Paid In Full (Vitale Brothers Book 2)

Chapter 17

I paced backand forth as we waited for the doctor to arrive. Maybe I should have told him to go to the hospital instead.

“Sit down, Ash,” Giancarlo ordered.

I plopped down next to him, my knee bouncing as I stole glances at the door. “What’s taking her so long?”

Giancarlo rolled his shoulders back. There was something wrong with him, a tightness around his smile, and he kept clearing his throat.

“Will you calm down already? She’s on her way.” When I continued to bounce my leg nervously, he sighed. “I’m fine.”

“Let me see.” I grabbed at his wrist and pulled his hand close. More blood gushed out, but it had slowed a bit. “I’m sorry.”

“Stop apologizing. You’ve got to learn to apologize only when you’ve actually done shit.”

I had done shit, though. Giancarlo was hurt because of me. I couldn’t hold it together; fuck, I was a mess. My father had worked hard to make sure I was worth being sold, that I was profitable, and all I was doing was fucking up.

“Hey.” Giancarlo grabbed my chin until I was forced to meet his dark brown eyes. “Enough. If you’re really sorry, I know of better ways you can make it up to me instead of crying.”

“I’m not crying anymore,” I sniffled.

“It’s the small miracles in life.” He hadn’t let me go, and I found I was glad about it. His touch was the only thing holding me together.

I couldn’t remember the last time I’d lost it like that. My heart was still racing, and my eyes burned from how much I’d cried.

I need to be better.

Giancarlo had spent his hard-earned money on me, and he was even giving me the chance to pay it all off. Crying and losing my shit wasn’t the answer. Like he said, he could get sex anywhere, but I didn’t want that.

The carpet met my knees as I slid off the couch. I moved the coffee table back. This wasn’t just for me. I could tell by Giancarlo’s rapid breathing and darting glances that I needed to do something for him. Sex was all I knew. I doubted he wanted to eat any food I made even though we’d now skipped breakfast and lunch.

Giancarlo grabbed my hands, and I wiggled them free. Please don’t get rid of me.

“What the fuck are you doing now?”

I stared at his clothed cock. “Giving you a blow job.”

He grabbed my wrists. “I’m not normally a man who turns down decent head, but what the fuck?”

“Let me do this.” I yanked against his hold, but there was little give, even with one of his hands bleeding.

“Stop, Ash. You just screamed at me about being passed around and used like that. Come on.”

I shook my head as I tugged at his pants. “I know that!”

Giancarlo grabbed my wrists more tightly. Blood raced down his hand, rolling over his arm. Shit, I was messing up even more.

“I’m sorry. I’ll get a towel.”

Giancarlo’s hold tightened, and I was forced to stay between his legs.

“What is going through your head?”

A lot of everything.How did I go about explaining the chaos that was in my brain? There were no right words or expressions to give him. A whimper fell, and Giancarlo brought our foreheads together. All I could see and smell was him. I latched on like it was a lifeline as my racing thoughts calmed.

“Kid, you’re scaring the fuck out of me, and that’s saying something. I’m most people’s nightmare.”

A laugh bubbled free out of me. I closed my mouth to stop it before it became full-on giggles.

“You saying I’m not terrifying?” Giancarlo asked. He cocked a brow as he pulled back a little.

“No, you are or were.” I shrugged. I had no idea when I stopped fearing him or if I ever really did. I feared the things he could do to me but not Giancarlo himself so much. I tugged on his pants again, and he groaned.

“Ash—”

“I only want to touch you. Yes, I’m afraid of being passed around or being sent to the brothel. But doing this stuff with you—” I stared at my hands, each word pulled from the deepest parts of my soul.

“What?”

The sound of the door shutting and high heels hitting the floor drew my attention. An African American woman with cotton candy pink curls walked in. She had on light makeup that highlighted her beauty. A butterfly jumpsuit hugged her curves. She was so pretty she could have easily been a model.

Is she here for Giancarlo? I knew he liked both women and men, but I never thought about him having a girlfriend. Is he cheating on her? Am I the side piece? Wait, side piece. I was bought in a damn auction house.

My head was a mess, and it was only getting worse the longer I kneeled there.

Fuck, I’m kneeling in between Gin’s legs. I scrambled back, but Giancarlo caught me and tugged me up.

