Leo cut in. “Hold it. If Nicky is Don Edoardo’s son…”
“There’s no if about it.” Don Guiseppe patted my cheek. “You look so much like him.”
“I can’t be!” I stammered. “I’m an orphan. I’m nothing.”
“Your parents were assassinated at Coney Island while they were on an outing with you. You were two years old, and you disappeared before the police could reach the scene. You were never found… until now.”
I looked over at Leo, and my world dropped out from under me when I saw him staring at me with huge eyes. Cesare, Don Vincenzo, and all their relatives gazed at me with the same wide-eyed amazement.
This couldn’t be right. I couldn’t be a don, and I definitely couldn’t be their Padrino—their godfather—the most powerful mobster on the planet. That wasn’t possible.
Don Guisseppe must have noticed how uncomfortable this meeting was making me. He held out his hand to Leo. “Perhaps, Consigliere, we could meet at your home to discuss this further. I understand Don Niccolò is also staying there.”
“Yes, he is.” Leo shook his hand. “We’d be delighted to have you, Don Guiseppe.”
They kissed on both cheeks, and then both Don Guiseppe and the other top-level dons came over to say goodbye to me. They all kissed my hand again, but I could only stand there in shock until they all left.
I almost had a stroke when Don Vincenzo and Cesare came over and tried to do the same thing. I yanked my hand out of Don Vincenzo’s grasp. “Stop it! I’m not a don! I’m just…” I broke off. I couldn’t say it again.
“Take it easy, son,” Leo murmured in my ear. “We’ll meet with them at the estate and figure this whole thing out, but right now, we need to deal with getting Gia back. Do you think you can handle that?”
I snapped out of my trance and spun around to stare at him. Gia! She was still out there.
If these Italian dons were right about me, that must mean I had a chance with Gia after all.
All my pain evaporated. I took a roll of tape from the medics, stripped open my shirt, and started taping up my broken ribs. I had to get Gia back at all costs.
GIA
Itried to squirm, but the tight, plastic zip ties digging into my wrists and ankles stopped me. The carpet underneath me scratched my bare back and shoulders. The pain made me wince, and tears sprang to my eyes, but that was nothing compared to the terror consuming me right now.
I fought back the urge to start crying, but the gag in my mouth muffled any sound. Shadows crossed back and forth beyond my field of view, but the darkness didn’t stop me from hearing every word my captors said.
“As soon as you consummate the marriage, we can transfer her assets to our family trust.”
“And make sure you do it right,” another harsh voice snarled. “You need to make her understand the position she’s in. We’re here to ruin her, not turn her into some kind of martyr.”
“The Leone chopper is moving off,” a third announced. “We’re all clear.”
“Good.” A figure stepped out of the shadows, and just in case I didn’t already understand how much danger I was in, Don Marco Necci stopped in front of me.
He smiled down at me in what was probably supposed to be a fatherly smile. “So kind and generous of you to accept my son’s proposal of marriage, Miss Leone. I know our families are going to be the closest allies.”
Enzo and Ricky Necci advanced behind their father, and they both burst into sadistic laughter. Enzo leered at me.
Don Marco strolled the rest of the way over to me and prodded me with his toe. “Hmm. You don’t look like anything but a slut to me. If you are still a virgin, you won’t be after tonight.”
I really did start crying then, but that only seemed to encourage them. Enzo dropped on one knee in front of me and started groping my bare shoulders, down my arm, and stroking me through my dress.
“Is that true, you little slut? Are you still a virgin, or did you give it up to Cesare Terranova? He won’t look at you again after tonight. No one will. Maybe when we’re finished with you, you really will be ready for the street because you won’t have two pennies to rub together.”
He ran his hand down my leg and started pulling up my dress. His hot hand touched my thigh, and I exploded in a terrified frenzy.
I screamed through the gag and tried to kick him away, but he only laughed. He squeezed the back of my neck and then caressed down my chest to manhandle my breasts.
This couldn’t be happening. I couldn’t be the Neccis’ prisoner. No one knew where I was. Leo wouldn’t be able to find me before the Neccis ruined my life completely.
Enzo’s hand glided up between my thighs, but Marco yanked him away. “Not yet! You can help yourself later. Right now, we have to focus on business.”