Page 14 of Psycho

She holds her fists up, like she’s going to attack me, and I don’t move. I stand still with an arched brow, waiting to see what she does.

“I’m not going anywhere with you,” she says, far more confidently than she should. She can fight me if she wants, I’ll only enjoy it more, but she will be going wherever the fuck I tell her to.

CHAPTER NINE

ANASTASIA

My brain says to not look at him, and my eyes blatantly disobey. Instead of looking anywhere else, my gaze travels the length of his body, from his feet to his muscular chest, deliciously stretching the fabric of his shirt. Tattoos peek out from the top, as well as under his sleeves. The ink on his hands is interesting; skulls, which definitely match the man. He has a dark beard, matching his short dark hair, and a scowl I remember from a long time ago, but it’s his eyes that steal the breath from my lungs. They’re different now. Somehow darker, and full of such malicious intent.

The massive white warehouse, bigger than three homes, is to my right. I still don’t know what’s inside there, and now I’m thinking I never will. Along the side of the building are shipping containers, that probably hold weapons, but I don’t know that for sure either. The more I thought I was finding out, I think the less I actually knew. I’m not an idiot, if I knew he was going to show up here, I wouldn’t have come. I glance to my left, seeing trees, and then more trees. I have a feeling there’s no way out of here, and he knows that. All he’s doing is playing with his food before he eats it.

Reaching into his pocket, he pulls out a knife, and gazes at me with an evil grin on his face.

“I’d prefer for you to not lose blood yet, but if you insist, I’m happy to slice through your pretty skin right here.”

He places the blade against my neck, and I whimper as he drags the tip down my throat, not cutting me, but making his threat clear.

“Pretty little lambs do not belong in the wolf’s den. They never escape with their lives. Whatever you think I’m capable of, I promise you, I can do things you never imagined. I’ll cause you pain you never thought possible. Once you break, I’ll find new ways to break you all over again.”

His voice is deep, threatening, and filled with the promise that the end is near. Massimo Bonetti is going to kill me, and there is nothing I can do to prevent it.

“Let’s go,” he growls, as he removes the blade from my skin, and I follow beside him, because what else can I do? If I refuse to go wherever he plans to take me, he’ll kill me right here. He started going by Psycho when I was still a kid. I’m not sure why, but I never questioned it. Probably because I still called him Massimo, so it didn’t affect me. Now I know why. It’s not just a name for him, it’s part of his identity.

We approach a two door sports car, a dark blue McLaren, which only screams how much money he has. Psycho wraps my hair around his fist and pushes my front up against the car, slamming my face against the roof, as he drags his free hand down my body, like he’s searching me for other weapons. Trust me, if I had one, I would’ve already shot him. He opens the car door and I get in.

Psycho walks around to the driver’s side, gets in, and immediately locks my door, as if he could read my mind. Taking my chances with moving vehicles is no longer an option.

He runs his tongue over his bottom lip before speaking. His voice comes out deep, and filled with the danger this man promises at every turn.

“There’s no way out, little lamb. Every time you think there is one, I’ll take it away.”

I turn away from him, and stare out the window, as I attempt to figure a way out of the predicament I’ve put myself in.

“Look. I didn’t see anything, and I don’t want to die.”

He chuckles, as he pulls onto a property with a massive black metal gate. I don’t know where we are, but the building looks like it could be a luxury hotel. There’s a spiral stone staircase on either side of the large white house. The grass is landscaped to perfection, with dozens of red roses all around the front, which, of course, makes me think of my mom, and the fact that there is no one to take care of her, if I’m gone. Everyone involved with her care is paid by automatic payment, but eventually the money will run out, without anything more going in.

I spot three balconies in total. One on either side of the house above the first floor, and another at the top, in the center. It’s clear they make a lot of money, more than I imagined. One look at this place tells me they may be far more powerful than I realized. When I was a kid, I knew they had money, but never questioned how much, or what they did for it. Information has been difficult to find, so I was only beginning to get anything. Which is, once again, why I needed Raina Abruzzo on my side.

“Where are we?”

“My home,” he answers, as he pulls to the front of the house.

“Are you married?”

Please let there be a wife and kids, that will make him let me go. He chuckles softly as he opens his door, and walks around to my side of the car.

“I’m not married. I live here alone, and now you’re here, but, of course, that’s temporary.”

He pulls me out of the car, and I say, “Right, because my body will be thrown into the ocean.”

Psycho laughs, like I truly amuse him.

“We don’t do that. Maybe at one point that’s what mafia families did, but not anymore. I have never in my life seen any Bonetti toss a body into an ocean, lake, river, or whatever other fucking body of water there is.”

The burning question in my mind is, why am I at his house? Surely he isn’t going to kill me here. Or is he?

Grabbing my arm, he pulls me into the massive house, and down a hallway, before pulling so hard he nearly causes me to fall down the stairs, to what I quickly figure out is a basement.

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