Page 101 of Luciano (Belles & Mobsters 1)

“How?” My voice was breathless, every inch of my insides shaking with fear for Luciano.

“Divorce, my little bird. Well, more like annulment,” he drawled. “After all, I heard you and your husband are on your way to annul your little fling anyhow. Or we’ll just kill him.”

Annulment it is, I thought with my heart wrenching. I needed my husband alive to care and protect Matteo.

Without another word he turned around and left us with the woman and guards. The heavy silence enveloped the room, the meaning of his words a conviction that was written in my stars the moment I was born.

“Oh my God,” Ella whimpered under her breath, but the room was so eerily quiet the guards and woman could clearly hear it.

“It will be okay,” I told her. I was surprised my voice sounded stronger than I actually felt. The chances of escaping were slim, but I refused to lose hope. We wouldn’t stop fighting. Benito King had something coming to him if he thought we would just sit down and take whatever this fucked up world wanted to dish our way.

The woman that has been tasked with getting us prepared for the event watched us with pity. But there would be no help coming from her. From each breath she took, every movement and look, I could see she was a broken woman. She had probably endured a lifetime of abuse and wouldn’t risk getting more. Not on the account of Ella and I, not that I could blame her.

“Take them into the bathroom. They will need to bathe,” she ordered the men, and for the next few seconds, Ella and I stood watching guards as they came in and surrounded us, like we were hardcore criminals and a real threat. I watched them wearily, hoping they wouldn’t be the ones standing guard while we bathed.

“Just stay close to me,” I murmured under my breath, so only she could hear me. “You and I will probably be the last two to be put up for sale.” It was only speculation but my gut feeling was telling me that since we escaped and managed to slip through their fingers, they’d keep us for last. Either damaged goods or highlights of the show.

They walked us down the hallway and into the large bathroom where two large porcelain tubs, full of steaming water, waited for us. Both Ella and I stood frozen as we watched men walk in and out of the bathroom till there were only two left.

“Okay, you two ladies get in the bath” the woman instructed. I glanced behind me, glad to see her with us. She was less of a threat than these men. “And please don’t try anything. Otherwise, Julio here,” she pointed to the guard, “will make things really uncomfortable for you. And there are three other guards outside the door.”

There was no doubt that it wasn't an empty threat.

“Can we keep our undergarments on while bathing?” I hated that we even had to ask, my pride rebelling at the idea of anyone having any kind of control over what I should or shouldn't do.

The woman nodded but no sooner I felt the relief, the guardian interjected. “No! Boss wants them cleaned in detail, their pussy and all.”

“We are not cars,” I protested angrily. What kind of bullshit was this?

“Either you take it off and get in or I put you in myself,” he threatened and I was sure he meant it.

“Well, can you turn around? Or get the fuck out so we can do it in the privacy!” I retorted with a false bravado. “This isn’t a strip club.”

He growled and took a threatening step forward. Ella and I took one backwards.

“Enough!” The older woman intervened. “Julio, you turn around and send your other boy to keep watch outside the door. Benito won’t be happy if they are late.”

A shadow of fear crossed his face and that was more telling than anything else. They were all scared of the man. Following her demand, I waited for his fellow guard to leave and Julian to turn around.

Then sharing a look with Ella, we both stripped our undergarments, swung our legs tentatively over the tub edge and then lowered ourselves into the tub. I could also imagine two of us were having a spa day, if there only weren’t guards around us.

The door creaked open again and my head snapped in its direction. A young woman with midnight hair entered. She didn’t meet our gazes, her own eyes trained onto the floor. The bruise coloring her left cheek didn’t escape me.

“Wash their hair,” the elder woman instructed. “Start with the blonde one.”

“We can do it on our own,” I murmured but both women ignored me.

The young woman went straight to helping Ella duck and then lathering her hair with a scented shampoo. The conditioner followed. Her motions were efficient but gentle. It told me she did this many times. I wondered who she was. Whose debt was she paying? It hurt my heart to imagine what kind of horror she must have endured in this world to be stuck here.

After she was done with Ella, she efficiently moved to me and repeated the process. My eyes stung and burned. I wanted to stretch this moment forever but things were being done too efficiently. While the young woman washed my hair, I watched Ella being pulled out of the tub, patted dried and then dressed up. Like she was some kind of doll, to be put up for sale.

Wearebeing put up for sale, I thought wryly.

Ella’s honey colored eyes were locked to mine, as if she drew strength from me. Or maybe I was drawing strength from her. I wasn’t quite sure.

The older woman handed her dry undergarments, while Ella gripped the towel tighter, keeping her body covered up. I caught the guard leering at her, enjoying the peep show and fury rose inside me. Wasn’t it enough we had to endure mobsters, now we had to put up with idiots like that?

“Can’t he turn around and offer us some privacy?” I asked in an exasperated tone. The old woman must hold some status because she nodded his way, and without a word, he turned back around and faced the door.

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