Page 33 of The Sicilian's Obsession
Katima
Rebecca's body lay cold on the bed I was sitting on. The man who called me little butterfly refused to let me move away from her. He thought this was funny. He was pacing back and forth in the room I'd been placed in. Every time he looked at my face, he growled and continued pacing aggressively. I don't understand why getting beaten up, which was not my fault, caused him to lose his cool. It wasn't like he knew me. I frowned and glanced at him again. If I squinted, he looked vaguely familiar. He was massive. His short red hair was hanging, scraggly, around his face. It was sleek and greasy, like he hadn’t had a shower in a few days, maybe longer. I knew if I was close to him, I would be able to smell his stench, which made me want to gag. His lackluster blue eyes were wild and manic. My brain told me that he was probably going through a mental break or something. From the redness around his nose, I assumed he’d been crying.
"No, you can't," he was mumbling to himself. "You can't meet my father looking like this. He was supposed to see your beauty and let me keep you. She ruined that. It's ruined. Everything is ruined." He paced faster. I could see he was getting worked up.
"Who are you?" I blurted. Clearly, my brain wasn't able to think in situations such as this. Otherwise, I wouldn't have said anything at all. I would've ignored him or tried to find a way out.
"Luciano, you know this, little butterfly." I swung my head back and forth, unable to speak and tell this psycho that I didn't know him. "I saved you." He grabbed my hands with his meat paws, and I had to stop myself from ripping violently away from him.
"I don't know you. I have never met you."
His face grew red. He didn't look happy at all. "I'll have to jog your memory then." His tone was ominous, and without pause, he rushed out of the room, never once looking back at me. My breathing stuttered at the possibility that I was going to die here just like Rebecca. Her body was cold, her open eyes unseeing. I shivered and moved farther away from her.
Just as I was preparing myself for the inevitability that I was going to die, Luciano burst back into the room. A few men came behind him with a slew of tools. They set up a table and tray. The tray held tools that you would see in a doctor's office. I knew fear was stamped on my face without having to even look in a mirror. Luciano had a satisfied smirk on his. He liked my fear. He wanted it. The men left as quickly as they had arrived. Luciano motioned to the table.
"We aren't going to use that just yet, little butterfly. Soon, though." He ran a hand over my head, much like you would do to a child. He positioned my body until I was lying against Rebecca's corpse. I was too frightened to fight him. He could overpower me ten to one. I had to keep my wits about me, but when he brought a scalpel over, I started to shiver uncontrollably. He just grinned and ran the blade lightly over my face.
"You look just like her, little butterfly." I knew then that there was more going on than what met the eye. Luciano clearly knew my family.
"Why are you doing this?" I struggled to sit up, but Luciano pushed me back down onto Rebecca.
"Did you know," he asked conversationally, as if we were having tea together, "that I stole you from Charles. I wanted what was mine and I knew if I had you, she would come." I tried to wrap my frantic thoughts around what he was saying. Was he talking about my mom? He had to be. She was the only missing link in this whole equation. I just had to keep him talking until I figured out how to get out of this. I was paying for my parents' mistakes, I could already tell. I tried to push Luciano away from me, but he grabbed two of my fingers and bent them backwards. I heard the chilling snap and pain. He laughed over my shouts. I thought I had a high pain tolerance, but it looked like he was about to test me.
"All you have to do is lie here and look pretty, little butterfly. The pain is fleeting. Didn't you remember anything from when you were young?" I searched my memories, trying to figure out what he was telling me. All these years, my mind had been trying to protect me.
"I only remember being in a box and some of the games you played with me," I murmured.
Luciano's face lit up. "You loved hide and seek. I kept you in the box only when I was with her, but you would scream for your daddy, which really ruined my time with her."
He wouldn't say her name, but I knew he was talking about my mom. Was she in on it?
"I was trying to wait until you had grown up, little butterfly. Your mom would be mad if I tried anything before you were bigger."
I felt anger flowing through my veins at the thought. My mom was going to let him have me. That didn't match up with the memories I had of her, although they were few and far between.
He went on, "Then he took you away from me, but I wasn't upset because I had your mom all these years, until I didn't."
Wait, what? My mom was alive this whole time? I had so many questions. I couldn't ask this lunatic, though. Clearly, he wasn't in the right state of mind.
"Let's play." He nicked the side of my face, drawing blood. Then he leaned forward and licked the cut he'd made, groaning on top of me. There was no way in hell I was just going to lie back and let him do whatever he wanted. He popped up and started to undo my clothes. While he was distracted, I looked for a weapon, noticing that there was a vase within arm's reach. I grabbed tight and smashed it on his head. He reared back and stumbled off the bed, giving me precious seconds to flee out of the room. Wherever I was, it was massive. I was half dressed and running down the corridor with no real plan in place. At the end, I turned left and ran into a hard chest. Gasping for air, I tried to run around the man, but he wouldn't let go.
"Who are you?" he asked gruffly.
"Katima Sweets," I panted.
"You shouldn't be here. Luciano was not given authorization to go after you."
Before I could figure out what he was talking about, he reared his fist back and clocked me in the face. Lights out, I guess.
I woke, to rocking back and forth, my face pressed into new leather. I couldn't tell where I was or who had me. I groaned and grabbed my head.
"Boss, she's up," someone said in front of me.
"Katima Sweets, you will never come back here. I don't know exactly what happened, but I will torture Luciano about it. As of now, the Picone family is someone you have never heard of. Do not come looking for answers. Do not approach any of us. If I find you back here, I will put you down."
I couldn't see the voice that was giving me all the instructions. "Your late mother made a deal with us that you were untouchable, even in her death. Luciano broke that deal and will be punished. For now, you will be sent home. Do not attempt to contact us ever."
A door flung open, and I realized I was in a moving car and blindfolded. I sat up quickly, feeling woozy, and a strong foot was placed on my back. They kicked me from the vehicle, never slowing down. My body hit the ground and rolled, over and over, until coming to a painful stop.
