“This was where Mom and I lived before Joey killed my father. A little slice of the past.”
“Hmm, and you come back here often? How sentimental of you.” I plucked a blueberry muffin from the table. “You had time for a bakery run?”
Ricco shrugged. “You were out cold, and it’s not like Nico will find you here. The house is registered in Mom’s maiden name.”
Don’t be too sure.I broke off a piece of the sweet-smelling pastry, plopped it in my mouth, and chewed slowly. “What’s the plan? I’m free to go after this heartwarming breakfast?”
A crash sounded as Guido slammed his fist on the table. Silverware rattled from the vibration of his temper tantrum. “You will not be leaving unless it’s with me.”
“Yeah, that’ll be a hard pass.” I itched to bury one of my hidden blades in Guido’s smug face.
“You won’t have much choice in the matter, Mia.” Ricco’s hard, beady eyes held a hint of excitement.Shit.I was well versed in that expression and knew what would happen next. I dropped the muffin to the table and moved for one of the knives hidden in a seam of my pants.
Ricco lunged for me with his hands outstretched and his face contorted with hatred. I dodged him, sinking my short blade just above his heart. His hands clawed my shoulders, preventing me from putting any space between us. Pulling my knife out, I jabbed at him again in his soft middle. His rough hands moved to my neck, squeezing. I couldn’t draw a breath. Black spots freckled my vision, and dizziness made my knees weak.
He swatted the weapon from my hand, only needing one to grip my neck. The black dots swimming in my vision increased until I succumbed and passed out.
There was nothing gradual about my return to consciousness. I gasped as I came to with a jolt. Adrenaline coursed through my body, my heart pounding a fist-thumping beat. Loud laughter echoed through the small space, and I could only assume that was what had awakened me.
As quickly as I could, I cataloged my situation. Something loose and soft covered my legs, and I glanced down. That fucker. Ricco had stripped off my pants, probably in front of the perv Guido, and replaced them with gray sweats rolled at the waist and ankles.
Since there wasn’t anything I could do about it, I glanced around at the parts of the room I could see. The bay window with its gaudy curtains and a loud white couch with blue flowers were to my left, which meant the kitchen table was to my right. A tarp was beneath me, barely cushioning my stretched-out position on the wood floor. This time, I didn’t have the luxury of waking without restraints.
My arms were tied and secured over my head. I couldn’t move them or my legs—they were tethered to something to keep them straight along the floor. A large jug of water thumped next to my head. Ricco appeared in my line of sight right before he placed a wet washcloth over my nose and mouth.
Ricco dropped to a knee and grabbed my chin in a tight grip. I shot daggers at him with my eyes, struggling as much as I could against the bindings. Guido appeared on my other side, leaning over me with that stupid, malicious smile he wore far too often. I wanted to smack it off his ugly mug.
“You need to be taught a lesson,” Guido murmured as he scanned my body from head to foot.
Gross.When I get out of this predicament, I will happily gouge his eyes out.
“This fun little exercise in obedience was Guido’s idea.” Ricco smirked, holding my chin tightly. “He preferred I didn’t leave marks. He wanted something to look forward to with you tonight when he takes you back to his place.”
I shrieked in outrage, but my voice was cut short as Ricco slapped a wet cloth over my face then poured water over it, flooding my mouth. I did my best to close my throat, but it was no use. I was helpless as water invaded my screaming lungs, my body convinced I was drowning.
When he stopped the downpour and twisted me to my side with a brutal hit to my back, I spewed water, gasped, and struggled to drag air in. He repeated the process several more times, and with each one, I went through the same motions, drowning then vomiting water and gasping for air when he relented and turned me onto my side.
I shivered from the cold water that soaked my face, hair, and chest. Shock and panic gripped me as tightly as the restraints.
Ricco played my body like a puppet but not my mind. That was still my own. A deep-rooted anger and a need for revenge pushed aside the building panic. I would make both of them pay.
Flipped to my side, the wet cloth removed, I hacked and spewed water. Sucking in air as he turned me to my back, I struggled against his hold and the rope, desperate to get free. “I will fucking kill you!”
Ricco chuckled. “Yeah, you’re a real threat right now.”
He slapped the cloth back over my face and upended the water jug. My body thrashed as much as I could against the bindings, blind panic taking over me as water replaced the air in my lungs.
Over and over, he toyed with me until much later, when he grew tired of drowning me. He removed the wet cloth and sat back on his heels, studying me like a bug he’d just tortured under a magnifying glass. When I was able to talk instead of cough, I growled in a stuttered vow my disgust over his stupid plan. “Guido can’t have me.”
“That’s where you’re wrong.” I sensed Ricco’s renewed interest. The waterboarding had gotten old, but the conversation seemed to entertain him. “Guido has been permitted to take you home.”
What fresh bullshit is this?“By whom?” My voice grew stronger the less I coughed and wheezed. “Guido has no right. And you have no authority in the family business. In fact, I’m not even family anymore.”
Ricco’s laugh was filled with evil intent, and chills erupted over my body. “Oh, Mia. Guido is the least of your worries. Your father is coming, and he’s not happy about the raid on his business or your betrayal.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
NICO