Page 51 of Unfulfilled Promises
Seth took the bottle from me and opened it while I ripped the top open the top of the bar and took a bite. Chewing took effort, and it was then I began to understand their worry aboutme being with them. I’d lost a lot of blood, and even though Doc gave me a pint back, plus a bag of saline, I was still easily exhausted. Resting my head on Seth’s shoulder, I continued to take small bites, determined to finish it. Periodically, he would lift the bottle to my mouth, and I’d take a swallow, helping to wash down the dry bar.
I remembered finishing the food and taking a swallow of water before handing the bottle back to Seth, then my eyelids got heavy, and no matter how much I blinked or tried to keep them open, I kept falling asleep. Worried they would turn around and make me stay behind, I tried to sit up, only for Seth to gently pull me back.
Whispering softly to me, he said, “We have at least two hours until we get to Atlanta after getting on the plane. Rest now so you can be ready.”
I tried to shake my head, only for Seth to wrap his arm around me, pulling me closer to his chest. Placing a kiss on the top of my head, he softly said, “I promise I won’t leave you behind. I’m right by your side, so please, baby, sleep.”
Seth was so warm as I snuggled closer to him. There was some conversation happening in the front seat between Rhys and James, but I couldn’t understand the words. My eyelids were so heavy, and as hard as I tried, I couldn’t stop sleep from overtaking me.
“What do we have here?” Kelly snarled at someone behind me, but I kept my eyes forward, refusing to get involved. “I told you that you’re to eat in your room. No one wants to stare at your ugly face.”
I made that mistake the second week I was here when she decided that whipping her son, Sergey Junior, with a belt because he dared to speak with one of the ‘working girls’. She thought him to be better than everyone here, so when he let hisyoung eyes stray to the flesh being paraded around him, she disciplined him until he begged her to stop.
No one cared how she treated the boys. I’d never seen the other son, or even heard his name, but I heard the way she screamed at him. I felt bad for the poor kid, but there wasn’t anything I could do. Inside the walls of this house, Kelly ruled with an iron fist, and she wasn’t afraid to use it on anyone who crossed her.
She seemed to be adopting the new role of official head of the Syndicate, speaking openly about when her precious son was going to be initiated. I knew all about the ceremonies from Sergey, so hearing this woman boast about how she was going to rule over everything made me want to laugh in her face. But I refrained.
There was no way any of the potential new members were going to let a woman be in charge, especially one not connected to any of the families by blood. But what did I know, really? Sergey had rolled over on most of the families, and a few others walked away, refusing to be drawn into the power play. Potential new members wouldn’t have any of the original leaders to guide them, so she very well could’ve become the boss.
And I feared how painful that was going to be. I’d been in the house for eight months, and every time I was questioned about what Sergey had told me and whether I knew where the money was, I gave them a stone face. They may get my cries of pain, but they wouldn’t get anything from me that would help them gain more power.
The person Kelly was belittling in front of the few of us awake this early in the morning mumbled something, and she demanded, “Speak up.”
“I think . . . I found something,” the small, frightened voice replied.
“Why didn’t you say that to begin with?” she questioned before she and the other person left the room.
The house was nice, but the wooden floor had some creaks. I’d stayed awake so many nights and sat silently so many days that I knew when someone was moving around. I didn’t know where they’d gone, but they left me and two other women alone in the dining room. The men who kept an eye on things were outside smoking cigarettes, so we were alone, which was rare in a whorehouse.
“I wonder what she had that poor boy looking for,” the blonde woman said, and I barely lifted my eyes to glance at her.
She and the other woman were working girls who seemed to love the attention of the men who frequented the house. But like me, they kept their eyes averted whenever Kelly was on a rampage.
The other woman replied, “They’ve been trying to find some secret stash that some old dude apparently hid before he died.” That statement drew my gaze, and I tried to remain unaffected as they gossiped about what they overheard around the house. “One of the guards said this guy was some big money man and he stopped trusting banks or something crazy like that, so he took all his money and buried it. Then,” she leaned closer to the blonde woman as she postured, “he died, and no one knows where the cash is.”
That was ridiculous, but whatever they wanted to say was fine by me. I did feel sorry for Kelly’s sons, even if Sergey Junior was a blowhard little bastard. No child deserved to be spoken to the way she did or beaten until they screamed for help. And they certainly shouldn’t have been living and growing up in a mafia-run whorehouse.
The women kept speaking as I zoned out, running the numbers through my head one full time. Four sets, sixteen numbers each. I did it out of habit, and sometimes, I thoughtit was the only thing keeping me sane. It’s a tangible link to something outside of this house, and it was something to keep my mind sharp. It wasn’t something I did all day, but it happened at least three to four times a day, usually when I was bored and needed to let my mind wander.
A loud noise from across the room stopped the women’s conversation and drew me out of the numerical rhythm. I turned to see the one person I dreaded approaching me, and from the look on his face, he was about to make my life awful. Turning back in my chair, I caught the gaze of the blonde, and she mouthed ‘sorry’ before standing up with the other woman and leaving the room.
“Hello, my little whore. Did you miss me?” he asked as he stepped behind me and placed his hands on my shoulders.
When I didn’t answer, like I never did, he squeezed until I yelped from the pain, and he chuckled behind me. He never got a word from me, not a plea to stop, not the word no, nothing. I wouldn’t give them the satisfaction of seeing me break, and I would take Sergey’s secrets to the grave, all to make sure they don’t get shit.
Giovanni stepped around from behind and propped his hip onto the table next to me. Looking up at him, I waited for whatever fresh and new hell he wanted to unleash on me, but Kelly walked in before he explained his presence.
“I wasn’t expecting you until tomorrow.” She stepped to him and actually gave Giovanni her hand. The stupid fucker kissed the back like she was the Don of the family, and I fought to not roll my eyes. “Do you have what I requested?”
He reached into the pocket of his suit coat and pulled out an envelope. Handing it to her, Giovanni watched as she opened it and pulled out a piece of paper. She smiled before pushing it back inside, then she turned her attention to me.
“I’ve got some good news for you, Regan. Since you refuse to tell me what I want to know, what I’m entitled to as Sergey’s wife and the head of the family, I’ve decided I’m tired of trying.”
First, she wasn’t his wife, and second, she wasn’t the head of the family, and lastly, what the hell did that mean? She saw the confusion on my face, and when she laughed, allowing the veil of her false smile to drop and revealing the evil cunt she truly was, I knew this was going from bad to worse.
“Giovanni and I came to an agreement, and from now on, you’re his problem.” I shook my head, and she laughed even louder. Patting me on the cheek, she said one final thing that stripped another layer of my sanity away. “He said he’ll get the information from you one way or another, and personally, I hope he makes you suffer for keeping my dear husband from me before he died.”
She was deluded, but she was a type of crazy I knew. There was little she did, besides this bullshit, that I was shocked by. Without another word, she turned and walked out of the room, leaving me with Giovanni.
