I continue to jog, hoping that anyone who sees me will just assume I’m a jogger and not think anything about it even though I’m dressed poorly and covered in dirt and sweat.
Car after car passes me without a second glance back. I keep running until I finally make it to the center of town. I bend over for a second to catch my breath as I glance around, trying to figure out how I’m going to get someone to let me borrow a phone without drawing too much attention to myself.
I decide to duck into the church up the street. It will get me off the street, and they will probably just think I’m a homeless person. Surely, they will let me borrow a phone and get me a cab ride to the airport.
I start walking up the hill to the church, hating walking at a normal pace but feeling like I need to in order to not completely stick out in the crowd. My heartbeat quickens more with every step as my excitement builds because this nightmare is almost over. Just feet from now, I could be one step closer to being free. Just one last step, and I’m there.
I stop for a second, waiting for the streetlight to change. The second that it does, I begin lightly jogging across the street.
I feel the danger before I see it. I hear the tires. And then I feel the force of the car hitting me.
25
Nina
“Wake up, slave,” I hear Enrico’s voice echo through my ears.
I don’t want to wake up. And, even if I did, I’m not sure I can.
I feel a hand slap me hard across the cheek, and I jolt my eyes open from the stinging pain. That was a mistake. The second my eyes open, it all becomes real. The pain and terror explode all over my body.
I try to figure out where
the pain is coming from. My head? My chest? My stomach? My legs? Where? It doesn’t take me long to realize that I feel the pain everywhere. It’s not in one place where I can focus and then forget about as I realize how strong the rest of my body is. It’s everywhere. Just like it was after Enrico raped and beat me.
I take a deep breath. I’ve dealt with pain like this before and survived. I can deal with this, too. But just breathing is almost unbearable. My chest is on fire with every breath. Every rib in my body feels broken.
I need something to focus on that isn’t my body. My eyes turn to Enrico standing over me.
“I really appreciate you running. It made it that much easier to capture you. I thought about stopping you after the first mile, but what fun would that have been?”
“How did you track me?”
He smirks. “I’m not giving up family secrets.”
I frown.
“But then again, you are most likely going to be dead by the end of tonight, so what harm would it do?” His eyes glare into mine every time he speaks. Trying to push more terror into my soul. Trying to play the game and control me.
He won’t ever control me again. I won’t let that happen. His sons won’t let that happen. I’d die first rather than let him touch me.
“We injected you with a tracker years ago. It was all in the contract. That way, we could always find you. That silly little bracelet of yours was Matteo’s idea. He thought it would be a fun way to mess with your head.”
I take a deep breath rather than react. I don’t care about what Matteo did to hurt me when I first arrived. He’s more than made up for it since. I know how he feels about me. He won’t hurt me.
“Speaking of my sons…” Enrico turns, and that’s when I see a dozen men standing around the room.
He motions to one of them. The man turns and walks to the door in what I finally realize is Enrico’s bedroom. I should have known where I was from the disgusting stench I smelled the first time I entered.
He opens the door, and then Matteo and Arlo walk into the room, both scanning the room, trying to assess the situation as best as they can. I don’t see any emotion in either of their eyes, which is probably a good thing since there is no chance I will survive.
“What are we doing here?” Arlo asks his father. “I have a meeting set up for this evening, so this had better be quick.” His voice is ice-cold, like he feels nothing.
I try not to look at him as he talks so that it doesn’t hurt me. I know he won’t save me. He’s already said as much numerous times, but I can’t keep it from stinging me when he speaks and doesn’t even bother looking at me.
I look down at my body instead, where blood is pouring out from who knows where, and bruises cover every inch of skin that is visible. Enrico didn’t even bother tying me up as I lie in a broken pile on the floor, and even if he had, there is no way that I could fight off the dozen men in the room.
“Your meeting doesn’t matter. We are here to finish the game and crown a new Carini leader.”
I glare at him because I don’t have many options for anything else. I knew that was why I was here. Everyone knew already, even Arlo; it just had to be said.
Arlo narrows his eyes as he looks at his father. “Why now? Our time isn’t up yet. Are you really ready to give up being the head of the family?”
Enrico glares at his son. “I’m ready to finally see one of my sons step up into the role he was born to do. I’m tired of having to deal with the daily grind. I want to be around long enough to see one of you bring this family to the next level.” He looks back and forth between his sons, both standing strong and silently.
Enrico smiles as he turns his attention back to me. “I’m sure, by now, my sons have told you plenty about why you’re here, but I doubt they told you the whole truth. It’s time you learned your place in all of this, slave.”
I feel my heartbeat speed up every time he uses the word slave, my rage building slowly. But I don’t let him know that he can affect me with just a word. I sit as silently as his sons stand.
