Owned by the mafia boss

CARMELA

He kicked me downstairs.

My hip crashed into the steps. I fell, sliding off the staircase. A scream ripped from my throat as I lost my balance. I slammed into hard-packed ground. I spat out dirt and flipped to my back, groaning.

Lights flared, revealing an unfinished basement. My gaze swept across concrete walls and a low, wooden ceiling. Nick hurtled after me, gun in hand. He raised his arm.

I covered my face.

Giant bangs erupted as he fired, the clumps exploding around me. My ears rang with gunshots.

“How do you fucking like it?” His knee crushed my ribs as he leaned over me, white-faced with fury. “Crazy bitch!”

“Nick, stop!”

“No, I won’t. You pointed a gun to my head, you psycho. I don’t have enough to worry about without my old lady trying to kill me? How dare you?”

“Let her go!”

A hoarse voice bellowed from the corner. The sound seemed to snap Nick from his rage as he faced a shirtless man who hunkered under the beams, his legs and feet bound.

Familiar big eyes peered at me, a scowl darkening his pleasant features. A thick beard masked his jaw, but it was Anthony. Dirt streaked his jogging pants. Bruises and welts painted his chest red and purple. Ligature marks circled his wrists, and his teeth chattered.

“Did you hear me, you Aryan-nation piece of shit?” Anthony strained against his bindings. “Leave her the fuck alone.”

“He finally grows some balls.” Nick shot Anthony a grin and turned his attention to me. “Don’t tell me you sucked his cock, too. I don’t think I could handle that.”

His hand wrapped my throat. He cut off my oxygen with a hard pinch. I raked his arms, unable to dislodge even a finger. Everything burned. My body screamed agony, and my ears filled with Anthony’s desperate scream. A chime interrupted the chaos.

Air rushed into my lungs as Nick pulled away.

He answered his phone. Then he climbed the stairs, disappearing into the house.

I gasped, crawling toward Anthony. Blood ran down his hands from his restraints, but he didn’t seem to notice. He stared at me.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. What did he do to you?”

“He just wants a punching bag.” A tremor went through him as he glanced upstairs. “Prejudiced asshole. I’ve wasted my whole goddamned life, and this is where it ends. In a fucking crawlspace.”

“Your life isn’t ending. He’s not getting rid of us that easily.”

Anthony slumped forward, as though he’d spent all his energy shouting. I grabbed a bottle and pressed it to his mouth. He drank small sips, and then greedily, grabbing it from me as he guzzled the water. He wiped his face with the drops that spilled and tossed it aside.

Anthony was only here because of me.

I had to free him.

I ripped at his bindings and bit the plastic, but it was unyielding. Hard as a rock. Rope tied him to a pipe. I undid the knot-

“Stop,” Anthony hissed. “He’s coming.”

Nick descended the steps, looking undisturbed that Anthony was untied. “Up. Now.”

Anthony glowered as Nick yanked the rope, tugging him upstairs. I followed them as he led Anthony into a sparse living room and shoved him onto a couch.

“I just got off the phone with your new owners.” Nick ignored me as I joined them, focused on Anthony. “They’ll get more use out of you. You’re pathetic. My old lady could beat you in a wrestling match.”

“Why don’t you remove these zip ties.” Anthony grinned. “Then we’ll see who’s the real tough guy.”

“I’ll tear your liver out with my teeth.”

“Then take them off, pussy.”

I gaped at Nick.

He wouldn’t seize the bait. He wasn’t that stupid, but something inside him had unraveled since the clubhouse. Fear. It pulsed like a diseased heart, turning his rage black. He was that fucking scared of being a father.

Nick unsnapped the knife from his waist and knelt, sawing through Anthony’s bound ankles.

Anthony leaned forward, his muscles taut. He caught my eye and jerked his head at the door.

I barely reacted when Anthony launched with his feet, bashing Nick’s stomach before he’d untied his wrists. Nick hit the wall, laughing. He pushed Anthony with one palm.

Nick waved the blade. “Do that again, and I’ll stab you.”

“Carmela, run!”

Anthony seized a chair and shoved Nick, who batted it aside. Anthony grimaced through Nick’s blows and tackled his legs, punching the backs of his knees.

I ran, but the door was locked with dozens of latches. So I grabbed a window and threw it open-impeded by iron bars. Everything was blocked.

Fuck.

Anthony’s sacrifice would be for nothing.

Their fight crashed into the foyer. Blood ran down Nick’s forehead as he dragged Anthony by his hair while he pummeled Nick’s abdomen.

Anthony tried. He did, but he was beaten, starved, and restrained. Even the desperation to live wasn’t enough to overpower Nick.

Nick stabbed Anthony’s shoulder.

Anthony screamed.Content rights belong to NôvelDrama.Org.

I sprinted toward him, and Nick sank his fist into my belly. I collapsed to a breathless heap as pain radiated inward. God, the baby.

Anthony slumped, moaning.

