Page 5 of Warped

Chapter Three

V

“Hey, wake up!”

The tap on my bare foot had me scrabbling up the bed, grabbing the sheets around me to cover my body.

We were under the protection of Tony the Hound now, my sister and I. All I wanted was to get that call to say it was time for me to go in and testify against my father for all the crimes he had committed. My sister was turning eighteen soon, and I would no longer need to be her legal guardian. She could do whatever the hell she wanted—not that her being seventeen stopped her anyway. If she’d kept her mouth shut in the first place, we wouldn’t be living here now, trapped inside Tony’s world like a couple of caged birds.

I didn’t like this person I had become. I’d always tried to be in control of my life, but now Tony owned me. I didn’t eat, breathe, or shit unless he said it was time to, and I hated him for that. I also hated him for killing X, but I couldn’t do anything to change what had happened.

I missed X like a conjoined twin might miss their sibling after they had been separated. I was sure now that he was dead. Yes, he’d been sent by my father to kill me, but if he was still alive, I was sure he’d have come back for me. Or perhaps it was just that I’d rather tell myself he was dead than admit to myself that I might have misread his feelings for me all along. Had he used what had happened as a way to get out of a difficult situation? If everyone thought he was dead, he’d be able to start over again with no one looking for him.

A part of me understood he hadn’t been good for me—that he was a man who had been sent to kill me, and who had, instead, killed other men who perhaps hadn’t needed to die. I still struggled to align my emotions with what I was supposed to feel versus what I actually did feel. He hadn’t been a good guy, but when he’d held me, when he’d kissed me and pushed himself inside of me, I’d felt like I’d finally found my home. Perhaps I could deal with him not being a good guy because I knew I wasn’t good myself.

My heart ached, my thoughts constantly dragging to memories of him, which in turn caused fresh pain to wrench my insides.

I’d promised myself I wouldn’t allow his loss to break me, that I would remain strong and see this thing through, but it wasn’t easy. All I could do was exist. Move from one day to the next with my only expectation being that of seeing the sun go down and still being alive.

“Come on,” said the guy at the foot of my bed. “Time to get up. Things to do, people to see.”

I squinted at the young man trying to rouse me. It was one of Tony’s men, Stefano. Perhaps man was too big of a word for him. He wasn’t much more than a boy—my age, I guessed, in his early twenties. He was attractive in that typical Italian way, dark eyes and floppy black hair, but he wouldn’t have been any match for me. I’d have eaten him alive.

“What do you want, Stefano?” I asked, conscious that I was only wearing a thin sleeveless top, which most likely showed my nipples poking through, and my underwear.

“The boss wants you.”

My stomach flipped. “Did he say why?”

“Nah. He don’t tell me nothing. He just said he wants you in his office.”

Was today going to be the day? Was I going to end up in court, facing my father? But no, I didn’t think it was going to be that straightforward. I would need to go through a certain process first—lawyers would want to speak to me before they put me on the stand.

“Fine, get out of here,” I told him. “I’ll get dressed, but I’m not going to do it with you watching over me.”

He narrowed his eyes. “You ain’t got nothing I haven’t seen before.”

“Try to see it again, and I’ll gouge your fucking eyes out.”

“You can’t speak to me like that!”

I exhaled a sigh. “Just get out of my room, Stefano. I need to get dressed or Tony is going to be pissed with both of us.”

Tony’s name had the desired result, and Stefano gave me a final scowl before leaving me to get dressed.

I glanced over at the empty bed beside me. Where was Nicole?

Tony had sent someone out to buy us new clothes the day after we’d been brought here. Anticipating what was to come, I chose a smart pair of pants and a blouse instead of my usual jeans and t-shirt combo. Nerves caused my stomach to swirl and my hands to shake. I might have had it completely wrong, and Tony wanted me for something else, but I couldn’t imagine what that would be. I wondered what I’d be able to say to the lawyers. Part of me wondered what would happen if I told them Tony was keeping us here against our will. Would they do something about it? But I knew I couldn’t say anything. Nicole would still be here when I was with the lawyers. They’d hurt her if I tried to do something stupid, and I figured Tony most likely had someone in the court on the payroll. Besides, even if I was allowed to walk freely around New York—to go home, even—I’d most likely end up dead. My father’s men would come after me within a few hours, and someone would probably find my body in a dumpster not long after. I could run, but then I wouldn’t be able to testify.

I had no choice.

I just had to put my father behind bars and put up with Tony’s controlling ways in order to have his protection, and then I would be able to think about my future. Whatever the hell that may be.

I used the bathroom quickly, washing my face and scrubbing my teeth, pulling my hair into a ponytail at my nape. The long sleeves of the shirt hid my tattoos, and I almost appeared conservative and respectable.

I left the bedroom to find Stefano waiting outside. His eyebrows lifted as he caught sight of me, and he gave a low whistle. “Wow, you scrub up all right.”

I rolled my eyes. “Thanks, I guess.”

---