2. Chapter Two
Chapter Two
Sienna
My mother throws two passports down onto the kitchen table. “Our new passports. New IDs.”
I open mine up. It has my picture but an entirely new named attached to it. Elizabeth Conde. A new date of birth. A new place of birth. Everything new.
“Is this who I am now?” I ask.
“Yes. The moment we leave this city, you cannot call me by my real name. I’m Sarah Conde now.”
“Sarah? That’s… such an American name.”
“Exactly. I don’t want people to know were Italian. We’ll have to work on our accents. But we can hide it. We’ll acclimate.”
“We’re moving to America?”
“Yes. It’s far enough away from Florence and we can blend in. No one will question us. We’re white and we know English. We’re going to move to a small town in the state of Ohio.”
“Ohio? What even is there?”
She shrugs. “I’m not sure. But it sounded safe in my research.
We’ll use your father’s money to buy a new house.
I’ve been taking money out of the account for the past month now in case of an emergency.
A lot of it is in cash now. We’ll make this work, Sienna.
Or I should say Elizabeth. It has to. We’ll make this work. You’ll be safe. I promised you.”
“But to give up our entire lives…” I wrap my arms around myself as if that will somehow protect me. “It’s scary.”
“I know. But what’s more scary is you being married to a man like Dante Zaneli. We all know what he tried to do to Luciana and her husband. I will not let you be married to him. I will not let you be hurt every day.”
“Would it be better though? If I married him. We could have peace. I know he’s been at war with Gabriel for the past few weeks now. Maybe it would be better.”
She grabs my chin and forces me to look into her eyes. “It would not be better. I will not let you be sacrificed. Over my dead body. This is our chance, Sienna. You know it. I know it. Do you want to be married against your will?”
“No,” I whisper.
“Exactly. So we’re going. We leave tomorrow night. It’s the earliest flight I could get. We’ll stay holed up in this house until then. If any other mafia men come by, we’ll defend ourselves.”
I glance at the gun on the kitchen table. Guns everywhere. Easy access. My mother is not playing around.
“Ok,” I answer, because it’s the only thing I can say as my entire life changes around me.
It’s hard getting sleep knowing it’s the last night in my bed. Tomorrow night, we leave for Ohio to start our new lives. I toss and turn. It’s going to be a long night. I just know it.
It’s around midnight when I hear the floorboard crack outside my bedroom. The hairs on my arms stand on end. My spine tenses. I hold my breath. Surely it’s just my mom getting up to use the restroom or get a glass of water.
No sound. I relax. It’s nothing. I’m safe here. I have to be.
But then I hear another crack of the floorboard. This time, I sit up and grab the gun from my bedside table. I turn the safety off but I don’t point it at the door. If it’s my mom, the last thing I want to do is accidently shoot her.
You’re ok, I tell myself. You’re ok. Just an active imagination.
It’s something my dad loved about me. My creativity.
I used to come up with stories just for fun but after he died, all of my creativity dried up.
I haven’t written a story since he died and that almost hurts as much as when he left me and my mom.
Another crack. I hold my breath but then let it out when I feel lightheaded.
My doorknob turns.
“Mom?” I whisper. Watching the doorknob slowly move is something from a nightmare. “Mom?” I ask in a clearer tone. The doorknob pauses. Whoever is on the other side stops.
I know it’s not my mom. She wouldn’t do this to me. Scare me like this. She would have told me it was her by now.
The door swings open after a beat and a man steps into my room. A man I have never seen before. Tall and broad shouldered. Conventionally handsome if he hadn’t just broke into my house. In the darkness, this man is the most terrifying human being I have ever laid eyes on.
Fear overtakes me and I can’t move. The right thing to do would be to point my gun at him. Get him to back away. But my arms are ground into cement. There’s no moving them.
“So,” the man speaks, making me squeak. “You’re Sienna Lanza, I take it.”
“Who…” I lick my lips. My throat is completely dry. “Who are you?”
“I’m Dante Zaneli. Apparently, Gabriel Romano wants us to get married.”
So this is Dante. The madman. The man I’m trying to escape.
“Get out,” I whisper. “Please. Just go.”
He tilts his head, gazing me over with a look I don’t understand. “Why would I go? You’re to be my wife. At least, that’s what Gabriel wants.”
“And what do you want?” Maybe if I keep him talking, my mom will wake up and come save me. She won’t hesitate to shoot this man. Unlike me.
“I don’t want to be a pawn in Gabriel’s games. I want my own power. I don’t like being told what to do.”
