Page 69 of And Twice as Twisted
The entire family had been falling apart at the mere thought of her absence. Weexpecteda damaged girl to return, not this… self-assured woman. Her dress was tight and revealing, unlike anything she wore in the past.
My little sister had become a veritable sex kitten, and as much as I loved to see it, I was concerned.
A shiny shoe finally stepped out from the driver’s side of the car. The large man had to unfold to exit before raising to his full height. I pulled my gun from my side as the doors behind me opened. No. Fucking. Way.
“You motherfucker!” I immediately took aim, my hands shaking with the rage I could no longer contain.
“Sienna, drop the gun! Lucky, no!” Octavia raised her arms in a placating gesture. “I don’t want another war. This is behind us. Please, let’s go and be done with it.”
She was pleading with us, but it wasn’t fear I saw staring back at me. In fact, her eyes were blank. But I couldn’t give in. Couldn’t let him get away this easy. That whole family was fucking dead.
The bastard stepped forward, drawing his own gun as his men surrounded him. “I changed my mind,” he shouted, and Octavia stopped moving to glance over her shoulder at him. “I’m taking you back.”
“Like fuck you are!”
I felt Apollo step in front of me long before I ever heard him exit the car. The sudden explosion of rapid gunfire deafened my ears and rattled my chest. In the mere blink of an eye, Octavia was collapsing into me and Apollo was tossing us into the car.
This wasn’t supposed to happen. We were supposed to bring her home safely. It was supposed to be my chance to kill the bastard who took her from us. Instead, he had other plans… He would take her from us, once and for all.
Gunfire continued to sound in the distance. My brother and Al jumped into the front, Apollo shouting commands as we all took off. Octavia stared at nothing, her eyes glued to the ceiling as she heaved in sharp, labored breaths.
I wanted to scream and beg her to tell me what they did to her. But part of me knew I needed to ask myself that same question. This was our fault. All of us. We’d done this to her.
I sobbed into her chest because I knew that even if she survived, my baby sister was dead. Octavia would never be the same again…
Epilogue
OCTAVIA AGOSTIN0
My heart raced as I thought about seeing my family once again. I wasn’t the same girl who was taken from them. If they only knew who I was now and why I was coming back, they’d hate me.Ihated me.
I was beyond thankful to be coming home but also didn’t want my darkness to touch them. I was damaged, no more theirprezioso piccolo bambino. My innocence was shattered, stolen from me, and in its place, a monster was bursting from the seams.
He’d stitched me up like his own little doll, using me to plot and scheme behind everyone’s backs. And I hated that I had to follow his lead. I hated him. But most of all, I hated myself.
“Do as your told, little doll.” I watched the car pulling up to us, doing my best to ignore his heat radiating against my side.
“Yes,” I muttered in reply but the clearing of his throat had me speaking louder. “Yes, sir.”
“Good.” He patted my leg, and I was so used to it I no longer pulled away from him.
A part of me longed for his touch. For the tenderness he rarely showed me. The other part was disgusted that I allowed myself to believe any of the lies this monster told me. The car gotcloser and closer, matching the beats of my heart. This was it. This was the moment I’d die, betray my family, and bury my lies alongside me.
His two men in the front spoke into their radios, alerting the rest of the team of our arrival. He’d promised me so many things and in that same breath took them away. I hated that this had to be done but understood there was no other way either.
I used to think my family was untouchable, that our strength was unmatched. I was wrong, so wrong. It was all a façade that came crumbling down around me years before I realized what was happening. I was living in my own perpetual nightmare, a shell of the human being I thought I was.
“Go.” His words were short, clipped. “Now, Octavia.”
I swallowed around the lump in my throat and opened the door, the wind kicking up and forcing a shiver down my spine. My sister stood in the distance, looking as formidable as ever. She seemed happier, a glow about her that made me question several things. I knew about my nephew. They kept me abreast to the updates on my family—one of the many forms of torture I’d endured. And I so badly wanted to meet him, but it wasn’t a luxury I deserved.
I glanced over my shoulder once more, staring into the eyes of the man who ruined me, his team watching my every move. A growl from the back seat had me turning my back on him and taking a step closer. I leaned into the door.
“I know what I’m doing. We had a deal.” My voice sounded stronger than I felt, and his pleased smile had my heart beating a little faster in my chest.
God, I was pathetic.
“We do, little doll. Hurry up before I change my mind.” He eyed me in a way that told me exactly what he was thinking. I slammed the door in his face, the metal barrier doing little to diminish the sound of his booming laughter.
