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They leave me waiting for at least fifteen minutes. It’s on purpose, I know it is, because Daddy pulls this same shit all the time. He asks somebody to visit but makes them wait just to show exactly who’s boss.
When the door finally opens, Victor steps through. He looks as immaculate as he did last time I saw him with his tailored suit and expensive tie. Even the shoes look like he spent a thousand dollars on them. I don’t know who he’s trying to impress. I’m not exactly a stranger to wealth.
“So? Did Daddy cave to your demands?” I ask snidely. I’m still standing, and I’m slightly less shaky, but I would kill for a bottle of water.
Victor keeps his expression blank, so I can’t tell what he’s thinking. Out of all three of them, he’s probably the most dangerous. The guy who fondled me in the car, he played his hand early, with how he went on about my purity and virginity. His friend… the blond is the one who drugged me, I think, but he seemed subservient to both of these two. Victor is the top dog though.
Victor Corvi. I’ve heard of him. It was hard not to when my dad was working his way up the ladder, so to speak. He’d cussed about Victor a lot, even over the dinner table when he ostensibly wasn’t working. Us women weren’t really meant to be privy to all the violent business talk, but Daddy wasn’t really that good about keeping a work-life balance. What I didn’t hear from him, I got to hear as pillow talk. Men have no real confidantes, and it’s no stereotype that they’re always happy to spill when they’re all relaxed from sex.
The rumors about Victor aren’t exactly promising. I know he isn’t married, and that he had a hand in the fire at one of our warehouses. One rumor says he personally murdered a man who stole ten bucks from him, but that’s the kind of exaggerated talk the mafia likes to spread around. If you take them by their word, everybody’s murdered their grandmother at ten and become a made man at fifteen.
Victor used to be a bigger deal in town until Daddy waltzed in and pushed the previous gang lords out. That doesn’t exactly breed good-will between people.
I don’t really want to be caught in the middle of a gang war. If these macho men want to murder each other, they can do it without me.
“Ms. Bellini,” Victor says. His nose wrinkles, probably thanks to the stale-cum smell. Serves him right.
I wonder if any of it is his.
Whether it is or not, I don’t particularly care. I stalk over to him as well as I can on wobbly legs and stand close to him. I shove at his chest, letting him see just how pissed off I am. “Well? When is he getting me out of this hellhole? And don’t think I won’t tell him what you and your men did to me.”
Despite the businessman look, Victor doesn’t even stumble at my shove. Apparently he’s very solid underneath that suit. “So far, he hasn’t done anything. It makes me wonder if he even values you at all,” he says.
While I’m processing this, he takes a step forward. I’m forced to back up too, or have our chests pressed together. His expression doesn’t change at all. I’m having a hard time getting a read on him. Does he want my father to give in or not?
DoIwant my father to give in or not? But at least with Daddy, I know what’s going on. Right?
“Daddy needs me,” I say with more confidence than I feel.
But he does need me. He needs me for that fucking alliance with that despicable man.
“Does he? He has another daughter. Maybe he decided you’re expendable.”
I glare at him and press my palms flat against his muscled chest, pushing again. “Get away from me,” I warn him. “You’re only making things worse for yourself.”
“How so?” He takes one of my hands and twines his fingers through mine. His grip is tight, threatening. It isn’t a romantic gesture, and I don’t take it as one.
I jerk back, glowering at him as I try to yank free of his grasp. Maybe I’m the one who got close first, but that was undermyterms. I’m not going to have him invade my space, to touch me any more than he potentially already has. The only thing that keeps me from completely losing it is that I don’t think they actually fucked me. My mouth, maybe, which makes me want to vomit, but the cotton feel makes it impossible. And they definitely came on my chest. But despite the way my panties feel, I don’t think they violated me that much while I was unconscious.
Fuck!
“What did you do to me?” I demand in lieu of actually answering his question.
Victor finally lets go of me, allowing me to stumble back a few feet. “Nothing much. They barely touched you, since you’ll be of higher value in one piece… or so I was assuming. Judging by your father’s lack of response, maybe I should simply allow my associates to have their fun with you. They deserve a bit of a reward for all their hard work.”
I recoil from his words. I would love to say that I’m not someone to be used and traded around, but the reality is that I’m a chess piece and little more. Whether it’s here or with my father, it doesn’t matter what I want. Men rule this world, but I’ll be damned if I just lie here meekly and let them take what they want without taking my own pound of flesh.
“And in the process, you’d damage hisproperty,” I say, unable to keep the venom from my voice. “I’m already promised to someone else. You don’t want to lower myvalue.”
I see the first hint of interest in his face. He doesn’t know about the engagement—and why would he? It hasn’t been announced yet. I was supposed to meet with Emilio next week, to get to know my future husband and show off just how beautiful and obedient I was.
“Now who would he promise you to?” Victor taps his chin in a thoughtful gesture. “Your father is very traditional, and you don’t sound too happy about this arrangement. A business partner of his? One of the Marconi brothers, or perhaps Alastro.”
It’s not any of those men. They’re all terrible too, in their own ways, but they don’t hold a candle to Emilio. Finally, I can see my way through Victor. He doesn’t care about me, but he cares about Daddy’s business.
“Why would you care?” I ask, tossing my head. “Why would it matter to you? All you need to know is that I won’t be worth as much if you let your… associates keep pawing all over me.”
I’m having to think fast. Of course Victor’s interested in this deal. If he’s trying to make a play for power, he needs to know who this alliance will be with. Not that I have any intention of following through, not if I can help it, but Victor doesn’t need to know that either.
