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Being extra careful, I slipped out of my room, headed down the stairs, and right out the backdoor. This was the first time I saw the backyard, which was breathtaking. It was all plush green grass and big trees in various spots throughout the yard. I had no idea how big the physical yard was; it was hard to tell with some of the trees. Not to mention I had never been really good with square footage and what makes an acre. It was big, though; you could easily have put another seven houses on the property. Aside from the yard, there was also a good size deck. I was currently standing on it.
There was a barbeque, patio furniture, a fire table, and even a hot tub. Dominic had clearly thought of everything when he first set this place up. I guess he figured if he made his captives feel like they were at a high-end hotel, they wouldn’t complain about having their child taken away. I also had to assume that some captives were happy to be there. That had believed Dominic’s bullshit lies about getting paid after the baby was born. Desperate people are always willing to believe lies if they think it will save them.
At the sound of a cat-call whistle, I turned around to see who I suspected was Lorenzo. He was not what I pictured when I first heard his name. I was expecting someone to look like Armando, but this man’s appearance had my stomach turning. He was older, closer to forty-five if I had to guess. He had a bit of a pot belly and a receding hairline. He just gave me the creeps. The type of vibe you get from someone where all you want to do is get on the opposite side of the room as them.
“Well, aren’t you a nice new piece of meat. I was hoping you would come out of that room of yours.” His eyes traveled all up and down my body, and just that simple look made my skin crawl. This man was a pig, and suddenly I was actually appreciating Armando.
“And you look like a sack of shit,” I countered with false confidence.
The dark look that instantly overtook his eyes told me I had made the wrong decision. I should have just excused myself and headed back up into my room. Armando had been right; I was safer hiding out there. He took a step toward me, and instinctively I took a couple of steps back, trying to keep the space between us. Only he had the advantage of having all the space, and I quickly ran out with the railing at the end of the deck fast approaching.
“A whore like you really needs to learn your place,” he growled, as his hand shot out and grabbed at my left arm. Unlike Armando's grip was firm, Lorzeno’s grip was bruising tight.
“Careful, you don’t want to hurt the baby and piss your boss off.”
I didn’t know much about the mafia outside of a few horrible movies, but one thing they all had in common was that everybody was terrified of the head boss. I hoped that that part wasn’t fiction, and Lorzeno would back off mentioning the baby. It made me sick to use my child like this, but it would be worth it if it protected us both. He turned and slammed my back against the wall. He leaned in closer, and the stench of his breath made my stomach turn.
“What I’m going to do to you is not going to hurt the baby at all.”
He grabbed the side of my jaw in a bruising grip to hold my head in place. I slammed my lips shut and fought against his grip as he brought his disgusting mouth closer to mine.
Chapter six
Armando
I pulled into the driveway and felt my stomach plummet at the sight of the house. I hated being here, especially with Natalie in the house. It wasn’t her fault; I knew that. She didn’t want to be in this situation, and she never should have been. Her father had set her up and sold her unborn baby - all so he wouldn’t be killed. It wouldn’t work. He would still be killed, and I was really hoping I would be the one to do it. I would make sure it was slow.
It was no less than he deserved for doing this to his daughter. Natalie was different from the other captives I’ve had the misfortune of watching. They generally were divided into two categories: the ones forced to be here like Natalie and those who wanted to be here. I didn’t mind the second group all that much. Generally, they were women with a gambling addiction, and this was their way of getting out of debt. Dom didn’t always kill them, especially if they were young and fertile. If they wanted to have a child yearly, so be it. I didn’t feel bad for them. It was their choice, and if they wanted to ruin their lives, it was on them.
The women in the first category bothered me and kept me up at night. I hated that they were forced to be here. I hated that they would be killed despite what Dom said. None of them could ever leave alive because the first thing they would do was go to the police. Dom didn’t have everyone on his payroll; statistically, these women were more likely to get a cop who wasn’t in his back pocket. The number of graves I’ve had to dig over the past three years has been astounding. Dom needed to be stopped, and I was getting close to being able to do just that.
