Page 30 of Curse

“Uh, I took AJ to her house to look for it.” He looks less excited, less sure of himself.

I dig my fingers into my palms to keep myself from hitting him. Fucking AJ in her house. “And? Did you find it? You didn’t, did you? Because shedoesn’t fucking have it!”

Franco hangs his head. “We tore that place up, but no, wedidn’t find it anywhere.”

The words hang in the air like a slap. “You what? You ‘tore it up?’” My voice is low, dangerous.

My vision narrows. Not only did this idiot fail to find the flash drive, but he also let AJ rifle through Siena’s life, touch her things, her clothes, be in her bedroom. I grab Franco by the collar, slamming him against the wall. His head bounces off the cement with a satisfying thud.

“I—I thought you’d be happy!” Franco stammers. “One less thing for you to do. I’m trying to help you!”

“Help?” I slam him again. “You call letting those fucks paw through her things helping? She’s your fucking sister, asswipe. You, of all people, should know that she has nothing to do with any of this. Where the fuck is your loyalty?”

“I’m—I’m trying to help her,” Franco says, quickly. He looks like he’s making it up as the words fall out of his face. “She does have it! Or she did. I thought if I could find it, then Aurelio wouldn’t be, um, after her anymore. And you would be happy because the job was done.”

“Were you helping her when you just stood there while that fuck AJ had his hands all over her?” I grit out.

Vin clears his throat, standing slowly. “Why don’t we all step back and—”

I glare at Vin, but he holds my gaze steadily and raises his eyebrows. He’s right. There’s no reason for me to lose it on Franco. If his sister was anyone but Siena, I wouldn’t give a shit what he did to her house or who he let touch her.

But she is, and I do.

I can’t resist slamming Franco against the wall one more time before I let him go. He rebounds off it, then steps back away from me, breathing heavily as he fixes his shirt, his collarpulled out of shape.

“If you cared about your sister, you’d stay the fuck out of this,” I spit.

Franco straightens to his full height, still a full head shorter than I am, puffing out his chest again. “I know you’ve got her here.”

The room goes silent. Vin’s eyes narrow at me, his jaw tightening.

“The fuck did you say?” I hadn’t decided if I was going to tell Vin that Siena was here, but I guess I don’t get that fucking choice now.

Franco smirks. “Keeping her in your dungeon? Real honorable.”

“What are you going to do about it?” I growl.

“I’m thinking I should ask for a sit down with Aurelio, stop you from using my sister as your fuck hole. You know, since you feel so strongly that I should have intervened when AJ tried to fuck her.”

If Vin wasn’t glaring at me from behind Franco, I’d lay him out for talking about her like that. Instead, I step in closer to him, forcing him to look up at me. “If you had any balls at all, you’d take your sister from me yourself. Right now.”

He doesn’t flinch. But he doesn’t say anything either, just holds his ground, staring me down.

I don’t like the way he’s challenging me. He’s a stupid fuck, but he’s unpredictable, which makes him dangerous. “Lay a finger on Siena, and I will end your fucking life. Do you understand me?”

Franco doesn’t move, but his gaze hardens.

Whatever Vin’s reason for dragging this asshole here, there’s no fucking way I’m letting him walk out.

18

Siena

Iwake up in a bed in a strange, concrete room I’ve never seen before, disoriented and unsettled. The dreamlike echo of Franco’s voice lingers in my mind as I blink against the piercing light streaming through small, high windows. The walls must be at least twenty feet tall, and the cold, industrial vibe of the room presses down on me.

My head throbs with a relentless ache, and I hear voices outside the room, faint but growing louder. One of them is definitely Franco. I sit up and lift the blanket off me, gingerly swinging my legs to the floor.

The motion sends a rush of vertigo crashing over me, and the room tilts dangerously. I grip the edge of the bed, forcing myself to stay still until the sensation passes.

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