10. Chapter Ten #2
“No. I don’t.” I narrow my eyes. “Are you worried you’ll end up actually liking me, princess? What would your father think of you then? Or Dante? He would be so disappointed in you if you ended up liking me.”
“Then it’s a good thing I hate you.”
“Sure.” I sigh and drop my head back. “I have work I need to get to.”
“What work?”
“Like killing Dante.”
Her eyes flash. “Don’t kill him.”
“Because you care so much about him? That’s why I have to do it, princess. He has too much power and that includes you. He needs to die so I can gain some of that power myself. Now, I have to lock you inside the bedroom. I still can’t risk you running away.”
Aria doesn’t object as I lead her into the bedroom and lock the door. But for just a moment, I hesitate, not sure if I should lock her in or not.
But then I turn the lock and leave.
Aria
I hear footsteps on the stairs soon after Finn leaves.
He’s back already? Maybe he forgot something – like to unlock the door. I can’t believe, after I told him what could happen if he dies and no one knows I’m here, that he didn’t listen.
Asshole. I hate him. I’m not going to let our kiss distract me. Or the way he touched my breasts. Or the way his eyes darken with desire whenever he sees me naked.
Nope. No effect on me at all.
The door unlocks and opens.
“Ready to apologize for locking me back in here?” I ask, hands on my hips, ready to chew Finn out.
Except… it’s not Finn who enters the room.
It’s a man I’ve never seen in my life before. He’s youngish, probably in his thirties, with a nasty scar across his forehead.
I gasp and step back on instinct. “Who are you?”
“Who are you?”
“I live here. You just broke in so you need to explain yourself.”
“But you were in a room with a locked door on it.”
“Who are you?” I demand.
“I’m Sal. I was hired to come find Finn Murphy. Do you know who that is?”
“No,” I answer. For some reason, I don’t want to trust this man. If he was hired by Dante, then he’d know who I was. “Who hired you?”
“A man named Jack Williams. Name sound familiar?”
Jack… oh shit. Jack Williams was the man who hired Finn to kill his wife and baby. But Finn didn’t do that.
“What happened? Who are you?”
“Jack wasn’t happy about Finn not completing the job so he hired me. He wants Finn dead for stealing his money. But he never mentioned you to me.”
“That’s because I’m a prisoner of Finn’s. Can you help me? I was kidnapped by him.”
“You were?” There’s an eagerness in Sal’s eyes that I don’t like. “Oh interesting. Finn refuses to kill a woman and her child and yet kidnaps a young girl. Make that make sense.”
“Did…” I lick my lips and Sal’s eyes zero in on the movement. “Did Jack also hire you to…”
“To kill his wife? Yes he did. And I killed her and that baby too. It just wouldn’t stop crying. It got on my fucking nerves so I blew its brains out.”
All my insides drop right to my feet. This man is bad. Dangerous. So is Finn but at least Finn has qualms about murdering babies. This man doesn’t.
“She,” I say before I can stop myself.
“What?”
“The baby. She was a girl.”
“I don’t fucking care. She’s dead now. I’m here to kill Finn but he’s not here. Do you know when he’ll be back?”
“He… should be back soon.” Finn could be gone for hours for all I know, leaving me alone with this madman. “How did you find this place?”
“Jack lives in the area. He told me he hired Finn based on his location. That he was somewhere nearby. Jack told me he saw the car Finn had used when they met up and I tracked it here. I have contacts that let me get ahold of security footage. It made it easy to find this place. But I guess I was too late. I just missed him, didn’t I? ”
“I guess so. So, you might as well leave and come back later.”
“Oh no.” He chuckles but there’s no humor to it. “Why would I leave? I’m right where I want to be. Clearly, Finn will come back if he’s keeping you prisoner. I’m curious. Why is he keeping you prisoner?”
I don’t trust this man but I have to make sure he doesn’t hurt me. “Do you know Dante Moretti?”
“I’ve heard of him. Mafia guy. Never met him.”
“I’m a close friend of his. Finn kidnapped me to hurt Dante but Dante is offering a large reward to the person who brings me home. If you were to do that, then Dante would give you a lot of money.”
“Interesting. How do I know you’re telling the truth?”
“I’m Aria Romano. Of course I’m telling the truth.”
He tilts his head to the side. “Am I supposed to know the name? I don’t know you.”
“My father is Elio Romano. He’s high up in the Mafia.”
“The name is a little familiar.”
“There you go,” I say. “You know I’m telling the truth. Just bring me back home to them and Dante and my father will pay you handsomely.”
“It’s an interesting offer. But if you have ties to the Mafia, then that makes you valuable. Finn clearly stole you for that reason.”
“Exactly. I’m valuable. You could make a lot of money off me by returning me home.”
His eyes zero in on my left hand. “You have a ring on your finger. Are you married?”
“Yes.”
“What’s his name?”
There’s no way I’m telling him Finn is my husband. He might think I’m on Finn’s side and try to hurt me to get to Finn.
“Enzo… Rocci.” It’s a made up Italian name. I don’t know any Enzos.
