Chapter 26
The door of Rodrigo's office slammed shut behind Giana with a bang like a thunder crack. The sound didn't drown out the roaring in her ears, the sickening cocktail of fury, and a treacherous, unwanted desire still coiling low in her belly.
The scent of him, musky and raw, clung to her skin, mingling with the faint, expensive cologne on the pocket square she had stuffed into her bra.
You are becoming as fucked up as him.
All Giana knew was the desperate need to put distance between herself and Rodrigo before she killed him…or begged him to fuck her senseless.
She shut herself in the bathroom and splashed her face with cold water. She needed to hit something, and the only thing she had was the heavy bags in the gym. She pulled off her clothes and tucked the smeared handkerchief and the heavy gold ring he had given her into the pocket of her makeup bag.
Her tights and T-shirt were already on the hook behind the door, ready for the day's training session that had been interrupted by the fucking Sicilians. Giana dragged on her clothes and headed out of Rodrigo's rooms. He still hadn't come out of his office.
Good, he can rot there.
Giana jogged down the marble stairs, taking two at a time and not stopping until she got to the gym. It was empty, as far as she could see.
She wrapped her hands to protect her knuckles, like she had for the previous few mornings, and headed for the heavy bags. She knew she should stretch and warm up first, but she couldn't stop. She punched the bag hard, again and again.
Every blow flashed a different image in her mind. Crack! Vincenzo's gloating face. Crack! Her parents sitting her down, telling her that her only value to the family was between her thighs. Crack! Gabriella standing over her, saying she was her new family.
Crack! Rodrigo's eyes widening when he first saw her.
Crack! Rodrigo watching her come. Crack!
Rodrigo kissing her. Crack! Rodrigo declaring to the whole of Sicily that she belonged to him.
Crack! Rodrigo telling her that she meant more to him than her virginity, or an unclaimed fortune. Rodrigo. Rodrigo. Rodrigo.
Big hands came around the bag to steady it, and Giana paused, panting. Her cheeks were wet with tears, and she didn't know when she had started crying.
"Hey, little one," Silas appeared around the bag, his green eyes concerned.
Giana wiped her eyes with the back of her hands. "Please, just let me hit the bag."
"Okay, but I'll hold it for you. Check your form, draw power from your core. Remember your roots," he said, holding onto the bag.
Silas wasn't going to leave, but he didn't try to ask what was wrong. Leo and everyone else had probably streamed the whole video call. They all knew what was wrong.
Giana shook out her arms, checked her feet, and began to hit the bag again. The only time Silas spoke was to gently correct her on something or offer suggestions.
She punched and kicked the bag until she felt like she could think again. When she finally stopped, she was winded and covered in sweat.
Silas held out a bottle of water to her, and she guzzled it. He waited until she was finished before he asked, "Did he force you?"
It was a simple question, and while Silas's tone was neutral, he had a dark flicker in his eye that told her that he was in the mood to murder.
"What? No! Rodrigo didn't rape me. He would never hurt someone like that," Giana answered truthfully.
God only knew they had been alone enough to give him the opportunity if he wanted it. Despite his overbearing presence, she had never thought he would hurt her.
She sat heavily on the bench. "I took my virginity myself. He just…kept the evidence of it."
"I see. Do you mind if I share that information with Athena?
If it wasn't for Kon and Dante holding her back, she would be trying to string Rodrigo up by his magical Colleoni balls as we speak," he replied and pulled his phone from his back pocket.
He waited until she gave him a nod, and he quickly typed out a message.
"Good. I didn't feel like having to dispose of three bodies today instead of two. "
Giana huffed out a laugh and then buried her head in her hands. "I'm so fucking embarrassed."
"Embarrassed, you can live with," Silas said, resting a big hand on her shoulder. "You may have even managed to live through whatever Gabriella would have done to you if she had found out, though you probably would have wished that you hadn't."
Giana started crying again. She couldn't remember the last time she cried, hard and heavy.
Silas let her. He didn't try to tell her anything stupid like 'everything is going to be okay.' He just let her cry.
Silas rubbed a hand down her back. "I know by normal standards, what Rodrigo did was fucked up, but our world isn't normal, Giana. He did it for one reason, and that was to protect you."
It had been so long since anyone had tried to comfort her that it made her start weeping all over again.
"According to Dario, everything Rodrigo has ever done has been to try to protect you. I'm not saying I agree with his methods, but he defied his own mother and now all of Sicily to keep you breathing and in one piece."
"I know," Giana said, sniffing hard and finally lifting her head. "What I don't know is if I hate him or love him for it."
Silas's mouth twitched into a smile. "Same coin, different sides.
Athena and Kon hated each other too. Once they got out of their own way, they realized that they were perfect for each other.
My cub has a lot that makes her different and complicated.
Me? I'm all kinds of fucked up, and yet somehow, we both managed to find people who could look at our darkness head-on and choose us anyway. "
Giana's chest ached, and she stared up at the roof, swallowing the tears threatening to overwhelm her again. "I was never going to have a normal life, was I?"
"No," Silas answered. "The way you were born and raised, what your name is, you could have never escaped.
I've watched people with more training than you crumble under less pressure.
Whatever core you have, Sorrentino, it's solid.
You're still a good person, unlike the rest of us.
Rodrigo wanted to make sure you remained one as long as you could. "
"What an asshole, right?" she whispered and let out a choking sob of a laugh. "I was so naive to think I could escape this fate."
"No, you were hopeful. He was too. That's probably why he let you go to begin with.
" Silas leaned forward and rested his forearms on his knees.
"I'm not going to tell you what to do, but once this is over with Vincenzo, if you really still want out, I can help you make it happen. We all will, including Rodrigo."
"I doubt that. You heard him on the call, claiming all that shit about belonging to him," Giana replied.
"He was speaking as the boss to other bosses. The man loves you, Giana. He won't keep you locked up here as his mother did."
"Love," she snorted. "Sure."
Silas looked sideways at her, his expression deadly serious.
"You can be naive about a lot of things given your life in the last six years, but not that.
I saw how he kissed you last night, and how he looks at you like a dying man.
You've had the boy whipped since you came into his life.
If you don't believe me, ask yourself why he hasn't already married.
You seriously think Gabriella wasn't trying to stud him out? "
"Fucking bitch." Giana scowled at the thought, hot jealousy seething through her.
Silas's serious face cracked into a smile. "Yeah, as I thought." He patted her on the shoulder once before standing. "Maybe think about that reaction, and all of his, before you start saying that he doesn't love you, kiddo."
Silas left Giana alone in the gym, staring after him. She drank some more water and tried to make sense of what he had just said.
Did Rodrigo love her in his own fucked-up way? Could people like them ever risk loving anyone?
Giana put her head in her hands with a frustrated groan.
She is mine to love, and mine to protect, and always has been.
Rodrigo's words during the meeting were like a bucket of cold water over her head.
Giana didn't know what to think anymore, or what to do either. So she did the only thing she could. She got up and started hitting the bag again.