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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 tra
ck 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.”