“Hey, where are you going? We weren’t done talking.”

I looked at him and then at the supermodel.

Giancarlo sighed. “Doc, you couldn’t have waited five more minutes?”

She shook her head, the pink curls dancing around her face. “No way. Not after the call I got. I expected you to be sprawled out on the floor, bleeding to death. Again.”

Embarrassment made my cheeks hot, and I looked away from her. “Uh, sorry.”

I hadn’t cried in years. Once the dam had broken, it felt damn near impossible to quit. I was surprised I’d stopped at all. I was almost tempted to tell Giancarlo to threaten me or beat me like my father. I’d stop crying then.

“Don’t be,” she laughed lightly. “Even if Gin here got stabbed, he’d make it sound like a bee sting, so it’s nice someone takes injuries seriously around here.”

“You’ve been stabbed?”

Giancarlo looked at me like I was crazy. I shook my head. Stupid comment. The doc moved around me and got situated in front of Giancarlo. She pulled the coffee table I’d moved back to its previous position.

“Melony, this is Ash. Ash, Melony. She’s our doc. Mel runs a low-end clinic with her gir—”

“By myself.”

Giancarlo whistled. “What happened to the future Mrs?”

Melony scoffed as she wiped at his knuckles. “Fell in love and is now touring with some band as a groupie.”

“Ouch, doc. Need a hit out on her?”

I sucked in a sharp breath. Giancarlo glanced my way. There was zero indication he’d been joking.

“Not needed. The lead singer came in with crabs. I gave him some bullshit meds to take care of it.” She shrugged. “But this isn’t as serious as I thought it was,” she muttered, peering at his hand more closely. “Better call your brothers and tell them before they show up.”

Giancarlo groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose as he slouched against the sofa. “No matter what I say now, they’re definitely coming.”

“Sorry.” I peeked over Melony’s shoulder and watched as she numbed him with a needle that looked entirely too big.

Gin had gone pale, his eyes wide as saucers as he stared at it. He tried to pull away, but she kept his hand steady.

“Don’t be. If it were up to this guy, he’d wait till he was bleeding out and close to death’s door before calling me,” Melony said.

The thought of Giancarlo dying made me ill. The air in my lungs rushed out. I stared at him, committing every inch of his face to memory down to the lines in the corner of his eyes.

“Doc!” Giancarlo yanked me down to the sofa with his other hand. “I ain’t dead,” he growled at me. “Stop looking at me like you’re picturing my funeral.”

Melony chuckled. “You’re right. This time you are, in fact, not dying. Good thing you have someone by your side watching out for you.” She looked at me. “Keep him on his toes, Ash. He looks tough, but he’s the biggest baby.”

“The hell I am.”

“I will,” I promised.

“Now I’m being ignored,” he muttered.

The front door opened again. I looked up at a man in a suit with metal-rimmed glasses. His facial hair was trimmed, and his dark brown hair was gelled back. He was shorter than Giancarlo, but I knew instantly by how he carried himself that he had to be another brother of his. Which meant he was Enzo.

“What did he do now?”

“He beat the living shit out of a customer at Silver Dreams,” Benito said.

The hairs on the back of my neck stood up, and I pressed myself firmly against Giancarlo when the oldest Vitale brother joined us. It was like being in a room full of predators. I might as well have had floppy ears and a cotton tail. A shiver ran up my spine. Yeah, I don’t like that imagery.

“He deserved it,” Giancarlo huffed.

“He’s in the goddamn hospital,” Benito countered.

“And this is an emergency how?” Enzo asked.

I swallowed thickly and sat up. “Giancarlo was bleeding a lot, and he told me to call the doctor. I didn’t mean to make it sound—”

“Like my brother was dying?” Enzo asked.

Ice raced down my spine as he took a step forward. Giancarlo was up in a flash. Melony moved just in time to avoid being knocked back. She huffed but looked as if she was used to them.

I couldn’t relate. My stomach was in knots as the brothers glared at each other.

“Back off, Enzo,” Giancarlo said.

I stood up, grabbing Giancarlo’s sleeve as I tried tugging him back down. “She’s not done.”

He glanced my way and grunted. “Sorry, doc.” His gaze returned to Enzo as they stood there having a silent fight. The air grew thicker with the tension radiating off them.

