“No,” I growled, knowing deep down that I didn’t have a say. There was nothing I could do, no way I could get to her. I pushed against the binds again, the ropes burning my skin where they cut into me, but it was no use.
Paolo’s gaze clashed with mine again. “When I was boss, I knew everything that happened in my territory. I ruled with an iron fist.” His nostrils flared. “Some may say that I was too harsh, but when you’re a Mafia boss, you don’t have a choice.” His eyes darkened. “I spent almost my entire life creating a legacy that my father would have been proud of, and they ripped it away like it meant nothing.”
“What?” I stilled, soaking in his words. “What are you talking about?”
“Your father!” Paolo shouted, his rage overtaking him. If Uncle Antonio had taught me anything, it was never to torture when you were angry. You needed control to inflict the maximum amount of pain. “He conspired against me! Me!” He threw his hands up in the air. “His big bother.” He paused. "He betrayed me.”
I opened my mouth, but he beat me to it. “He took it all away from me.” His voice lowered, his shoulders pushed back. “So, I did the same.” He grinned, glee flashing in his eyes. “My daughter was already in place with you, she had been for years, so all it took was one little slip in dead daddy’s drink and boom”—he flashed his hands in front of him—“heart attack.” He blew out a breath.
“Then you got in the way of me taking over.” He winked. “I’ll resolve that now, though.”
“You’ll never be in charge,” I gritted out, knowing deep down that without me, there wouldn’t be anyone to take over. Dante was too young, and Christian wasn’t blood, which would only leave Paolo. Fuck. He’d have it all in the palms of his hands, and there would be nothing I could do to stop it if I wasn’t alive.
Paolo ignored me, his hand hovering over the tools as he decided what to use first. “Hmmm.” He tapped his finger on his chin. “Where to start.”
He’d offered up more information than he’d probably meant to, but he’d made a mistake. His words had fueled me and made me even more determined to get out of here.
“Aida,” I called, but her attention was focused on Paolo too, her face so pale I was sure she was going to pass out. “Baby,” I said, softer this time. “Look at me.” She blinked, a tear falling from the corner of her eye. It slid down her face and down to her chest, the material of her black dress soaking it up.
“Lorenzo,” she whispered, her breath catching in her throat. I wasn’t sure what to say to her, not when I couldn’t get to her.
“Keep your eyes on me, baby,” I told her, nodding to drill my point home. “Just keep looking at me.”
“Okay,” she croaked out, blinking rapidly and wincing as Paolo moved closer to her. I glanced at him, just long enough to see what he’d chosen, and wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or not. He’d chosen a whip, one that had sharp teeth on each of the strands.
She hadn’t seen what I had, so as he widened his stance behind her and brought his hand in the air, she didn’t see it coming. I wasn’t sure whether that was a good thing or not.
He slashed his arm out, the strands whipping through the air and whistling at how fast they moved. They hit her back in what felt like slow motion. The slap of the strands hitting her skin had me wincing, and she squealed so loudly that it hurt my ears. I fought even harder against the ropes. I needed to get to her. I needed to do something to help.
Fuck! Why did it have to be like this? Why did I have to fall in love with her? If I hadn’t, then what Paolo was doing wouldn’t have bothered me.
But I had.
I’d fallen head over heels in love with her, and there was nothing I could do about it. The train had left the platform with no way back. It was her and me now in our own world as she kept her eyes on me, screaming at each of his lashes. Blood sprayed over his crisp white shirt, and I knew then that he’d broken skin. I imagined all the ways I would hurt him for touching her. Imagined having him tied to the chair and giving him a taste of his own medicine. But it did nothing to take her pain away, nothing to relieve the ache I felt in my chest from watching her get hurt.
My breath stuck in the back of my throat. I was powerless.
CHAPTER 20
AIDA
My head lulled forward; all of my energy zapped. Blood trailed down my back, burning the cuts like someone was rubbing salt into an open wound. My skin was a weird mixture of numbness and pain, all mixed in together, my nerve endings not sure which one should have taken prevalence.
Paolo groaned from behind me, the whoosh of air giving a moment of sweet relief until he slapped the whip against my skin again. My throat burned from each of my shouts, so all that managed to come out was a broken cry, enough to tell him that he’d hurt me again. I’d lost count after twenty, the numbers all blurring together just as Lorenzo had. I tried to keep my focus on him, needing something to center me, but I could barely keep my eyes open.
I was falling…
Falling into something I wasn’t sure I’d come out of.
AIDA
I wasn’t sure what was happening around me, but the grunts of pain and threats of death slowly worked their way into my ringing ears. My body was cold, but my back burned so hot I was sure I was pressed against an open flame.
“I can see your mind working.” I cringed at the sound of Paolo’s voice. “It won’t work, though. I have plans for you.”
“And I have plans for you,” Lorenzo gritted out. At the sound of his voice, I slowly lifted my head, gasping as the skin on my back stretched and expanded. I blinked, trying to stop the room from spinning, but it was no use. My body couldn’t take it. It couldn’t handle the pain.
The smell of burning skin wafted over to me, and I willed my head to stay upright, for my eyes to make sense of what was happening in front of me. I counted to ten in my head, determined to get a clear picture, but I hadn’t even made it to five when my world went black once again.
AIDA
“Aida.” Shuffling, a whoosh of air, and then. “Aida.” I hauled in a deep breath as the sound of a chair scraping across the ground echoed around me. “Baby, wake up. Wake up.” My body swayed to the side, my instincts to right myself kicking in.
And I howled.
Screamed.
Cried out.
I’d never been in so much pain in my life. The agony was too much to bear. It was all too much to bear.
“Just keep breathing, baby.” His voice drifted toward me, offering solace when I needed it the most. “Hang in there. I’ll get us out.” Footsteps neared. “I promise. I’ll get us out of here.”
AIDA
“Motherfucker!”
My eyes snapped open, each of my senses trying to take everything in. A pained groan came from in front of me, the scent of burned skin mixing in with…was that bleach? I frowned, not trusting myself as I turned my shoulders, testing out the pain in my back. It stung like someone had pressed a white-hot poker against my skin. I tried to move as little as possible, only raising my head so that I could see what was happening around me.