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Bellona hoped that he was smart enough to listen to reason. She wasn't in the mood for torture. She was still trying to ride the sex glow Rafael had given her, and adding screaming and toe-cutting would ruin her buzz completely.
She liked that Rafael wasn't shy about taking control of their pleasure in the bedroom. He wasn't timid or intimidated by the fact she was so much stronger than him. He didn't need to have directions or a map to get her off, and she liked that most of all.
Stop thinking about sex, she chastised herself as she picked the locks of the back door. From the smells of the dark room, she was in a laundry. The sounds of a football match were blaring from a TV somewhere in the house. She opened the door and walked on soft feet to the lounge. A man was sitting in a recliner, watching the game. He was short and balding and looked exhausted.
"I think I Giallorossi have a really good chance this year. What do you think?" Bellona asked.
The man started, reaching behind his back. Bellona pressed the muzzle of her silencer to his temple.
"Don't. Just don't. Believe it or not, I'm not here to hurt you, so please don't make me," she said.
Cino turned back around, hands raised. "What could you possibly want now, huh? My wife and pregnant daughter aren't enough for your animals?" he demanded, his eyes filling with angry tears.
Bellona slid her gun back into its holster. "I'm not working for Rita. Thank you for telling me what she's holding on you, though. That's helpful."
"If you're not here to check on me, then who are you? Why are you here?"
"My name is Bellona Di Roma, and Rafael Asellio is very important to me. This bounty on his head is starting to piss me off." Bellona helped herself to one of the unopened Peronis that were on his coffee table.
"Ah, so you are the protector that Michele was always so quiet about. If only he would've been generous enough to share your prized contact details, maybe my family wouldn't have had to suffer," Cino spat.
Bellona had a mouthful of beer. "Rafael sent me here to help. You want me to rescue your wife and daughter?"
"Please," Cino said, breaking down into sobs. "Rita already killed my son-in-law in front of my baby girl. I can't go to the police because she has too many contacts among them. She will kill them if I try. I don't know what to do."
Set's words about Bellona protecting women in need came back to her like a prophecy.
"I'll save them, and the only thing I want in return is for you to support Rafael when the time comes. Tirone is dead, and you will end up the same if you don't accept my help now."
Cino ran his hands over his bald head. "I never wanted any of this to happen. I was holding out against Rita's offers, unlike Tirone, the damn fool. Then I got home a week ago, and they had my family tied up. They shot my son-in-law in the kitchen and took my wife and daughter. I had to support the bounty on Rafael or lose them as well. I'll support Rafael in any way I need to, just get them back for me."
Bellona texted Set. Phase 2 has begun. See you on the other side. Then she took out her SIM card and snapped it.
"Okay, Cino. I need you to get your phone and send a message to Rita," she said.
"And tell her what?" Cino asked, pulling out his phone.
Bellona smiled. "Why, that I'm here, harassing you."
Slow realization dawned on Cino's face. "You want them to capture you too?"
"Of course," Bellona leaned back in her chair and swigged her Peroni. "How else am I going to get taken where your family is being held?"
19
Bellona's busted lip pulsed as it healed under the black bag over her head. She only had to wait fifteen minutes before men swarmed Cino's house, and Bellona pretended to be so surprised and betrayed.
She had put up a weak fight, letting Rita's men knock her about before putting a bag over her head and shoving her into the boot of a car.
She idled the time away, thinking about all the things she would like to do to Rafael in alphabetical order. Dionysus had offered her the use of his house in Turkey whenever she liked, and something told her Rafael was going to need a clothing optional holiday after all of this nonsense. Whether or not he wanted her to accompany her was yet to be seen.
The car hadn't been driving for long—Bellona guessed twenty minutes—before it was stopping again. She could smell the ocean and oil and heavy grease. They were still somewhere on the coast and at a dock.
"Get your ass moving. The boss will be here in an hour," a gruff voice said, hauling Bellona out of the boot and shoving her along. She didn't reply. She wasn't planning on being there in an hour.
A heavy metal door clanged behind them, and Bellona got hit with the pungent scent of unwashed bodies, fear, and human waste.
The bag was ripped off her head, and she was shoved onto a metal chair. Her hands were tied down with plastic zip ties. Her eyes adjusted to the gloom, and she saw the cages. Women and children cowered in the corners, keeping their eyes downcast whenever one of Rita's men got too close.
