Page 50 of Wicked Games of Desire

“What the fuck did you do?” I spit angrily.

“Made sure you couldn’t run,” Alessandro says smugly, like the cocky asshole he is, and I want to hurl something at him. Fucking hurt him the way he is constantly hurting me.

Pulling out of Ricky’s hold, I stand abruptly, needing to get the hell away from all of them. “Ricky, tell me you didn’t put some kind of tracking device on me when you operated on me,” my words tremble out, filled with fear and hurt.

He captures my hands before I can slap him or take off running. “It’s for your own good, baby doll.” His sad eyes plead with me to understand, but I never will.

Tears prickle in my eyes. This is the most horrendous thing they have done to me. I have some device implanted in my body somewhere. They know where I am at all times, and I will never be able to escape them. A strange sensation runs through my body, causing my skin to crawl. I break free from his grasp and take a step back from them. Maddox still won’t make eye contact with me, and the others all just look at me with pity. Except for Alessandro, who apparently thinks this shit is an acceptable treatment for his wife-to-be.

I hate them. All of them.

Taking off down the hall, I quickly realize I don’t have a room to escape to that isn’t shared with the worst one of all. In a rush, I enter the main bathroom, close the door with force, and flick the lock. My breathing is short and sharp, catching in my chest in a way that makes me feel dizzy.

I take hold of the vanity as my head spins. How the hell did they get so much power? How is it possible for someone to have such a level of control that they can dictate and manipulate another person’s entire life? It’s utterly revolting. And even my brother is just another of Alessandro’s puppets, following orders.

My furious reflection stares back at me in the mirror. I’ve never seen such a fiery green glow in my eyes before. I won’t let them win. They can’t just steal my life away from me like this. No fucking way. I don’t know how, but as soon as I can, I’m going to get as far away from these motherfuckers as I can. I’m going to make them regret the day they ever messed with me.

Chapter 29

No one came tofind me. I sulked in the bathroom until the sun went down and the sky was black. I feel so helpless and out of control, so small in a world I don’t understand. What I wouldn’t give for some internet access so I can research the fuck out of this family and actually know what I’m up against. Parts of my training with Geovani come back to me. He taught me to fight, to shoot, how to protect myself. And he never once tried to control me or lock me away. He taught me how to look after myself. Why would he have done any of that if he wanted to hurt me, wanted to take me for his own? He wouldn’t. The only conclusion I can come up with is that these fuckers are lying to me and he’s not really the threat they all want me to believe. They’re all just trying to scare me so I’ll stay here with them and marry Alessandro. What would have happened if that guy was able to take me today? Would I be with Geovani right now? Free? Or would I be trapped right into another mess, all control stolen from me all over again?

A light tap sounds at the door. “Lana, can we talk?” It’s my brother’s voice, but I don’t even want to talk to him. What’s the point when he’s clearly one of them now?

“Fuck off, Marco.”

He sighs heavily. “I’m not leaving until you talk to me.”

“Well, you’re going to be waiting a long time.” I smile smugly to myself. This is one place I can lock them all out, and I might just stay in here forever.

The jingle of keys on the other end of the door has the hairs rising on the back of my arms. For fuck’s sake. The handle turns and he appears in the space, closing the door again with him on the same side as me. He comes to sit beside me on the cold tile floor leaning against the vanity.

For a while we just sit in silence, him trapped in his thoughts, me in mine. “Are you sleeping with all of them?” he asks, eventually.

My gaze narrows in on him. That’s what he wants to talk about? If his buddies are all doing his sister. “You didn’t just ask me that,” I snap, frustration welling up inside of me.

“Lana, you have three men out there who all care about you. They are willing to go to war in your honor. They wouldn’t do that for just anyone. I know you mean something to them.”

“What war? It seems like the only conflict here is a matter of ownership between the Morettis and the D’Amicos. Alessandro is determined to gain control over the entire family, and he believes that by having me on his side, he can accomplish it. It’s fucked up, Marco, and you’re letting them get away with it.”

He closes his eyes and rubs his temple like I’m giving him a headache. “They’re going to war for you.” He raises his voice, losing his patience with me. “Our fucking papa sold you to the D’Amicos. He signed over all your fucking rights to Geovani. You think you knowwhat you’re going on about because you met him and he was nice to you? But you have no idea what he’s capable of. That family is cruel and ruthless, and Geovani himself has been known to kill a man with just his bare fists. He does it for a fucking living, Sis. They’re sick sons of bitches, and they will destroy you. He will use your body up and discard you when he’s done, just like his last wife, and I wasn’t going to let you be his next victim.”

His last wife? I had no idea he had been married before. I blink back at him, unable to fathom we’re discussing the same person. “He helped me. Got me a job, a place to stay. He taught me how to protect myself and gave me freedom. Didn’t lock me up and demand I marry him.”

“It was all bullshit. I don’t know why he was pretending to help you. What the sick game was, but he was never going to.” He takes my hand in his. “Sis, you have to believe me. I know the D’Amicos better than most. They’re fucking psychos. The only reason our papa traded you off to them is because he was desperate. They were about to skin him alive. Literally. It was his life or yours. The selfish prick chose himself. That’s why I killed him.”

The rest of his words blur to nothing when he says the last part. He killed him. “It was you?” I gasp.

He nods, and I can see he’s not proud of it. “He took our mother from us. I wasn’t going to let him take you as well.”

I swallow the lump in my throat, not sure how to process what he’s telling me. Tears well in my eyes, and I try to sniff them away. My brother is so different from the man I thought he was, but if all this is true, then he did what he had to for me. To protect me.

Hugging my knees up to my chest, I bury my head and cry. I’m exhausted and overwhelmed, every new detail of this situation strippingaway my soul. Marco sits silently beside me; he doesn’t try to comfort me like yesterday when I was upset, but he doesn’t leave me either.

“How am I supposed to trust any of you?” I whisper, finally glancing back at him. “You’ve taken all my rights away from me. You don’t know what it’s like to be a girl, Marco. Am I just supposed to live my life for someone else? All to serve Alessandro? What about what I want?”

“You will be alive. You will get to live a full life, and I won’t apologize for doing whatever I could to protect you. Alessandro is a good man, and I know he will do anything to take care of you. But you need to play your part. For once in your life, do what you’re told and fall in line.”

I stare back at him like he’s lost his fucking mind. Me. Fall in line. He knows me better.

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