“Mmm. Haven’t heard that name before.”
“Well, he’s my husband. He works with Dante and my father. He will also pay you a lot for returning me home. So, you could do that and then come back and kill Finn. You could even brag to his face that you stole his prisoner out from under him.”
“That is an interesting idea. But I much prefer the idea of waiting for Finn to return, and then bringing you home to your family. Actually, I much prefer the idea of just keeping you for myself.” He grabs my arms and pulls me flush against him.
I scream and struggle but he’s too strong for me.
“You’re pretty, Aria Romano. I like having my own playthings. I think I’ll keep you.”
“Did you not hear what I just said? You could make millions if you returned me to my family.”
“See, I don’t do this job for money. Sure, the money is nice but I do this job because I like killing people. It’s a thrill. I like taking my time with it. Did you know that I strapped Sarah Williams to her dining room table and cut at her for hours before I finally killed her?”
I freeze. This man is even more sadistic than Finn is. That’s something I never thought I would see.
“Do you want to know what I did to the baby?”
“You said you… shot her,” I whisper.
“Oh, I did. But not before I jammed my finger down her throat to stop her from crying. Somehow, that didn’t stop her. That’s why I shot her.”
“You’re sick.”
“So I’ve been told. Sarah wouldn’t stop crying after I killed her baby.”
“You killed her baby in front of her?”
“It added to the torture. Then I cut her and cut her until she was bleeding too much, I couldn’t save her. That’s when I finally ended things. Do you want to know how I killed her?”
“No.”
“I took my knife and I jammed it into her body over and over again until she died. To see the light slowly leave her eyes… mmm. It was delicious.”
“You’re evil,” I whisper. I thought Finn was the worst person in this world but I’ve been proven wrong.
“What shall I do to you? What would make you cry for hours?” He eyes me over. “I could jam my knife into your cunt. How does that sound? I bet that would make you scream for hours on end.”
“No.” I try to blink back my tears but they spill down my face.
Never have I known this kind of fear. Despite everything I’ve been through with Finn, I never feared him as much as I probably should have.
Now that we’re married, I don’t fear him any longer.
Not for my own safety that is. I know Finn will not hurt me.
He had too many chances too and he never took it.
But Sal… I know he means what he says. He takes utter delight in it.
It’s why I can’t pretend to stay strong like I did with Finn. It’s why I can’t stop my tears from falling.
“If you don’t leave soon,” I say as a last ditch effort, “then Finn will return and he’ll kill you for hurting me.”
“Why would he kill me for hurting you? You’re his prisoner. I doubt he cares about you.”
“He’s possessive. I’m his prisoner. He doesn’t want other men touching what’s his.”
“Ah. So, he’s taken you then. Fucked you. Did you scream as he raped you?”
“Finn never raped me.” I don’t know why I say it. Defending Finn should be the last thing I’m worried about and yet, I don’t want this madman to think Finn has raped me.
“Why not? A pretty girl like you needs a hard cock shoved into her. She needs to know pain. Unless…” His eyes zero back onto my left hand, primarily my ring. “Unless you’re lying about who your husband is. Is that right, Aria Romano? Is Enzo whatever the fuck really your husband?”
“He is.”
“So, it’s not Finn, is it? Are you just trying to play me so I won’t hurt you? Because that’s what I think you’re doing.”
“I’m Finn’s prisoner. He will be back soon and you’ll regret touching me.”
“I don’t think I will.” He throws me over his shoulder so fast, I don’t have time to react. “You’re going to be my plaything, Aria Romano. I’m taking you with me and then I’m coming back to kill Finn.”
“Kill Finn for all I care.”
“You keep saying that but I’m not sure I believe you.” He palms my backside and squeezes, making me kick out in retaliation. Sal doesn’t seem fazed at all.
He carries me outside and places me into his car.
I try to escape but he punches me upside the head so hard, I fall back onto the seat and can’t move for a solid few seconds.
In that time, he gets into the car with me and drives away from the little cottage I thought I hated.
Now it feels like I’m leaving a sanctuary.
I never thought this would happen – that I would actually miss Finn.
Now that someone even crazier than him has found me, I now know how much safer I was with him.
Sal drives to a house that’s only ten minutes away from Finn’s cottage. Not far at all and yet, it feels like I’m a million miles away.
I scream and kick as Sal drags me from the car. I hope someone sees. Someone hears. I need any help I can get.
But no one helps me.
The street is empty. The houses around me are all silent. No movement in sight.
Sal brings me inside and tosses me onto his dining table. Underneath it is a plastic tarp. He must kill people like this all the time. I’m obviously not his first victim.
Handcuffs are embedded onto the table and he straps my wrists into them. Then he does the same with my ankles. It’s so similar to how Finn tied me up but this time, I’m in much more danger.
Sal pulls a knife from his jacket and places it onto my shirt. Finn’s shirt. He cuts the fabric off me, exposing my bare chest to him.
Then he places the tip of the blade right between my breasts and smiles. “Ok, plaything. I’m ready to hear you scream.”