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“He’s not the kind of man to be backed into a corner,” I point out.
“Well, I’m not a call girl. I deserve better, and he told me he couldn’t commit, and so here we are. Anton’s a nice guy. He doesn’t show it, but when we’re together, he’s so sweet.”
Lucy rolls her eyes. “Ugh, Anton and sweet in the same sentence.” She shudders, and we laugh.
“And he’ll protect me, no matter what. Even when he’s mad at me, he’s checking in with me. He cares, yah know.”
I smile. “If you’re happy, that’s all that matters, Pip.”
She throws a dress my way, and I catch it and hold it out. It’s short, almost like a shirt style with buttons down the front. It reminds me of the white shirt I wore, and I place it on the bed and sigh. “I don’t know if I’m okay to go to this party tonight, girls.”
They both look at me confused. “You have to come, Mae. It won’t be the same without you.”
“It just doesn’t feel right.”
Piper takes my hand and pulls me to stand. “Mae, we aren’t saying you have to get over this. We haven’t brushed it under the carpet. If you need to talk to us about what happened, we’re here. But don’t lock yourself away. You don’t need to hide from everyone. We all love you so much, and what happened, it breaks our hearts. You need to surround yourself with everyone who loves you, and tonight, everyone in that room loves you.”
A tear slips down my face and I smile. “Thanks Pip.”
“So, get yourself made up, dress in pyjamas for all we care, but you have to be there.” I nod. I’ll try, for them.
Chapter Twenty
ACE
I stretch out, pulling my neck from side to side and then cracking my knuckles. I’m full of tension but so ready for this. Anton slides back the garage door, and we all follow him inside. He pulls back a trap door, and we exchange a look that says we’re all feeling a little on edge at stepping into the Mafia boss’s dungeon. I’d heard the rumour that Anton’s dad, Conner, had this dug out especially for things like this. No one can hear you scream deep underground.
The steps seem to go on forever, deeper and deeper, until we finally hit the bottom. It smells of damp and earth, and it’s cold. The tunnel leads us to a door that’s bolted shut. Anton’s right-hand man, Michael, puts in the code and it pops open.
Inside, the room is dark and silent. I’m wondering if Lorenzo is already dead just because it’s so cold down here. Mystique slips her hand into mine and leans into me. I give it a reassuring squeeze.
Anton flicks a switch and a dim light flickers. In the corner of the room, tied to a wooden stool, is Lorenzo. He doesn’t look so smug right now, and I smile in satisfaction. Mystique curls into me, and I wrap an arm around her shoulder. She’s shivering, though I’m not sure if that’s from the cold or the fact she’s scared just from seeing this piece of shit.
“You had to bring your pussies to back you up,” says Lorenzo, smirking.
“No, I was happy to get one of my men to slit your throat. But then you went and made it all personnel, and now there’s a line of people who want in on your murder,” drawls Anton, his tone flat and bored. “I should have sold tickets.”
“Can we hurry this up? We have a party to get to.” We all turn at the sound of Tag’s voice. We didn’t expect him to come. I’d told him earlier that Anton had Lorenzo, but he hadn’t said much. After all, he’s still his father. “Hey, Pops, you don’t look so good.”
“Matteo,” says Lorenzo, almost in a whisper.
“You didn’t think I’d come to see this?” Tag asks Anton, shaking his hand.
“He’s your father,” sighs Anton, “I didn’t want to put you in that position.”
Tag steps closer to Lorenzo. There’s something different about the look in his eyes, and I can see why people fear Matteo Corallo, in and out of the cage.
“He tried to have me killed and then he planned to take my wife,” he spits, then turns to Lorenzo. “I’ve waited a long time to see you suffer.”
“It’s our way of life, Matteo. It wasn’t personal.”
“Are you serious? I’m your fucking son! It doesn’t get more personal than that. I tried to help you. I lied to Conner to keep your waste of space arse alive!”
“Do it, kill me. You’ll spend the rest of your days and nights remembering this moment,” growls Lorenzo, pulling hard on the ropes holding him to the chair. Tag punches him, it’s fast and unexpected, but Lorenzo’s smirks, his lip bleeding. “You still hit like an untrained, feral pussy.”
“Full of encouragement. You were always so positive.”
“You were nothing before I put you in that cage,” Lorenzo yells.
