Page 24 of The Sicilian Brotherhood I

We followed her inside, Giacomo ducking just to fit inside the door and struggling to stand upright with Skye’s low ceilings. Skye opened up the basement door and pointed down.

“There’s a shower, a futon, and a tv.”

“Just one futon?”

“Uh huh,” she said.

My stomach tightened into knots. I’d be left in another situation again, with another man like Raimondo. I tried not to betray how scared I was to be stuck with Giacomo like this. The fewer details I gave Skye, the safer she’d be.

“Okay. Well, good night.”

Giac had already started downstairs. Once he was out of earshot, Skye approached me.

“Girl are you okay? Is he armed?”

“Yes, he’s armed.”

“Millie’s in the house!”

“He won’t hurt us… I think.”

“You think?! Girl, are you insane?”

I avoided her gaze. I hadn’t thought this through but she didn’t understand what kind of pressure I was under, how Giac held a gun to my head, how Raimondo had tried to rape me and worst of all, how Giac had punished him. I’d seen enough violence in the past two days to last a lifetime.

“It’s just one night,” I pleaded.

“If you need me to come down there and kill him in the middle of the night, let me know,” she offered.

“He hasn’t tried anything,” I muttered, thinking about how appalled he’d been that Raimondo had tried.

“Good,” Skye said, “You don’t need to get into bed with another one of those crazy Italians.”

She left me to walk downstairs and I locked the basement door behind me. I could hear Skye pushing the shelf back in front of the door. Her hideout had come in handy over the years, long before I’d even met Franco.

As I approached the base of the stairs, I saw Giac had his shirt off and he’d pulled the futon out until it was the size of a full bed.

“That’s it?” I asked.

“It’ll be a tight squeeze.”

I eyed the bed, my pulse quickening. I stared at it, willing myself to move towards it and to move towards him, but I couldn’t.

He sat at the edge of the bed.

“Scared?”

I nodded.

“Raimondo?”

I nodded again. He pressed his face into his palms and sighed.

“He will never hurt you again.”

“Or anyone,” I whispered.

“Is that what scares you then?”

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