40. Antonio
Chapter forty
Antonio
F uck, my head hurts.
No. My stomach.
Scratch that. Everything hurts.
I groan as I move my arm to my stomach and cough as pain sears through my gut.
How did things get so fucked up?
Where am I?
Theá.
Valerie.
My eyes flash open, but I hurry to shut them as they burn at the sudden exposure to the cold air of the room I’m in.
Very cold, and hard.
I allow the hand that was clutching my stomach to fall to the ground beneath me.
Concrete. Great.
Another groan erupts out of me as I try to roll onto my back and blink my eyes open again.
“ Cazzo, ” I breathe, coughing again.
“Well, well, well. You’re finally awake,” Kylian’s annoying voice rings through the air.
I turn my head slowly, ready to scowl in his direction. But instead, through my blurry vision, my eyes meet a familiar pair of green eyes.
Enzo.
What the fuck is Enzo doing here?
Sure, he hates being left out of things, but even he wouldn’t commit to getting this deeply intertwined with the French.
“Awh, look how surprised he is to see you, Enzo. You were right; it is a nice surprise,” Kylian says all too giddy for my liking.
“I was expecting a bigger reaction, but I guess this will do.” Enzo shrugs before meeting my gaze. His gaze is menacing, brimming with trouble like a naughty child who just got caught by their parents.
“Oh well. Back to why we’re here.” Kylian walks over, his Oxford’s clicking against the cement in a torturous manner. “Where is my sister, Antonio?”
Theá? I thought Theá was in on all of this—how else would they have known that we were out of the country when we left almost no trace? Unless this is another one of their tactics to try and get information out of me.
That’s what this is. Use Valerie to lure me here, and then use Theá for the rest of the information.
I’m so fucking stupid.
“I…don’t know,” I grunt out.
There’s a 50/50 chance she’s involved in whatever twisted plan her father is currently concocting; either way, playing dumb is probably for the best. “Besides,” I inhale deeply, drawing whatever little energy I have left to form this sentence, “even if I did know, I sure as fuck wouldn’t tell you.”
“Wrong answer, lover boy.” His shoe flies into my face, and I hear the distinct crack of bone as it makes contact with my nose.
“Fuck,” I groan out, reaching for my face despite all the other pain I’m already in.
Warm liquid floods my hands and my eyes start watering instantly, blurring my vision of the two assfucks in front of me.
In one swift motion, another kick lands in my stomach, and I curl forward retching as blood rushes into my mouth. I cough up as much of it as I can, the movement only worsening the pain. My vision starts to spot, making the dimly lit room even darker.
Kylian crouches down and threads his fingers into my hair before ripping my head back so that I have a full view of his face.
As much as I would call him ugly, he and Theá share too many of the same physical features for me to lie like that.
“I’m going to ask you one more time. Where is Theresa?” His eyes are stern, but even with blurred vision, I can see them brimming with concern and worry.
I bare all my teeth in a smile as I start laughing. After all of this, if Theá really is gone with the wind, they still need me more than I need them. And if it means keeping her safe, they’ll have to kill me before I ever say a thing.
“ Vaffanculo, ” I spit, hoping whatever blood left in my mouth lands on his stupid shoes.
I hear Enzo snicker before my head is thrown back against the floor. Kylian manages three more kicks to my stomach before Enzo eventually decides to say something.
“We need him alive for the plan,” he says.
Kylian looks down at me with disgust in his eyes before spitting on my chest. “Make sure he doesn’t die then.”
The clicking of his shoes grows fainter as he walks off, until I hear a door shut.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. Cugino, you always find yourself in these unfortunate situations.” Enzo walks closer. “All because of your brothers. When are you going to learn not everyone is so deserving of your undying loyalty?”
My head is pounding as I try to cling to the words he’s saying.
How did things get so fucked up that even Enzo is making sense?
“Don’t forget what your sweet old papá used to say. Blood makes you related, but loyalty makes you family.”
He’s even closer now, probably crouched down from what I can sense since both my eyes are slowly swelling shut due to the breaking of my nose. “If you want to see any of them again, I suggest you hold onto whatever stupid sense of hope you have left and start praying.”
Then nothing. No sounds, no sight, no pain. Nothing. Absolutely nothing.
And I hate to admit it, but feeling nothing is the best thing I’ve ever felt in my entire life.