I loved Maddox, loved him as much as I’d always dreamed of loving someone, desired him as fiercely as I’d hoped for. My thoughts revolved around him in a way I’d never experienced before, certainly not with Giovanni. I loved him, but I also loved my family. How can you compare one love to another? How can you weigh it against each other? I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t give up Maddox. I couldn’t give up my family.
I stared back down at the earrings.
I’d give Maddox a choice today, the impossible choice, one that would determine if we even had a chance, a choice that could rip my heart in two.
My head throbbed with a headache when I came to myself. I wasn’t sure what time it was. I could hear shuffling around me and raspy breathing. With a groan, I forced my eyes open despite the agony this caused.
Dank gray walls. Stench of humidity and mold, piss and blood. I was in a basement, in Vitiello’s torture chamber, no doubt.
“Finally awake, eh?” Cody muttered.
I turned my head and realized I was tied to a chair. I tried to topple it over, but its legs were attached to the floor. Of course, Vitiello would think of everything.
“This is your fault,” Earl growled.
He and Cody were on chairs to my left and beside them was Smith, a prospect. He looked pretty bad off, bleeding from two wounds in his leg and side. But I was only glad it wasn’t Gray in his stead. “How long have we been here?”
Cody spit in my direction but it landed a few inches from my boots. “Long enough that I pissed my pants twice, you asshole.”
Earl watched me with ferocious eyes.
“If you’d listened to me and exchanged Marcella for Vitiello, we would be the ones doing the torturing. But you couldn’t get enough,” I growled.
“Don’t mention that whore’s name!”
I shook my head. “I hope Vitiello starts torturing us soon. Nothing can be worse than being in a room with you two assholes.”
“He’ll kill me last, so I get to watch you die slowly and painfully,” Earl said with a nasty grin.
“What about Gray? Have you seen him?”
“Coward ran off. He’s dead to me. Won’t survive on his own for long anyway. Vitiello will catch him soon enough.”
“It’s your job to keep him safe. Instead, you saved your own ass and ran upstairs.”
The heavy door groaned.
“Oh shit,” Cody said. “Please God, save me.”
I sent him an amused look. “You really think God looks kindly upon you?”
Amo and Luca Vitiello entered the room. One look at them and I knew I wouldn’t die today, even if I begged for it.
I’d been shot, stabbed, burned, had broken countless bones in accidents. I wasn’t scared of pain or death, but I knew Vitiello had ways to make even hardened men cry for their mommy.
“Is Marcella all right?” I asked.
Earl snorted.
Amo strolled over to me and punched me in the ribs and stomach. “Never mention her again.”
I coughed then grinned. “So you’re taking over from Daddy as the head-torturer now?”
“No,” Luca said in a low voice that might have made me shit my pants if I hadn’t heard it before. “I will make sure to deal with each of you. But we have plenty of time for Amo and my brother to get their turn as well.”
Amo went over to a table with instruments that I hadn’t noticed before.
“Oh God,” Cody whimpered when Amo picked up prongs.
I steeled myself, praying that I’d be strong enough not to beg for mercy. Maybe I had the guts to bite my own tongue off. Closing my eyes, I recalled Marcella. An image worthy of my last moments.
I’d rarely put as much effort into my appearance for a party or social event as I did now to watch Earl White die a cruel death. I’d bought the black leather pants and the red silk blouse after my breakup with Giovanni but had never gotten the chance to wear either. Today was the day.
My hands shook when I slipped on my black patent leather Louboutins. I flexed my fingers, willing them to cease the tremor. Sucking in a deep breath, I opened my door and headed out.
Mom waited in the lobby for me. Her eyes swam with unshed tears and worry. She took my hand, searching my eyes. “Are you sure?”
She hadn’t tried to talk me out of visiting my captors, but I could see that she was almost sick with worry. Yet, I needed this to really make peace with everything that had happened. Valerio was over at Aunt Liliana’s place, so he didn’t witness too much of our turmoil. I bet he and our cousin Flavio would talk about nothing else but the kidnapping and what would happen to my kidnappers anyway. Our parents always thought we were oblivious and that they could protect us.