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A cold hand slaps me awake, and I jerk up in my chair, inhaling sharply, then immediately regretting it. My ribs scream in protest, and my lungs feel raw.
“I think you’ve had a long enough break,” Nicolo states coldly, standing to his full height as soon as he’s sure I’ll stay conscious.
“Thought we lost you for a moment there,” Cassio goads me.
“I told you not to let him bleed out too quickly.” Nicolo scowls at Lucca, who shrugs.
“We solved the problem, didn’t we?” he drawls, gesturing to my thigh.
As if awoken by the mention of it, the nerve endings in my leg ignite, sending pulsing waves of pain up to my hip joint and spine. When I look down, a ragged hole in my jeans shows where he must have stabbed me with his pocket knife.
Above it is my belt, serving as a tourniquet to staunch the blood staining my pants.
Every inch of me throbs and twinges as my reality comes crashing down around me once more. I’m going to die a slow, painful death. The belt cutting off the circulation to my left leg confirms it. They’re keeping me alive just long enough to extract every ounce of torture they can.
Resigning myself to my fate, I set my twinging jaw and look Nicolo square in the face. “You guys really are amateurs, aren’t you?” I taunt.
“The fuck did you just say to me?” Nicolo snarls, his fist catching my jaw with a right hook.
Fuck, he punches hard.It makes my ears ring, but I shake it off and meet his eyes once more. I give a humorless chuckle, intent on provoking him into finishing me off.
“You guys are fucking idiots,” I sneer. “Don’t you know the liver’s where you’re supposed to put a knife if you want to cause someone real pain?”
It’s supposed to be fucking agonizing, but it will also definitely kill me faster than they’re planning. I know they’re not dumb enough to fall for it if I suggest the heart or lungs. But at this point, I just want to get it over with so I can be at peace.
“You want to test it out?” Cassio snarls, advancing on me.
“Cass,” Nicolo warns.
“No, let’s humor him,” the twin presses, snatching a knife off the work table.
That was easier to provoke than I thought it would be.
“Cass!”
Nicolo steps toward us, but his younger brother darts for me before Nicolo can intervene. I can’t help the victorious grin that curls my lips moments before the blade finds me. Then the knife’s handle slams into my kidney.
I choke, the pain constricting my airway for a moment as I collapse around his hand.
“You think we’re dumb enough to fall for something as stupid as that?” Cassio asks, stepping back.
He was just toying with me, using the but of the knife to sucker punch me rather than actually ending my misery. I feel robbed. Nicolo cuffs Cassio lightly on the back of the head in a brotherly gesture, but his eyes dance as he watches me fight to suck in air.
“Alright, I think it’s time to shut him up,” Nicolo states, snatching his brass knuckles off the table. They’re coated in a dried layer of my blood.
The oldest Marchetti brother advances on me slowly. Though my stomach knots with the anticipation of pain, I don’t let it show on my face. Instead, I stare him down.
“You know, I have to admit, I’m impressed that you haven’t begged us to stop,” Nicolo observes. “If I didn’t hate the very sight of you and everything you and your family stand for, I might be tempted to feel a modicum of respect.”
“Fuck you,” I growl, spitting a red-stained glob at his feet.
He raises his fist, ready to strike, and I close my eyes, turning my face as I brace for impact. I wouldn’t be surprised if my jaw and cheekbone are cracked already, so this one’s going to hurt like a motherfucker.
“Stop!” someone screams shrilly, their tone filled with panic.
My heart skips a beat, and I tense as I recognize that voice.Silvia.
For a moment, intense, heady relief consumes me as I realize she’s here. I won’t die without getting to see her again. But then it hits me. She’shere, and I don’t know what kind of danger that might put her in. After what I witnessed from her father, I don’t trust her with her brothers. My eyes fly open, my gaze snapping in her direction just in time to see her reach me.