“So you don’t want to marry me?” I ask as hope fills my chest. This is good news… but then why is Dante here, in my bedroom, at night?
“No. I don’t want to marry you. I refuse to. My plan is much more exciting. Much more fun.”
Dread forms in my stomach. “What plan?”
“To take you as my own.”
I frown. “I don’t understand.”
“I won’t marry you. I won’t give Gabriel what he wants. But I will take you for myself. And I’ll do whatever I want to you. And it will piss Gabriel off. And that will be so much fun for me.”
He’s… going to take me. That realization hits me too slowly. By then, Dante starts coming closer. Finally, I get my arms to move and I raise my gun. He stops in place.
“I will shoot you,” I whisper. God, I wish I sounded more brave. Why do I have to sound so afraid all the time? Speak up, I was told. But it’s hard speaking up when you’ve always been shy.
He smirks. “If you were going to shoot me, you would have done it already.”
“I’m not like you. I don’t hurt people for fun. I don’t want to kill a person just… because.” Even though I speak the words, they all come out flimsy sounding. Breathless. My fear is palpable.
“I admire you’re sweetness. I guess I should be thanking it since it’s the only thing keeping me alive right now.
Fascinating. You just became more interesting to me, Sienna Lanza.
Before, you were just someone I was going to have fun with.
Torture and then kill. But now… now I might keep you longer. ”
“Don’t,” I say as he takes a step closer to me. “Don’t.” I keep the gun aimed at him. I may not be a good shot but surely I can shoot him from this distance. But then I’ll have blood on my hands and what will happen then? I can’t even imagine it.
His eyes flick to my open suitcase on the floor. “Were you going on a trip?” His eyes light up. “You were running, weren’t you? Did Gabriel tell you he wanted to marry me to you?”
I don’t say a word.
“I take it he did,” he says with a nod. “You were running. How interesting. I seemed to stop your plans, didn’t I?”
“Just go,” I whisper, sounding on the verge of tears. “Please. Just go.”
“Shoot me or don’t, Sienna. I’m curious to see what you’re going to do. You’re much more interesting than I thought you would be. Shoot me.”
“But then you would die.”
He tilts his head to the side. “And you care if I live or die?”
“No,” I breathe out. “I just don’t want someone’s life on my hands.”
“Fair enough. But I hate to break it to you, Sienna.” He takes another step in my direction. “I love taking someone’s life. It’s the most exhilarating thing in the world.”
In one fast motion, he lunges for me. Before I can fire my gun, he grabs my wrist and yanks on it hard enough for me to drop the weapon to the ground. I finally scream.
Dante casually picks the gun up right as my mom comes running into the room.
“What is –,” she stops when she sees Dante. Fortunately, she brought a gun with her. “What are you doing? Who are you?”
“Dante,” I gasp out.
Understanding fills my mother’s eyes. “Get out.” She aims her gun at him. “I will shoot you.”
“Your daughter was unable to. I doubt you’ll be able to shoot me either.”
She aims at the floor near his feet and pulls the trigger. Dante doesn’t even flinch. What kind of man doesn’t flinch from a gunshot? “Get out. I’m a good shot. I will kill you.”
“Or I’ll kill you. It’s your daughter I want. Not you.” And right before my eyes, Dante shoots my mother in the stomach. She instantly drops to her knees, clutching at her wound. Blood begins to seep out of her.
“Mom!” I scream.
Dante only laughs as he turns to me. “You’re coming with me, Sienna.” He grabs my legs and yanks me off the bed. I fight and struggle against him but he’s way too strong for me. Dante throws me over his shoulder and there’s nothing I can do to get down.
“Mom,” I sob.
“Sienna,” she grits out.
“Mom!” Dante walks me down the stairs until I can no longer see my mom. “Please. Don’t do this. Please!”
“You are mine now, Sienna. I don’t really care what you want.
” Dante carries me to a large, black sedan and throws me into the backseat.
When I try getting up, he grabs my arms and pulls them behind me.
That’s when I feel him wrapping rope around my wrists.
Then he ties my ankles together. I keep screaming, hoping my neighbors will hear but no one comes for me.
With another laugh, Dante gets into the driver’s seat and takes me away from my home. Away from my mom who may or may not be still alive. I have no idea.
But if she is still alive, I have to keep fighting to get back to her.
Dante
Sienna is a pretty little thing. Soft and delicate. Fair skin and blonde hair. Looks more like a doll than a human. It will be fun corrupting her. Having my way with her.
