26. Siena
Siena
I cannot fucking believe Matti let this bitch into our little love nest. There’s a butt plug in my ass, so I’m not exactly in prime fighting condition, but if she lays a finger on him, I’ll tear her apart.
And then I’ll fuck him in front of her. After all her bullshit, I’m not playing with this bitch anymore.
I’m not entirely sure where this level of venom is coming from. I’ve never been that girl before. But she looks at me like I stole him from her, and when she looks at him? Like she’d crawl over my corpse to take him back. And it triggers something primal in me.
When I turn my attention to Matti, his reaction to whatever she is showing him shoots chills right down my spine.
His jaw clenches, skin flushing a dark red. He doesn’t look like he’s breathing as he drags the laptop across the table so that it’s in front of him.
Slowly circling behind him, I lay my hand gently on his shoulder as we watch the video together.
The recording is grainy and shot from above like surveillance footage, but I immediately recognize the dark carved wood and deep red leather furniture from Aurelio’s office with a shudder.
On the screen, a young woman in her early twenties with long, straight blonde hair stands in a short, tight dress with an open back. She’s alone with a younger Aurelio, who circles her like a snake coiling around its prey.
Aurelio moves closer, touching the girl’s shoulder. She grimaces, shrinking away from him, and my stomach twists into knots, knowing exactly what she’s feeling.
When she tries to step around him toward the door, he blocks her, backing her into the same large desk he threw me on a month ago.
The camera’s angle hides Aurelio’s face, but her wide, terrified eyes sear right through me. She tries to dart past him, but he grabs her by the hair, yanking her back.
I see the blade flash in his hand for just a second before he plunges it slowly and deliberately into the side of her neck without hesitation. A shudder rolls through her body as her knees give out, her hands scrambling against the desk, grabbing nothing.
Aurelio holds her upright, her body sagging against his.
With his knife, he cuts the dress off her in a single stroke then bends her over the desk, just like he did to me.
Holding her in place, he unbuckles his pants, pulling out his cock.
Within seconds, her blood feathers out from beneath her, creating a puddle on the desk. Then he’s inside her.
I clamp a hand over my mouth, bile burning its way up my throat. I can’t tear my eyes away. I can’t breathe.
Matti trembles, slamming the laptop shut.
For a few moments, no one speaks.
“Who was that?” I whisper .
Valentina darts a glance at Matti and swallows hard. “Her name was Liana,” she says softly.
Holy shit. Liana, the girl who accused Matti of rape. The one he thought killed herself because of him.
Matti stands abruptly, shoving dishes that have piled up from our last few days of meals onto the floor with a crash as I step out of his way. He thrusts his fingers through his hair, pacing into the living room.
My instinct is to go to him, to wrap myself around him, to absorb even a fraction of his pain. But he’s practically buzzing like an electric fence, his intensity level at a high, and I stand back, giving him space.
The silence is suffocating.
I brace myself for an explosion, for him to throw something, punch the wall, threaten Aurelio, maybe yell at Valentina for not bringing it to him sooner. But he does none of that.
With his gaze locked on the floor, he slowly holds out his hand to me. I step forward, sliding my hand into his, neither of us saying a word. He lifts his gaze to mine then leads me back to the bedroom.
Valentina’s jealousy burns behind us in waves, but I don’t look back. My eyes stay on Matti, on the rigid line of his shoulders, on the tension thrumming through every inch of him. My heart feels like it’s bouncing erratically inside my rib cage as I squeeze his hand.
In the bedroom, he pulls me against him so tightly that I can barely breathe. His breathing is uneven as he buries his face in my neck, and I hug him just as hard, dragging my nails soothingly over the back of his neck, into his hair.
His hands move, rough and desperate, gripping my ass as he lifts me. My legs naturally wrap around his waist, and when he sits on the edge of the bed, he keeps me locked in his hold, breathing me in.
I try to pull back enough to see his face, but he won’t let me. His palm cradles my head, keeping me close, tucked into him.
Softly, I murmur, “Are you okay, my love?”
He doesn’t answer.
“Do you miss her?” I whisper.
