17. Matti
Matti
W hen Doc finishes stitching Siena up, I lift her into my arms and carry her to one of the back rooms. It’s a dual-purpose space—primarily a torture chamber, but also a makeshift crash pad.
The cement floor is cold and unyielding, the walls bare except for shackles bolted to O rings. A drain is embedded in the floor near the far end. The only furnishings are a large king-sized bed with a wrought iron frame against one wall, a plain metal chair, and a small table with a matching lamp.
The starkness of the room is chilling to the average person, even if you’re not the one shackled to the wall. At least, I’m hoping that’s the effect it has on Siena. She needs to know that she is not a guest here. I need the flash drive, and until I get it, she is my prisoner.
The bedroom furniture was put in here randomly, but we ended up keeping it because it unnerves people more than anything else. I’ve seen grown men eye it like it’s a predator.
Always makes me laugh. They think the worst—rape, humiliation. That’s not our game, not mine, anyway. And even if it was, I can’t remember the last time I fucked someone in a bed.
I place Siena carefully on top of the covers, her body limp and unresponsive. Doc says she doesn’t have a concussion, just trauma-induced exhaustion. Still, I tuck a blanket around her.
There’s no need to tie her up again. AJ left open wounds on her wrists and ankles, for one thing, but she’s not going anywhere, anyway.
Even if she had the strength to run, this place is a fortress.
Steel-bolted doors, tiny barred windows.
Even if she could navigate the labyrinth of hallways, she’d find guards at every exit—she couldn’t find her way out if she tried.
But it’s not just her escape I’m worried about. It’s Aurelio. If he knew to look for the flash drive at Alexandra Hayes’ law office, he knows about Siena.
That flash drive she has—or had —is the key to his interest. If Dante Ruggerio and his goons didn’t find it at the law office, he’ll come for her whether she has it or not.
Especially since I know Dante will rat me out for stopping him from killing Siena.
Defying his orders always makes the consequences worse.
Torture isn’t just an abstract threat with Aurelio; it’s his preferred language.
And if Vin gets caught up in this anymore than he already is and Aurelio finds out, his blood is on me, too. Though Aurelio didn’t object when Vin and Tommy took me in after my parents died when I was a kid, that’s about the full extent of his kindness to any of us.
Even though Vin is his successor, Aurelio views everything he does as a threat—good, bad, or indifferent. A threat to the family if he fucks up. A threat to him personally if he does well, like Vin might steal the throne out from under him .
I wish he would. I’d back him all the way. Vin is ready, that much I’m sure of, but he needs the right reason to pull the trigger, metaphorically and literally.
I watch Siena’s pale face in sleep, her chest gently rising and falling beneath the blanket. She’s innocent. She doesn’t belong in this world, doesn’t belong in this room. But it’s the only safe place I can think of. That’s the joke of it—the safest place in our universe is a prison.
A knock interrupts my thoughts. Olivia leans against the doorframe, smirking. “Vin’s here. Didn’t tell him about your little guest.” Her tone is teasing, but her gaze flickers toward Siena, sharp and questioning.
“Tell him to meet me in the conference room back here,” I say, my voice flat. I wait for her to do as she’s told, but she doesn’t move. “What?”
“Doc says she’s clean. No sign of… sexual assault. No pregnancy. No STDs. Apparently, she has a birth control implant, in case, that’s of interest to you,” she says, wiggling her eyebrows at me.
I’m relieved Siena’s okay, but I don’t like Olivia’s insinuation with that last comment and turn away, expecting her to leave. When she doesn’t, I sigh, barely able to contain my impatience. “Jesus Christ, Olivia. What do you want?”
She waves a hand toward Siena. “Are you going to explain? Maybe illuminate the mystery of why you look like someone ripped out your heart and stomped on it when you carried her in here?”
I narrow my eyes, blocking her view into the room. “Bye, Olivia.”
She presses her hand against the door, stopping me as I try to close it. Her tone shifts, her expression turning serious. “If you care about this one, keep her away from him.”
We both know who she means. Aurelio. I’ve often wondered how it is that Olivia has managed to live near him all these years and survived. She’s the only woman who has, as far as I can tell. Even Aurelio’s wife, Vin’s mother, disappeared under mysterious circumstances when the boys were younger.
“Olivia. Go away.”
She studies me for another moment, then makes a face at me and turns on her heel, her footsteps echoing down the hall as I shut the door behind her.
I check on Siena one more time, then flip open the security app, double checking that the cameras in this room are on and working.
She’s sleeping peacefully now, but if she wakes up, I want to be here.
I watch her for a few minutes more, then step out the door, leaving it open a crack so I can hear her.
The conference room is one door down, but Vin isn’t the only one waiting for me when I walk in. Franco, that fuck, is with him, bouncing on the balls of his feet like an overeager kid. Vin sits back on the worn leather couch, arms crossed, looking like he’d rather be anywhere else.
