28. Siena
Siena
I sneak a peek around the corner, forcing myself to slow my ragged breathing. My heart thunders in my ears, and every few minutes I choke back a breath, the effort only making my chest tighter. This dungeon is a labyrinth of horrors, and I cannot find a way out.
No one is around the corner. I inch forward down the dimly lit hallway, my shoes whispering against the grimy floor. This place feels endless, like it’s designed to break people. Every corridor looks the same, every turn a cruel trick.
Twice now, I’ve circled back to Franco’s room without meaning to. I have no fucking idea how I’m going to escape this nightmare.
I reach another turn and press my back against the wall, squeezing my eyes shut for a second to steady myself. Deep breath. Quick look. My usual routine. But when I peek around the corner this time, my breath catches, and I freeze.
Holy shit. It’s Matti.
God, I forgot how fucking gorgeous he is.
Tattoos wind up his thick, muscled arms, disappearing under the sleeves of his button-up shirt, rolled to the elbows.
The expensive fabric of his tailored suit pants clings to his thighs, and…
damn, I shouldn’t be noticing his ass right now.
But I can’t help it. My cheeks burn as I remember the last time I saw him, his shirt off, water streaming over his inked skin, every hard muscle etched in sharp relief.
He runs a hand over his beard, the movement casual yet charged with tension, and just as he starts to turn his head my way, I duck back behind the wall.
My heart, already racing, now feels like it’s about to explode.
Heat washes over me, though I’m not sure if it’s fear, embarrassment, or something else entirely.
It doesn’t matter. He’s the last person I want to see right now.
I wait, pressing a trembling hand to my chest, willing my breathing to quiet. When I risk another glance, Matti is jogging down the hall away from me, disappearing around a corner.
Relief and frustration twist inside me. I can’t stay hidden here forever, and I know there’s no exit back the way I came. Following him might lead me to a different part of this fucking warehouse.
I move, careful to stay as quiet as possible, my steps quick but measured.
Passing Franco’s room for what feels like the hundredth time, I curse under my breath.
It’s maddening how lost I feel. I’m so focused on retracing Matti’s path that I don’t hear the soft footsteps behind me until it’s too late.
A sharp click echoes by my head, freezing me in place.
“Well, if it isn’t Matti’s principessa .”
I exhale shakily and turn. Vin stands with a gun leveled at my head and a smirk on his face .
“That means ‘princess,’” he smirks.
“No shit, asshole,” I mutter, shooting him a nasty look.
“Aw, don’t give me that look… Siena, isn’t it?” His voice is mocking and light, though his eyes are sharp. “You’re lucky it was me who found you and not Matti.” He steps back, gesturing grandly toward the way I came, his bow exaggerated. “Shall we?”
I roll my eyes and do as he says, masking my rising panic with an air of defiance. My voice trembles despite my best efforts. “Why? Because you’re such a gentleman?”
Vin chuckles, nudging me forward with the barrel of the gun. “Not at all. Because he’s fucking pissed, and I promise you when he gets his hands on you—” He lets out a low whistle, his grin widening as he looks at me through his lashes. “You’re in for a world of hurt, princess.”
“Well, I doubt you’ll keep my whereabouts a secret,” I snap, trying to sound braver than I feel. “So how exactly am I lucky?”
Vin prods me in the back with the gun to make me quicken my pace. “Because at least he’ll have a minute to calm down first. You wouldn’t like him when he’s angry.”
“I don’t like him, period.” I flush, trying to stay composed.
Vin doesn’t respond, his silence heavier than his mocking words.
As we approach the room I’ve been staying in, a sinking dread spreads across my chest, compressing my lungs and making it hard to breathe. I’m back where I started, with no plan and no escape.
When Vin doesn’t say anything, I continue. “If you’re supposed to keep me alive so he can deal with me, then I guess I don’t need to be too worried about that gun,” I say and shoot him a dirty look over my shoulder .
Vin’s voice drops to a growl. “Don’t get any ideas, princess.
I’ve got Matti’s back all day, every day, and if what he wants is you, then I’ll do whatever I have to do to make that happen.
You might have an extra hole in your body, but you’ll be alive and waiting for him when he’s ready to deal with you. ”
Vin kicks the door to the room open from behind me, pressing the gun into my back. “In you go.”
