Her eyes darted to me, and I felt a fucking pang in my heart, knowing that this was the last time I’d see her. I wanted more time with her. I wanted another kiss, another whiff of her scent. I needed more seconds, minutes, hours, days with her, but even then, it would never be enough. I had a feeling that even a lifetime with Marcella wouldn’t sate my longing for her. It was an insatiable hunger, a burning need. I didn’t have a lifetime, not even a few seconds.
She turned and left the room. The heavy steel door fell closed with a harrowing bang.
Earl was dead. Cody was as good as dead, and Smith was a simpering mess. I supposed I would be next. Maybe Marcella had asked her father to give me a quick death, a trickle of mercy. Maybe he’d agreed. Maybe she trusted his promise. But she wasn’t here now, and I knew the kind of hatred Luca must feel for me. It was one I was painfully familiar with. I’d given up mine for Marcella.
I sank down in my chair, waiting for them to do what they wanted. I met Luca’s gaze. I wasn’t scared of him, and I’d die with my head held high. Amo shook his head and staggered toward me. Would he kill me with the same knife I’d used on Earl? It would be a fitting end.
Amo gripped my arm, and I had to resist the urge to smash my fist into his face. These were my enemies. My feelings for Marcella hadn’t changed that.
“You’re lucky my sister has a heart,” Amo snarled as he jerked me to my feet. “If it were up to me, you’d choke on your blood.” He shoved me toward the door where Luca was waiting. My body bristled at his closeness. Two decades of hatred flared up.
“Because of Marcella, you’ll live, even if you don’t deserve it,” Luca growled.
I smiled coldly. “Ditto.”
His eyes flashed with fury. He wanted to kill me. I could see the desire burning him up. But Marcella’s influence was too strong. This woman held more power in her elegant hands than she realized.
“Take him to the other cell, Growl,” he barked at a big guy with tattoos all over. The guy looked as if he wasn’t sure he heard his boss right, but he didn’t protest, only grabbed my upper arm and led me down the dark hallway. He unlocked another steel door and shoved me inside. My legs almost gave out, but I caught myself against the wall. Growl regarded me a second longer.
“Nice tattoos,” I said dryly.
He nodded but didn’t deign me with a reply. Without a word, he closed the door. I sank to the cold stone floor, suddenly feeling every cut and bruise and broken bone in my body. When I’d expected death, nothing had mattered. Now I wondered if I’d be left to rot in this place. Maybe death would have been kinder than being locked in the underground with only the memory of Marcella while she found a new guy, probably some Famiglia asshole, to marry. Eventually I closed my eyes, waiting for death or whatever else Vitiello had in store for me.
When the steel door fell shut behind my back with a chilling bang, I leaned against it and took a shuddering breath. “Marcella?” Matteo asked. He was supposed to take me home.
“Give me a moment.”
I closed my eyes. Maddox had really killed his uncle. I hoped he wouldn’t feel guilty for it. He must realize that his uncle had been a dead man the second my family had captured him. Dad would have made his end far more excruciating.
“Watching something like this takes some getting used to,” Matteo said gently.
I opened my eyes. “I don’t think I want to get used to something like that.”
Matteo smiled. “You don’t have to. After today, you can leave all this behind you.”
“You really think I can?”
Matteo shrugged. “Not if you don’t try. Some things always stay with you. You just learn to ignore them. Let’s get you home now. Aria is probably already worried sick. I don’t want her to kick my ass.”
I didn’t laugh despite the humor in his voice. “I’ll stay. I’m going to wait for Dad and Amo to be done. I want to be there when they come out. They do this for me. I owe it to them,” I said firmly.
“Torturing bikers isn’t a huge sacrifice for them, trust me. Go home and think of something else. Let today be a new start for you,” Matteo said imploringly.
It was a new start, but not in a way Matteo meant.
“I’m staying.”
Matteo sighed. “You tell your mother.”
I took out my new phone and sent her a quick text before I followed Matteo toward a table and chairs beside a rundown kitchenette. He sat down, but I was too agitated.