Page 105 of Luciano (Belles & Mobsters 1)

Both men made of the same cloth. Cruelty was their middle name. They relished in it. The word was that both father and son had a thing for redheads.I should have left my hair brown.

Then a loud whistle travelled through the large foyer, and I realized there were about fifteen men there waiting for us.

How did Grandpa’s estate become this?

My eyes locked on the most dangerous man in the room, I ignored the rest of the crowd. I clenched my jaw tight, hearing some cruel words thrown our way.

The runaway bellas.

Whore bellas.

Vitale’s whore wife.

Ella’s whimpering registered through the ringing in my ears.

“Be strong,” I whispered, barely moving my lips. “Stay with me.”

All the while, my eyes remained on the two cruelest King members. The gleam in Benito King’s eyes didn’t bode well for me. The closer we got, the rowdier the crowd.

“Damn, for that piece of ass, I’m willing to forget she’s Vitale’s bitch.”

But I’m not. I’ll always be his.

The words were on the tip of my tongue, but I swallowed them back. I had to keep a lid on my temper. Observe and wait. That was the only plan I had. If all failed, I’d run from them in plain sight. Let them shoot me. It was better to die than be subjected to their abuse.

Once at the bottom stair, the guards barked the order for us to stop.

Benito King strode over, his steps leisured. Like Ella and I were here of our own free will.

“Miss Romano,” he greeted me, ignoring Ella completely. His choice of greeting didn’t escape me. He still wanted goods, damaged or not.Fuck!

The urge to close my eyes was strong, but I fought it.

Show no weakness. Show no fear.

But the fact of the matter, I was scared shitless. It took all I got not to start shaking and whimpering like Ella. That’s when I saw him. Roberto standing behind Marco King. That fucking bastard!

Ella saw him at the same time because a shocked gasp escaped her. When we ran, I told her I thought it was him, but I had no proof and I hadn’t seen him since we got back. Apparently, he was still around.

I’ll add him to my ‘to kill’ list,I thought wryly.

Benito noticed my glare at Roberto and chuckled. “I see you met your cousin,” he gleamed. My eyes snapped to the old devil in confusion. His laughter filled the room. “Roberto Romano is your cousin.” My jaw dropped onto the ground. That one I would have never guessed. “He’s Alphonso’s son.”

Ella and I shared a desperate look. Roberto Romano would continue the Romano legacy. We didn’t kill them all. Would he go after Matteo?

Benito’s eyes returned to me and roamed over my body with appreciation and cruelty.

“You clean up nice, Miss Romano. You will indeed make a lovely bride. A queen fit for the king.” My eyes darted to his son who was right behind him. These two were crazy. Marco was no king, and I would never be his queen. “What do you think, son?”

“Redhead beauty and enormous fortune. What is there to say no to?” Marco chuckled like he just said the funniest joke. Except nobody but him was laughing.

Fucking idiot, if he thought he’d ever get his dirty fingers on my fortune. It was long gone. He must have thought me an airhead, stupid little girl. Let them think that though. And when they least expect it, I would strike.

Benito King wrapped his disgusting hand around my waist and turned around to stare at the crowd. Thank God he was on my right side, so I still kept Ella on my left.

“It is unfortunate that Alphonso Romano lost his life. As you all know, the beginning price for Miss Romano was set at a million dollars.”

I gasped at the stupid amount of money. These men were idiots.

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