Nick unlocked the door and opened it, facing outside. “Take Costa off my hands before I kill him.”

The guy slid into the room, but the only part I saw were his leather boots. “He was supposed to be unspoiled.”

“Yeah, well. He’s also a pain-in-the-ass.” Nick stooped to Anthony and ripped out the knife, causing a fresh wave of screams. “I’ll knock off a thousand dollars for the damage.”

“Done.”

They exchanged money, and several men picked Anthony up. I scrambled to my feet, glimpsing Anthony’s tortured face before the door slammed, shutting them out. Seconds later, the crunch of gravel under the departing car’s tires filled me with dread. I rushed to the window as headlights swept across the darkness.

He was gone.

A howl went through me.

Nick’s bloody hand rolled over my neck. He dug into my skin, turning me around. Red patches burned on his cheeks, and he still gripped the knife. His lips were white and shaking.

“You fuck him, too? You did, didn’t you?” Anguish rippled through his words as he cut through my denial. “You had sex with him, and God knows how many other dagos.”

The slur sent a ripple of anger through me. “I’m Italian.”

“Don’t remind me.”

I would die tonight.

Nick twisted the dagger, the mad gleam in his eyes sharpening. Obviously, the idea was growing on him. At this point, I was more of a nuisance than a lover. If I raised my hands, he’d beat me. If I submitted, he’d torture me. If I breathed, he’d choke me.

“I’m just being honest, Nick.”

“You’re never just doing anything,” he exploded, throwing me into a wall. “You know how to fuck me up.”

“All right. Take it easy.”

“No, you take it easy.” He grabbed my throat and shoved the dagger under my chin. “You fucking take it easy, Carmela. I will fuck all the women until you feel a fraction of what you’ve inflicted on me.”

It was always about him.

His suffering. His orgasms.

Nick stepped back. He fisted his hair. “Loving you is constant pain. It is a never-ending agony. I want it to stop.”

“Me too.”

“Ever since I met you, it’s like I’ve been dying a slow death.” Nick’s hand trembled, and something wet rolled down my skin. “It has to stop.”

He would do it.

“Nick, if you kill me, we can’t make plans for the future, raise a family, or give us another shot.” Sweat beaded my upper lip as I groped for a weapon.

“No. This has to end.”

“We’ll start over-a clean slate.” My fingers brushed something solid, and I gripped it. “I want to be with you.”

“You’re lying.”

“I have to live for the baby. The baby’s done nothing to you. There’s a piece of you living inside me. Don’t you care?”

His eyes swam with tears.

The door burst open, and Nick’s head turned. He lifted the blade. I swung hard, smashing him with a fireplace poker. A red gash split his cheek. Michael grabbed him from behind, and they ripped at each other like beasts. Michael grasped the poker I’d dropped and cinched it against Nick’s throat.

Alessio crashed his foot into Nick’s jaw, and then Michael shoved him down. My brother-in-law rolled his sleeves before he joined Michael in pummeling Nick’s ribs and stomach. Savage blows knocked Nick down, again and again. They were like wolves, tearing into struggling prey. They beat him until they’d exhausted themselves, panting.

Nick’s broken hands waded in blood as he picked himself up.

Alessio seized his hair. “Where is Anthony?”

“Kill me, and you’ll never find him.”

“What did you do with him?”

“Sold to the highest bidder.” Nick spat a mouthful of crimson. “I’ll give you the information if you leave us alone.”

“There is no us.” I wiped the warmth tickling my collar and reveled in his helpless position. “You and I were nothing but a disaster. And the baby is Michael’s, not yours.”

“Wait.”

I stepped around him and headed outside.

“Beauty, I lov-”

Three deafening booms cut off Nick’s voice.

I flinched at the sound and settled onto the wet lawn, grateful for the tickle of blades hitting my palms and the dew clinging to them. It was like being hurled into a brand new world. Nick’s death was supposed to make me ecstatic, but horror balled up inside me at how it’d ended.

Then Michael held me.

He balled me against his chest. The citrus scent triggered a bomb that exploded my every reserve of calm. I dove into his heat and buried my face in his neck. I cried like I never had before. My nails sank into his back. I ran my fingers along his stubble, the gentle cleft in his chin, his mouth. Then I smashed my lips into his.

He returned the pressure with a softness that slicked me with heat. Angling his head, he claimed me. It was like we’d been separated for weeks. His big hands stroked my hair as I choked on my tears, desperate to get it out of me.

“I love you. I missed you so much.”

Michael’s forehead pressed into mine. “I love you, too.”

“Are the kids okay?”

“Yes, they’re fine. You did good.” Michael’s kiss stung my cheek, and then he hovered. “Are you really pregnant?”

I smiled. “He made me take a test. Michael, we’re having a baby.”

Shock rippled through his bourbon eyes.

“Are you-are you happy?” I asked him.

He cupped my cheeks, beaming. “Beyond happy.”