“Enough, you two. Glad you’re all good, Gin.” Benito moved between them, but if anything, his presence seemed to increase the tension in the room.

“Enzo, come on. I think I saw glass cups with the pots the last time we were here,” another man said as he breezed into the house. He was far bigger and taller than Enzo. His dark hair was messy, hanging around his face. He had soft blue eyes as he smiled my way.

“What?” Enzo growled. “Where?”

“Don’t rearrange my shit, Enzo,” Giancarlo barked out.

I finally got him to sit as I pulled his sleeve again. Once the doctor started working again, I tried to stand up.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Gin asked me.

“I should get them coffee or water.” It was the polite thing to do. They were guests in the house.

Giancarlo pulled me tighter against him. “Fuck that. I need you right here. They know how to pour their own drinks.”

“Ash, please stay still. If he keeps moving, I’m going to end up stabbing him and creating a new hole,” Melony said.

“A new hole? Doc, you’re barking up the right tree,” Giancarlo said, a grin tugging at his lips.

“Oh, just stay still. You too,” she muttered to me before she went back to work.

I nodded, giving in and curling up next to Giancarlo. I watched Melony as she worked, my breathing eventually evening out. Giancarlo, on the other hand, looked calm, but his fingers kept twitching on my side, and his breathing was short.

Giancarlo looked down at me. Something made me wrap my arm around Gin. I pressed my face firmly against him. “Thank you.”

I wasn’t sure if it was the right thing to do or if my touching him was helping, but I continued to do what I could. Giancarlo said nothing with his mouth, but his fingers pressed against my side more.

“Stitches are done.” Melony grabbed her bag and uncapped a needle. She filled the syringe with a clear liquid and tapped it a few times, making sure to get the air bubbles out.

“Ah, fuck,” Giancarlo muttered.

I glanced up at him. His eyes were glued to the needle in her hand. Sweat beaded his brow.

“You know the drill. Might as well get it over with.”

“Yeah, I fucking know.” Giancarlo’s arm unwove from around me. He shoved his arm out. Gritting his teeth together, Gin screwed his eyes shut and practically stopped breathing.

“You really shouldn’t be such a baby about these things,” Benito said. He headed for the kitchen as Giancarlo flipped him off.

“Just get it over with.” Giancarlo’s face was covered in a light sheen of sweat. He looked like he would pass out any second.

“You know, tensing up only makes it hurt.”

“It’s kind of hard not to doc. Come on already.” He chewed his lip. “Fucking get it over with.”

I reached up and cupped his face. Giancarlo’s eyes flashed open, and I was instantly sucked into the abyss of his dark gaze.

“Wha—”

I pressed our mouths together. The moment they touched, a fire ignited in the middle of my chest. I sucked in a breath. Focus only on me. Giancarlo’s fingers wrapped up in my shirt, and a few buttons popped as he pulled me closer. My head tilted to the side. I opened up for him as he deepened the kiss. It went from a peck to a toe-curling kiss that had me wanting more.

A whimper worked its way up my throat, and Giancarlo swallowed it down greedily. He sucked on my tongue. Ecstasy wrapped around me like a vice as I pushed for more. Our tongues tangled together. I was clumsy with my movements, sure I was messing it up, but unwilling to stop when it felt so good.

Giancarlo growled, and it went straight to my cock. I wish I was buried inside of him.

“All done,” Melony said.

Effectively stopping our make-out session. The moment we parted, my heart raced. I couldn’t take my eyes off Giancarlo as I tried to suck in air. My lips and fingers tingled as I sat there staring up at him.

I want to do it again.

My gaze dropped to his lips, and a needy sound hit my ears. It took me way too long to realize it had come from me.

“Giancarlo.” Benito’s voice was like a bucket of ice water poured over my head. He stepped closer to us, his brows furrowed as he stopped next to Gin. “We need to talk.”

“Of course, we do.” Giancarlo’s gaze never left me as he rolled his shirt sleeve down. “Ash, go check and make sure Enzo isn’t rearranging everything.”

“Yes, sir.” I slid off the couch and moved around them. I glanced over my shoulder, stealing another peek at Gin. Our eyes locked once more, and a bolt of electricity shot right through me.

Giancarlo was far more dangerous than I thought, and it wasn’t just because he was a violent lunatic.