At that, he finally pulls back, his blue eyes locked onto mine. “No. I never had feelings for her. But I feel sorry for her. Guilty. She was just a kid, and I put her in that situation.”
His voice cracks. I cup his face, forcing him to look at me. “Matti, you were just a kid, too. Both of you were young, yes, but she made her choices. Her friends were there, too, and Aurelio didn’t hurt them. You had no way of knowing what was going to happen.”
His grip loosens. I lift his chin, holding his gaze. Fuck, he’s gorgeous. Those sharp blue eyes, high cheekbones, chiseled jaw, his scruffy beard. I’ve been staring at him for over a week, and it doesn’t gets old.
He lets me kiss him, softly pressing my lips to his.
“I didn’t do it,” he whispers. “I didn’t rape her. I knew I didn’t, but I kept questioning myself. Thinking maybe I got it wrong, maybe I didn’t read her right. But I didn’t. I didn’t do it. She never even said I did.”
The weight of it settles between us. He didn’t rape her. She didn’t kill herself because of him. It was all Aurelio.
Matti closes his eyes and presses his forehead against mine, exhaling a deep breath that releases all the tension in his body.
“I fucking love you so much, Siena.”
My heart clenches. What am I supposed to do with this man ?
I don’t know how long we sit like that, holding each other, before the moment is shattered by a man’s voice coming from the living room. “What the fuck are you doing here?”
Matti’s head snaps up. He stands, setting me down and steadying me on my feet. “You good?” he asks gently, his fingers brushing my jaw.
I nod. “Are you?”
“As long as you’re with me, kitten, always.”
He drops a kiss on the top of my head and takes my hand, leading me out of the bedroom.
Vin is in the living room, glaring menacingly at Valentina as she yells at him.
His anger sends me straight back to that day in Aurelio’s office when he stopped Matti from helping me, and I’m immediately on edge.
I start to shake, but I work hard to keep it under control.
I know Matti won’t let him touch me, but when I see Tommy step out from behind him, the blood drains from my face.
When his gaze falls on me, Vin scoffs. “What the fuck? You putting together a harem?”
Valentina sneers. “Please. I wouldn’t fuck him with your dick.”
That’s news to me. If I weren’t so nervous, I’d laugh.
Vin’s not buying it either. He rolls his eyes and turns to Matti. “Whatever. We need to talk.”
Is he here to fight with Matti? I try hard to stop my shaking before anyone notices.
“What’s up?” Matti asks, his voice even. He seems unconcerned, so I step back to watch them both.
Both are muscular men, but Matti is a little taller than Vin, and Vin is darker than Matti, with eyes and hair that are almost black and olive skin.
Matti’s lighter complexion makes it seem like he has a golden halo glowing around him in comparison.
A wave of pride washes over me that this man is mine.
Valentina huffs, flopping into a chair. “Why don’t you guys just fuck each other and get it over with?”
Vin rolls his eyes. “Both of us fucking you is about as close as we’ll ever get to that.”
Disgusting. I don’t react outwardly but move to sit on the couch, keeping my eyes warily on Vin.
Tommy turns to me. “Siena, I’d like to apologize for the pain you endured at my father’s house.
You didn’t deserve any of that. You were caught in the middle of something that had nothing to do with you.
It was unconscionable and should never have happened.
On behalf of my family, I’d like to sincerely apologize. ”
“Caught in the middle of what?” I ask, crossing my arms over my chest and ignoring his apology. I don’t know this fucker and the last time I saw him, he pulled a gun on my… on Matti.
“In the middle of my father and your brother,” Tommy says. His tone is polite but distant, very different from his brother, Vin.
Though they both have dark hair and olive skin, Tommy’s tattoos stop an inch above his wrists and below his collar line. If he were wearing a suit, you wouldn’t know that he had full sleeves and chest tattoos, but today, his short sleeve V-neck t-shirt shows them off.
Vin, on the other hand, has tattoos climbing up his neck and down to his knuckles like Matti does. In fact, a few of his tattoos are similar to the ones that Matti has.
“What the fuck are you talking about? Franco is Aurelio’s errand boy,” Matti snaps, stepping in between us so Tommy can’t make eye contact with me.