I stumble into the room, and Vin shuts the door behind us, dragging a metal chair to the center of the floor.
“Have a seat, principessa .”
“What? Why?“
Vin scoffs, the humor falling off his face as he gestures impatiently at the chair with his gun. “You’re not really asking ‘why’ are you? Sit the fuck down.”
He levels a glare at me, and I roll my eyes, flopping down in the chair. “This is fucking ridiculous.”
“Maybe. But you only have yourself to blame,” he says, crouching to tie my ankle to the chair leg, the knot biting into my skin, tight and unyielding.
“What the fuck? How is this my fau—Hey, that’s too tight,” I snap, jerking my leg, but it doesn’t budge. He ties my other leg just as tightly.
I reach down to untie the tie, but Vin blocks my hand with his. Without looking at me, he shakes his head, and I sit up straight and sigh loudly.
Standing, Vin ties each of my hands by my side to the back of the chair. His movements are brisk, efficient, and annoyingly calm. I can hold on to the chair seat, but otherwise, I can’t move my hands at all.
“You know, princess, this isn’t any of my business,” Vin says, pulling a handkerchief from his back pocket and folding it into a strip. “But you really fucked up.”
“Fucked up when? I know you don’t mean I fucked up trying to escape this prison,” I snort.
Vin’s voice is serious. “Matti’s like a brother to me. I’ve known him most of my life. And never once in that time have I seen him as focused on a female as he is on you.”
My heartbeat jumps, and I swallow hard, my response to his words catching me as much by surprise as the words themselves.
“I’m sure his girlfriend would love to hear you say that,” I say, eying Vin warily and jerking my head away from him as he grins and flicks the handkerchief at me like he’s flicking a towel at someone in the locker room. “What the fuck? Jesus Christ, are you an infant?”
“Just doing what I would want done if I were in Matti’s position and he found my girl.” He chuckles and drapes the folded handkerchief over my eyes and pulls it tight.
“Fucking ow, asshole.” I try to pull my head away and shake off the handkerchief, but Vin is too strong and holds me in place until I stop. “Are you deaf? He has a girlfriend, and in case you haven’t been paying attention, that’s not me. I’m not his girl. I’m not his anything.”
Vin laughs and yanks the handkerchief again as he ties it tightly behind my head, blacking out my vision as I squirm. “What girlfriend? Matti doesn’t do relationships. Hell, he doesn’t even do repeats. But you? You’ve got him twisted in knots.”
Vin moves so that his mouth is by my ear. “How many times has he fucked you, principessa ?”
I roll my eyes behind the handkerchief. “Zero. Did I disprove your thesis? ”
I can hear Vin’s footsteps walking away from me toward the door. When he speaks, his voice is harsh. “I’d say you proved it. I’ve never heard Matti talk about a female ever, but since the day he met you, it’s been clear that you are his number one priority.”
Shifting in my seat uncomfortably, sweat begins to pool on my brow and along my hairline.
Vin continues. “Ask yourself, princess. Why would a man like Matti throw aside everything in his life for someone he’s not even fucking?”
I swallow hard, stunned by Vin’s words but too angry to let go of my petulance.
“Really. Because I sat here for weeks and heard nothing from him. Nothing at all.” I’m embarrassed and angry when I realize how bitter and whiny I sound.
I don’t fucking care about Matti, if he calls me or doesn’t. If he wants me or doesn’t. So why the fuck do I sound like I not only care, but care a lot?
Vin’s voice rises in irritation, echoing in the cavernous room. “Has anyone hurt you since you’ve been here, Siena?”
“I was fucking kidnapped and abandoned here!”
“If that’s how you want to view it, princess,” Vin says, his voice impatient like he’s explaining a simple concept to a child. “The way I see it, you were about to be raped and left for dead, and he saved you, got you medical treatment, then made sure that you were safe.”
I grimace. Bullshit . “Yeah, real nice guy. Probably thought it was the least he could do after he MURDERED my sister.”
The air is thick and silent as I wait for him to answer, a silence that lasts so long that I begin to wonder if he left the room.
I jump when his voice sounds off right in front of me.
“I never said he was a nice guy, princess. And if I know him at all, you’re going to find that out the hard way soon enough.”