37. Siena
Siena
A urelio hulks toward me, his bulky frame blocking out the men behind him. He’s barely able to stand, limping heavily, and holding his ribs as he grunts with each step. It must be pure hate driving him forward.
Something primal in my brain trips off, blaring an alarm through my body.
Since I put on the suit jacket that Matti threw at me, I’ve been frozen in shock watching him fight Vin. But when Tommy put a gun to Matti’s head, cold terror gripped my heart. I didn’t even notice Aurelio rising from the couch until he blocked my view of Matti.
I lurch to my feet, intending to run, but my legs crumble beneath me. In one massive step, Aurelio closes the distance between us, his hand snatching my neck like a vise, his face twisted in pain. Before I can react, he hurls me against the wall.
The impact is jarring, but he’s wounded and weak, and the worst of it comes from the cuts and bruises I already have. A groan escapes me as I fight to stay upright, to stay conscious, to find an opening, an escape. Any opportunity.
Blinking hard, I struggle to clear my vision, and tug Matti’s jacket tighter around me. It’s not much, but it feels like armor.
Before I can move, Aurelio grabs me, a searing pain tears through my side, and I’m slammed onto Aurelio’s desk, sprawled on my stomach, gasping for air. As I attempt to push myself up, a crushing weight on my back shoves me back down, flattening me against the cold desktop.
“Right where I want you, piccolina ,” Aurelio rasps, his breath hot and thick against my ear. He presses his hand between my shoulder blades, pinning me to the desk, and slaps the outside of my thigh, the sound sharp and degrading. “Legs together. I like it tight.”
Unable to stand on his own, he bears his full weight down on me, crushing my chest into the desk so that I can barely breathe. My face is turned toward the door, pressed against the desktop.
Through the blur of chaos, I can just make out Matti. He’s locked in a desperate struggle with Tommy and Vin, trying to wrestle the gun from Tommy while Vin has him in a bear hug, attempting to drag him to the ground.
Matti doesn’t see me. He doesn’t see any of this.
Aurelio’s curses grow louder as he pushes his free hand between us and claws at his zipper. His weight forces the desk to dig into my thighs painfully as he holds me down. Aurelio’s grunts of pain mix with mine.
My eyes dart to the objects within reach—a stone lamp, a marble pen holder, a heavy humidor—but with the way I am positioned, I’m powerless to make use of any of them effectively.
With a cruel chuckle, he swats Matti’s jacket up over my back and smacks my bare ass again, the sting triggering rage in my bones. Bending over me, he presses his torso against my back, grinding me into the unforgiving desk. His meaty hands clamp around my wrists, yanking them above my head.
“FUCK! Pop, no!” Tommy yells, realizing what Aurelio is doing, and Matti turns his head to see what they’re talking about and locks eyes with me.
“Nice big ass,” Aurelio grunts into my ear, his semi-hard dick pushing against my ass cheeks. He turns his head to look in the same direction I am. Towards Matti. “I like her, Matti. Your woman is—”
Before he can finish, I slam the side of my head into his as hard as I can. Pain explodes through my skull, but Aurelio’s guttural yell tells me I hit my mark.
He reels, and I seize the moment, driving my head back and into him again. This time, the impact sends shockwaves through both of us. My ears ring, but he’s loosened his hold just enough for me to twist my body to face him.
Desperation fuels me. I lunge forward and sink my teeth into his cheek, biting down with all the strength I have left. His high-pitched scream pierces the air, and I taste blood—hot, metallic, revolting.
He’s shrieking in Italian, his fists pounding at me as he tries to break free.
Using all my strength, I hang on, unable to see anything around his fat face, my jaws locked like a pit bull.
Forcing my hands between my body and the desk, I try hard to push back against him, but he’s too heavy. I can’t move him.
I can feel the fire draining out of me rapidly, like someone pulled a plug out of the drain. Keeping my jaws locked, I begin to lose feeling in my legs first and then the numbness creeps up my body .
Before I know what’s happening, Aurelio’s face is wrenched out of my mouth and high-pitched shrieks fill the air.
I collapse onto my back on the desk, my jaws aching, clamped down on a hunk of flesh.
Gasping, I spit it out and wipe my mouth with the back of my hand, smearing Aurelio’s blood across my face, a blur of bodies in front of me.
Matti is on top of Aurelio, his fists relentlessly crashing into him.
Tommy and Vin are trying to pull them apart.
All of them keep knocking into my legs, but I don’t have the energy to move and I wouldn’t know where to go if I did.