“Many years ago, my beautiful wife told me she was pregnant with twin boys. You don’t know how much that thrilled me to have two heirs to take over for me and continue the empire that I and generations of Carinis before me have worked hard to build.
“The night that my sons were born, I was away in America, signing a deal that would bring this family more money than it had ever seen. When I came back, I had two beautiful sons. Two heirs.
“I soon realized that I had a problem. Two men couldn’t run this empire. It is impossible for two sons to work together. There has to be one leader.
“It was a simple problem though, solved by whichever son was born first. He would be my heir, and I would groom him to take over for me. But my wife was a smart woman. She knew that whatever son was born second wouldn’t receive the same attention from me as the firstborn. She wanted to give her sons an equal chance at ruling and knew that would also be what was best for our family—if I raised both men to take over for me and then chose when they were old enough to take over for me.
“Well, that time has finally come.”
When Enrico speaks, the whole room is silent. All of the attention is on him, and he relishes it. He lives for moments like this. I can’t believe that he is willing to give it up to either of his sons. He looks invincible when he speaks, except for something in his eyes when he speaks of his wife. When he speaks of her, I see the tiniest hint of pain.
“What happened to your wife?” I ask because I think it might be a sore spot, a wound that I might be able to reopen. And, since I have nothing left to lose, I might as well.
He shakes his head. “You are definitely different than all the rest of the slaves. Maybe I’ll keep you alive after all. At least until I’ve had my fill of you.”
I can’t hold back my disgust. “I would rather die.”
He laughs. “I think you would. But, to answer your question, my wife died of cancer.”
I shake my head. “I doubt that. See, after spending so much time with your family for this long, one thing I know is when you lie.”
He frowns as he walks over to where I sit on the ground.
I glare at him.
And then he punches me in the face. My head whips to the side.
I turn back to look at him and spit the blood filling my mouth out at him. Whatever happened to his wife, it wasn’t cancer.
“Now, where was I? Oh, yes, determining a winner of my twisted game. If I recall, the game is tied three to three. Each of you has won equally. You’ve both shown me just how powerful of a leader of this family you can be when it comes to taking debts from those who deserve it. But, today, I have one final test for you.”
I suck in a breath, not liking where this is going.
Enrico walks back to me and kicks me hard in the stomach for no reason. I grab my stomach that feels like I’ve just been hit by a car. I cry out from the amount of pain that I feel radiating throughout my body. Tears fall, and I can’t do a damn thing to stop them.
Enrico laughs, and his sons stand, frozen, acting like I’m not even here. Maybe I’m not. Maybe this is all my imagination. Maybe I’m already dead.
Please, let me be dead.
“For your first test, show me how much control you have over her,” Enrico says to his sons.
They nod like they knew this was coming. Is this how all the other women’s lives ended? In a twisted game like this? Or did some of the women find a way to stop the game before it got to this?
Matteo starts walking toward me, his eyes focused on me. I don’t know what he’s going to make me do. Or try to make me do. But, as he walks toward me, he winks.
I don’t react, pretending like I didn’t see it because I’m not sure I did. I try to think what it could mean. But I don’t have a clue.
Matteo stops walking when he’s standing, towering, in front of me. He looks down at me, and for a second, I can see a hint of the playful Matteo in his e
yes.
“Suck me, slave,” he says, commanding me.
He never uses the word slave. He never commands me. He always gives me a choice.
It doesn’t take me long to realize that he is putting on a performance for his father. I don’t know if this performance involves keeping me safe or not, but at least, it will buy me more time. I don’t mind sucking his dick. I just don’t want to do it in front of all these people. But it might be the last pleasant thing I ever experience.
I keep my eyes locked on Matteo as I raise my aching arms to his pants. I roughly undo the button and zipper until I reach inside and pull out his cock. I pretend like no one else is there as I wrap my mouth around his cock and suck. I can hardly move my head at all; my head hurts so much. But it doesn’t matter. I’m doing what Matteo says, and within seconds, Matteo shoots his load down my throat.
I quickly pull away, and Matteo puts his dick back in his pants as he walks back over to where his brother stands.
Enrico smiles at his son.
Disgusting.
Arlo steps forward and starts walking toward me while I swallow down Matteo’s cum, prepared to take Arlo’s cum as well. But, when he approaches me, he gives me no sign that he is on my side, like Matteo did. In fact, even though he is looking at me, it’s more like he is staring through me.
When he gets to me, he doesn’t command me like Matteo did. Instead, he picks up my broken body and throws me over his shoulder. My whole body screams as he touches me and carries me to the bed. He tosses me down like I’m nothing. I close my eyes, wishing I could become nothing.
Arlo undoes his pants, and I watch as his cock hardens before my eyes. He sits up on the bed, leaning against the headboard.
“Strip and then fuck me, slave.”