“Please,” she sobs in the backseat. There’s still a blood stain on the seat from Gabriel’s guard I killed there the day before. I didn’t get the chance to clean it. But then again, a little bit of a mess has never bothered me. “Please. Don’t do this. Please.”
“I already told you, Sienna,” I say, glancing at her in the rearview mirror, “I am not playing by Gabriel’s rules. If I had to marry you, then I’d have to do what he wants. I’d have to be a gentleman but I am no gentleman.”
“What is your plan?”
“By taking you myself and not marrying you, it will anger Gabriel which will amuse me. I’ll laugh in the wake of all the destruction this causes. And you’ll be by my side. You’re very pretty, Sienna. I’ll give you that. This will be fun.”
“Not fun for me.”
“I never said it was going to be fun for you. I delight in other’s misery.”
“You’re a monster,” she breathes out.
I flash her a smile before turning my eyes onto the road. “Yes. I am.”
I bring Sienna to my home. Guards surround it in case Gabriel gets any ideas about coming after me. I may love chaos but I’m not stupid. I’ll admit: Sienna took me off guard when she pointed her gun at me. I hadn’t been expecting her to have one. It makes her more interesting.
And I’ll give her mother this – she’s a powerhouse. Henreitta didn’t hesitate to shoot at me, which is why I had to shoot her. It’s self-preservation.
After I open the back door, I pick up a dirty rag off the floor and shove it into Sienna’s mouth to stop her screaming. I don’t need anyone coming around asking questions. At least, not yet. Not until I’ve had my fun with her.
Sienna tries fighting me but it’s impossible with her hands and feet bound behind her back. I easily carry her inside and bring her straight to my sex room.
Yes, I have a sex room. It’s full of toys and equipment I use whenever I want to get out my energy in a way that doesn’t involve killing people. Sex is a great release. All of the women I have brought here left alive and well pleasured.
I intend to do the same to Sienna. I know how mafia girls are. Innocent. Untouched. Their father’s like them that way. I’m sure Sienna is the same which is why it will be fun fucking that innocence right out of her. Gabriel will be angry I didn’t marry her before I touched her.
This is part of the fun.
I set her on the ground and untie her. She immediately removes the rag from her mouth and jumps to her feet but before she can take off running, I grab her around the waist.
“Please,” she whimpers. The sound of her tears makes my cock hard.
“I know,” I whisper into her hair. Her soft, pretty hair. “I know you’re scared. And you should be. But I have no intention of killing you. Well, I did. When I showed up in your room, I considered it. It was either take you for the fun of it or kill you. Either way, it would be enjoyable for me.”
“What made you not kill me?” Her question is bold while her voice is soft.
“Because you did something unexpected. You had a gun with you. You aimed it at me. I didn’t think a pretty, delicate flower like you would do that. So you saved your own life tonight, Sienna. And because of that, I’ll reward you with pleasure. You’ll like it, I’m sure.”
She gasps. “Are you… going to rape me?”
“No. I will make you beg for me. That is much more satisfying, don’t you think?”
“How?”
“Let me show you.” I grip the back of her shirt and rip it right off her. She gasps when her bare breasts are exposed. I can tell she wants to wrap her arms around herself but I rip her pants and underwear off her before she can.
“Please,” she sobs. “Please don’t do this.”
I don’t show her any mercy as I grab her arm and walk her over to the cross. The large cross that has binds attached to it. I’ve hoisted many a woman on this cross and fucked them for hours. All the women I brought back here loved it. Sienna might not love it now but I know in time, she will.
I admire her sexy little body. It’s lithe and lean. Tiny but she has a roundness to her breast and hips that indicate she’s a grown woman. She has the kind of body any man would love to fuck.
And I will fuck her one day. But part of the excitement is dragging things out. When I’ve tortured people in the past, I never just kill them within a day. I take my time as long as time allows.
I bring her arms overhead and bind them with the ties attached to the cross. Then I bind her feet to it. Sienna is spread out wide, fully naked for me. Her pretty tears only make my cock hard.
I wipe her tears away. “I like it when you cry. But if you keep it up for too long, it’s going to annoy me. I want us to have fun together, Sienna. Can you do that for me?”
“Just kill me,” she whispers. “My mom is most likely dead. I don’t want to live. I don’t want to be tortured.”
“Mmm.” I think on it for just a moment before I answer. “No. I will not kill you. Not when you’re mine now. You’re not Gabriel’s. You’re not your mother’s. You’re mine. Mine to do with as I please. Mine to have fun with. Just you and me now, Sienna.”
I can see the horror on her face from my words and I only laugh.