They’re all blocking the path to the door, and the floor is littered with broken glass and splinters of wood.
I clutch the lapels of Matti’s jacket, pulling it closed over my exposed body.
My hands tremble as I try to edge away from the chaos.
Just when I feel like I’ve created some distance, a hand clamps around my ankle.
I grit my teeth as pain shoots through the raw, broken skin where the ropes cut me.
It’s Aurelio. He yanks hard, pulling me down onto Matti’s back.
Unfazed, Matti shrugs me off, tossing me onto the floor, and grabs Aurelio around the throat with both hands, his grip like iron. I lay on my back, chest heaving, blinded by pain.
As I watch Aurelio’s face next to me on the floor, he turns a sickly shade of blue, his movements slowing.
I look up into Matti’s face, and his expression is terrifying: eyes almost black with rage, flat and lifeless, his mouth set in a grim line.
He’s scared me before, but in this moment, I see just how terrifying Matti can be. My monster.
Before I can move, Vin’s strong hands grab me under my arms. Terrified, I claw my hands on the carpet, trying to grab hold of something. My hand falls on the poker from the fireplace and I hold tight, but before I can use it, Vin hoists me up and tosses me onto the couch behind him.
“Don’t fucking move!” he barks at me, his voice a sharp command.
Tommy trains his gun on Matti’s head and shouts, “MATTI!”
If Matti heard, he doesn’t let on.
I just want this to be over. Leaning forward, I summon what little energy I have left to try to slide off the couch and maybe crawl out the door. But Vin shoves me back, his arm a barrier as he turns his attention back to the fight.
“MATTI!” Tommy yells again. The room reverberates with a deafening gunshot. I flinch, covering my ears as my heart slams against my rib cage.
The shot jolts Matti out of his rage-induced stupor. He releases Aurelio, who collapses to the floor and lies still, and darts his gaze around the room until he finds me.
The disgusted glare on his face sends a chill through me. He’s no longer the man who kissed me goodbye this morning, like I was the only woman in his world.
I suddenly feel vulnerable and small, and I yank the jacket tight across me, pulling its hem as far down my thighs as I can. Thankfully, the jacket is huge and covers me better than some of my own clothes, but it also makes me feel even smaller as I try to push the long sleeves up over my hands.
Matti rises, his expression hardening as he steps toward Tommy, their noses almost touching. “What the FUCK is your problem?” he yells.
“Giovanna,” Tommy snaps, his tone icy.
I don’t know what that means, but for a fleeting moment, something shifts in Matti’s face, a crack in his anger. It’s gone as quickly as it appears.
He narrows his eyes at Tommy. “You fucking pull a gun on me again, and I will end you.”
Tommy, resolute, holds his gaze but doesn’t respond. Tension pours off Matti.
Turning to Vin, Matti pauses, stone cold. He says nothing and neither does Vin as the two of them square off. I try to read what is happening between them. They’re both angry, but there’s something else, something like an understanding between the two of them.
Vin’s voice is tight. “Take care of her. Keep her here as long as she needs. We’ll keep him away from both of you.”
Without taking his eyes off Vin, Matti snaps his fingers at me. “Get up.”
Seriously? Like I’m a dog? Like that’s even possible?
Disbelief and exhaustion weigh me down, and I can’t muster the strength to obey. My body feels like lead, the adrenaline drained from me, plus, whatever Aurelio’s men gave me to knock me out initially is still circulating in my system. I stay rooted to the couch, my gaze dropping to the floor.
“Siena!” Matti barks at me, turning to look at me. “You. Get up.”
Taking a heaving breath, I meet his glare through my drooping eyelashes, not even enough energy to change my expression.
I grip the poker tighter and use it like a cane to help me stand.
As I do, my gaze falls on Aurelio. The color is slowly returning to his face and his chest rises and falls softly.
The fucker is still alive, the man responsible for my sister’s death and my father’s death.
I don’t think. I shift a step toward him and bring the fireplace poker up with both hands, hovering it over his groin.
With everything I have left in me, I bring it down hard, the point disappearing deep into his flesh, blood spurting out in all directions.
Leaving the poker embedded in him, I drop my arms and lift my hooded gaze up to Matti.
The room erupts around us as Vin and Tommy run to Aurelio, yelling his name.
Something flickers across Matti’s face briefly as he stares back at me.
Concern? Irritation? An understanding? All three?
I can’t tell. My legs give out, and he strides toward me, scooping me up like I weigh nothing, and throws me over his shoulder.
Yanking the jacket hem down to cover my ass, he marches out of the room without another word.