Tommy shakes his head. “I don’t think he is.”
Matti frowns. “Why?”
Vin shoves Tommy in the chest and gives Matti a meaningful look with a hesitant glance at me. “Franco didn’t…. complete the jobs he was assigned, and flouting a direct order is all Aurelio needs to go on the attack. But for what it’s worth, I don’t like what happened to your girl.”
His comments on Franco definitely track, and I appreciate his sentiment when it comes to me, but I notice he won’t look at me or speak directly to me.
It wasn’t exactly an apology, and I’m not forgetting the way he ordered me to take my clothes off, implying I was wearing a wire when I went to ask for his help. Dick.
Valentina leans forward. “You mean his fiancee,” she says mockingly, laughing .
Vin darts a glance in my direction, then back to Matti. “Is that right.”
Matti says nothing, and Vin watches him for a moment, then nods, clapping him on the shoulder. “That makes sense. Congratulations, brother. Seriously. I’m happy for you. Now we just need to keep you and her alive long enough to make it to the altar and give me some nieces and nephews.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Matti asks, but his tone is a little softer.
I’m still trying to understand why he’s telling people that I’m his fiancee when he has yet to fucking ask me.
And the closest thing I’ve gotten from him in the way of an engagement ring is a butt plug that, by the way, is still uncomfortably lodged in my ass.
Unless there are such things as engagement butt plugs, I don’t think that counts.
Tommy speaks up. “Aurelio has been tearing up the town, trying to figure out who killed Mikey, who made the flash drive he had, and where it is now.”
Vin laughs. “The old man has lost his fucking mind. He used to say he sent you down to the plane crash site because he could trust you to keep quiet about what you found, but now he’s saying you played him, that you took out Mikey, you made the flash drive, and now you’re keeping it from him.”
Tommy gestures in my direction with a grin. “When he sent you down there, I don’t think he was prepared for who you found. Congratulations, by the way.”
Matti follows his gaze and moves to the couch to sit next to me, but he sits at the edge of the cushion, his arm over my legs protectively, blocking me from Tommy and Vin.
I look at the side of his head, trying to read his response, but his expression is impenetrable. Does Aurelio really not know who killed Mikey and Emily? Do they not know as well? I frown. I was sure it was someone in the Demonio family. If not them, then who?
Matti glances in my direction without meeting my gaze as if trying to guess my thoughts on the sly.
When he squeezes my thigh, I wonder what he’s worried about.
Does he think I still blame him for her death?
Is he just worried that it might hurt me to hear Vin talk about Emily’s death so casually? Something feels off.
Valentina sucks her teeth and glares at us. Keeping my eyes on her with a deadpan expression on my face, I slide my arm around Matti’s back and nip the back of his arm with my teeth. Mine, bitch .
She scowls and looks away .
Vin moves to sit across from us on a matching couch. “Fucking Franco.” Vin lifts his chin at me. “No offense, but your brother is a douchebag bitch boy.”
“No, that didn’t sound offensive at all,” I say drily.
Vin leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees, addressing Matti again. “I know you want payback when it comes to the old man.”
I glance at the side of Matti’s head, thinking about the video of Liana. Payback is needed even more than Vin knows.
Matti squeezes the outside of my thigh farthest from him and pulls me closer. It hits me that seeing what Aurelio did to Liana likely increased his drive to make sure the same doesn’t happen to me.
“So what he did to me doesn’t deserve payback?” Valentina hisses.
“There’s a long list of things that fall in that category,” Tommy interjects, then glances at me as if thinking better of what he was about to say. “But that can’t happen in our… usual way. Not yet. But sooner than we previously thought.”
Matti and Vin exchange a look, and Matti nods. I furrow my brow. I’m not sure what’s going on, but Matti seems to.
“So you’re here to make sure I don’t go rogue and take out Aurelio,” Matti says gruffly.
“No,” says Vin. “In fact, we’re here to let you know that we’re ready to pull the trigger on the other thing.”
“Really.” Matti’s energy brightens dramatically.
Tommy holds up one finger. “Except for one missing detail. And one potential obstacle.”
“I’m listening,” Matti says.