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What?
I stare dumbly at Damien, not even able to try to move as I work through what he’s saying. I’d admitted to him that I wanted children once, back when Emilio Pavone was keeping me trapped in my own home, but I never said anything that would indicate I’d be interested any time soon. And definitely never with anybody in the mafia world.
“I know she’s smart, and she’s attractive. She has a mothering instinct. Nobody would question if you married her and then took on her father’s business.”
Giulio’s expression darkens for the first time that day, and he suddenly looks much, much more like his father. “This fucking thing again? I told you, I don’t care about heirs or legacy or whatever. I can take over Bellini’s operations without being married into the family or siring Bellini brats.”
Damien keeps stroking my stomach in slow circles. The touch feels even more sinister now that I know exactly what Damien is imagining.
“Why not? Don’t you want to see her stomach swelling up, knowing that it’syour childinside her? That you’ve bred her, that you’re going to leave behind something great?”
I grab Damien’s wrist, digging my fingernails into his skin, but I don’t manage to even get a reaction out of him.
“Stop touching me!” Despite my anger and my fear—or maybe because of it—my voice wavers, and the words sound pathetic even to my ears. The idea of bearing the child of a piece of trash like Giulio Pavone is sickening, and it gives me the courage to snap, “Find some gold digger who actually wants you, andleave me alone.”
“Why’s this so important to you, man?” Giulio asks, completely ignoring my outburst. “I’ve got you, I’ve got Slayer, I have all these clubs with a lot of girls… And a full criminal empire now! Damn, that’s going to eat up all my time.”
Damien finally lets go of me, only to take Giulio’s hand and gently stroke it. I’m trapped under their arms. “We aren’t immortal, Giulio. Who are you going to leave all of this to, when we’re gone? You want one of the other groups to swoop in on the power struggle? I’m older than you. I’ll probably be gone before you.”
“Even if you were younger, you’d end up taking a bullet for me and leaving me alone, you fucker.” Giulio pulls his hand away and makes a show of yawning. “Fine. If this is so important to you, we can try to knock her up. Which willseverelydevalue her, FYI. And I’m not fucking marrying her. She can pop out a few babies and we can figure out what to do with her after that.”
“Are either of you even listening to me?” I ask, tears starting to trail down my cheeks. “I’m not consenting to this.”
Finally, Giulio looks straight at me. “Read the room! We were having an important conversation.” He slaps my thigh. “I guess you aren’t too bad. You’ve got similar coloring to Damien. It’ll almost be like he and I had a kid together.” Then he laughs. “Actually, maybe she should have your kid, Damien. Oooh, and we should let Slayer spooge in her too, then we’ll have no clue whose it is.”
“An important conversation?” I sputter, wiping uselessly at my tears. “About using my body to have your… your… yourspawn? I think I have a place in that conversation, and… and my answer is no.”
Damien shakes his head. “Not Slayer’s,” he says, and even though my anxiety is rising to impossible levels, I can still hear the bite in his voice. “He doesn’t get to come in her.”
“None of you do!” I yell.
”All right, let’s get her ready for Slayer. Naked, ropes… or should we let her run around the room while he chases her? That’s always fun. Fuck, imagine, we can DP her after we ‘catch’ her… Yeah, like a wild hunt or something. I need to start writing these ideas down. They’d be great for a themed club.”
The two of them keep talking, ignoring me, and I realize with dread that there’s nothing I can do to stop them.
2
GIULIO
I’ll admit: I love riling people up, and Vanessa’s reactions are primo amusing. She’s trying so fucking hard to not let my words affect her, but I can see the way her lips quiver, the way her eyes shine with unshed tears.
She’d cried during the car ride, cute little sobs that had gotten stronger when I casually chatted about the gore we’d just seen.
I grab her shoulders and push her off the couch. She stumbles, nearly crashing into the coffee table, but as soon as she’s got her bearings, she runs toward the door.
Damien sighs and follows her, stopping her before she can even grab the door handle.
“Just let me go,” Vanessa begs, but Damien ignores her and turns her around so she’s facing me.
“If you attempt to run again, we’ll have to tie you down,” Damien says quietly.
Vanessa looks ready to burst into tears all over again. She backs away from him until her back is pressed against the wall.
“Okay, Vanessa, time to strip,” I tell her, grinning widely. “Show me the goods. Pretend you’re auditioning for a spot in this club, and you’re very desperate to get taken in because otherwise you’re sleeping on the filthy New Bristol streets with who knows what kinds of men. Sure, you’re gonna be selling yourself for a roof over your head, but at least there’s food and guarantee of protection. And the boss is kind of hot, too.” I wink at her.
Her terror is delicious, from her too-pale face down to the red-rimmed eyes. She only stares at me like she doesn’t understand what I’ve just said. Just when I think she might not have absorbed it, she gives a tiny shake of her head, glancing between me and Damien before settling her attention back on me. She wraps her arms around herself and hunches her shoulders, like that’ll somehow hide her from our view.
“Come on, play along,” I urge, gesturing with my hand. “Don’t be boring. I’d hate for any of my future kids to beboring.”