I headed inside with Natalie’s medication. I had done this plenty of times, so I already knew the drill regarding side effects. Most women were fine, a bit tired, but nothing too serious. I was expecting the same with her. When I walked in and didn’t see Lorenzo lounging on the couch, my heart beat faster. Lorenzo was one of the older guys and one of the knuckle draggers.
He was a goon, which was all he would ever be. He didn’t have much in the intelligence department, clearly having been dropped on his head as a child. From the stories I’ve heard about his parents, drugs were also a strong possibility. He did what he was told, so Dom kept him alive. The problem was that he enjoyed women far too much. There had been multiple occasions where Lorenzo had forced himself on one of the girls. Dom didn’t care as long as it wasn’t one of the girls willing to be there. He wanted to keep them coming back to secure another baby from them.
I didn’t want him here with Natalie, but I was given no other choice. It wasn’t like I could tell Dom that Natalie was off-limits. That would raise some red flags. Not to mention I had zero reasons to think this way. I had no reason to feel anything for her, yet my heart refused to acknowledge that. I tossed the pharmacy bag onto the kitchen counter as I headed outside to see if Lorenzo was back. I prayed that Natalie had listened to me and stayed in her room. She didn’t need to be around a man like Lorenzo; it wouldn’t be safe for her or the baby.
The second I walked outside, I saw red. Lorenzo had Natalie pushed up against the side of the house. His grip was bruising her chin, and he was just about to put his disgusting lips against hers. Instantly, my body was moving, and I grabbed him by the back of his shoulders and pulled him off. Lorenzo turned to face me, but before he could say anything, I punched him across the jaw, sending him stumbling down onto the deck. I grabbed a fist full of his shirt and started to punch him across the face as hard as I could.
“You don’t touch her,” I growled as I gave him a few more hard punches to the jaw before I released him with a jerk and sent him flat onto his back.
He had blood all down his face, and I knew his nose was broken. Dom wouldn’t be too happy with my protection display, but he could go fuck himself. I wasn’t going to stand around and let Lorenzo try to rape someone and do nothing about it. If Dom had a problem with that, he could come and say it to my face. It would be the perfect moment that I had been looking for.
“Get the fuck out of here,” I growled, emphasizing my point with a swift kick to his ribs, for which I was rewarded with a groan for my efforts.
Slowly, Lorenzo picked up his worthless ass and stumbled into the house. I knew he would be heading for his car, and there would be a discussion with Dom after all this, but I didn’t care. I wasn’t going to allow anyone to hurt Natalie. I turned to see how she was holding up. She was trembling slightly, but I could see she was trying to get a hold of herself. I had warned her to not come out of the room, but she hadn’t listened. I should have expected as much, as she didn’t seem like the listening type.
“Are you alright?” I asked as I placed a hand on her forearm.
She instantly pulled it back as she snapped, “Like you fucking care. All of you are the same.”
“I told you to stay in your room and not to be around him. It’s not my fault that you can’t fucking listen to a simple order. What did you think was going to happen? These men don’t care that you’re pregnant. They don’t need you all in one piece for that baby to be born. They don’t need you mentally healthy and well-adjusted to push it out. Women have been beaten into a coma and kept alive with machines just so Dom can get his return on investment. You are nothing more than a walking, talking incubator to them, and they don’t need you walking or talking to get what they want.”
She didn’t understand the seriousness of the situation she was in. I knew she still believed that she could escape somehow. I knew she still believed she could fight and win against Dom. She couldn’t. Even if she did get out of this place by some miracle, Dom would just kill her and move on to the next girl. She wasn’t unique. She wasn’t going to be the exception.
She was going to have this baby and then be six feet under. That is what she had to look forward to. I knew it wasn’t much of a life, but if she wanted to give this baby the best chance of surviving, she had to sacrifice herself and follow the rules. She was already dead, and the next nine months were for her child.
“They will never get my baby. You aren’t fooling me. I know you don’t give two shits about anyone but yourself. So, you can keep your words of wisdom and go fuck yourself,” she growled before she turned and headed toward the door. Just before she went inside, she was apparently not done. “FYI, I don’t follow orders, especially not from some dickless piece of shit like you.”