I address Vin. “What the fuck is he doing here?”
Vin holds up a hand and nods like he expected that response. “Hear him out.”
Franco jumps in before I can protest. “So, I talked to Aurelio,” he says, pounding his fist into his palm with every other word. “He wants that flash drive. Bad.”
I glance at Vin, who stares back, his jaw clenched. If Aurelio sent Franco after the flash drive, he’s decided I’m not moving fast enough. Worse, it confirms he knows about Siena. And that Siena is Franco’s sister, which means Vin probably—
“And since it’s my sister who has it,” Franco continues, puffing out his chest, “I figured I could help. Your guys didn’t find it on her or in the car, so—”
Fuck. Vin is glaring at me. I wonder how long he’s known I lied to him about Siena’s identity. Fucking Franco.
I step toward Franco, my fists clenched. “The fuck are you thinking, running your mouth about what I may or may not be doing?”
He holds up his hands, backing off quickly. “No offense, no offense,” he stammers. “Just saying. The flash drive wasn’t there, and it wasn’t found at the law office.”
“Why were you even at the law office, Franco?” Vin asks, leaning forward, his elbows on his knees.
“Aurelio told me to go. He said in case someone called the cops, I should run interference.”
Vin curses under his breath. He fucking hates when Aurelio calls on Franco for anything, and in this case, we take it personally since I was the one originally put on extracting the flash drive.
Tension-fueled silence hangs in the air, and finally I break it. “Franco. Why are you here?”
He lights up, remembering what he wanted to say. “Well, I figured since it’s my sister who has the flash drive, I could help speed things up. So I did.”
“What did you do, Franco?” My voice is low, and the color drains from his face.
“Uh, I took AJ to her house to look for it.” He looks less excited, less sure of himself.
I dig my fingers into my palms to keep myself from hitting him. Fucking AJ in her house. “And? Did you find it? You didn’t, did you? Because she doesn’t fucking have it! ”
Franco hangs his head. “We tore that place up, but no, we didn’t find it anywhere.”
The words hang in the air like a slap. “You what? You ‘tore it up?’” My voice is low, dangerous.
My vision narrows. Not only did this idiot fail to find the flash drive, but he also let AJ rifle through Siena’s life, touch her things, her clothes, be in her bedroom. I grab Franco by the collar, slamming him against the wall. His head bounces off the cement with a satisfying thud.
“I—I thought you’d be happy!” Franco stammers. “One less thing for you to do. I’m trying to help you!”
“Help?” I slam him again. “You call letting those fucks paw through her things helping? She’s your fucking sister, asswipe. You, of all people, should know that she has nothing to do with any of this. Where the fuck is your loyalty?”
“I’m—I’m trying to help her,” Franco says, quickly. He looks like he’s making it up as the words fall out of his face. “She does have it! Or she did. I thought if I could find it, then Aurelio wouldn’t be, um, after her anymore. And you would be happy because the job was done.”
“Were you helping her when you just stood there while that fuck AJ had his hands all over her?” I grit out.
Vin clears his throat, standing slowly. “Why don’t we all step back and—”
I glare at Vin, but he holds my gaze steadily and raises his eyebrows. He’s right. There’s no reason for me to lose it on Franco. If his sister was anyone but Siena, I wouldn’t give a shit what he did to her house or who he let touch her.
But she is, and I do.
I can’t resist slamming Franco against the wall one more time before I let him go. He rebounds off it, then steps back away from me, breathing heavily as he fixes his shirt, his collar pulled out of shape.
“If you cared about your sister, you’d stay the fuck out of this,” I spit.
Franco straightens to his full height, still a full head shorter than I am, puffing out his chest again. “I know you’ve got her here.”
The room goes silent. Vin’s eyes narrow at me, his jaw tightening.
“The fuck did you say?” I hadn’t decided if I was going to tell Vin that Siena was here, but I guess I don’t get that fucking choice now.
Franco smirks. “Keeping her in your dungeon? Real honorable.”
“What are you going to do about it?” I growl.
“I’m thinking I should ask for a sit down with Aurelio, stop you from using my sister as your fuck hole. You know, since you feel so strongly that I should have intervened when AJ tried to fuck her.”
If Vin wasn’t glaring at me from behind Franco, I’d lay him out for talking about her like that. Instead, I step in closer to him, forcing him to look up at me. “If you had any balls at all, you’d take your sister from me yourself. Right now.”
He doesn’t flinch. But he doesn’t say anything either, just holds his ground, staring me down.
I don’t like the way he’s challenging me. He’s a stupid fuck, but he’s unpredictable, which makes him dangerous. “Lay a finger on Siena, and I will end your fucking life. Do you understand me?”
Franco doesn’t move, but his gaze hardens.
Whatever Vin’s reason for dragging this asshole here, there’s no fucking way I’m letting him walk out.