My Family Sold Me To The Don. Too Bad He Was My Dog All Along Chapter 02
I’d just zipped up the black leather dress when the door flew open. Two guys in black suits grabbed me by the arms.
“Move it. Don’s on his way.”
The straps had already left marks on my wrists. They yanked me out of the suite anyway.
Down in the banquet hall, two rows of armed guards stood at attention.
The man in front had a scar across his face. His eyes ran over me like I was meat on a slab.
I knew him.
Vito Scalise. Enzo’s executioner. They called him the Butcher.
Three years ago, when I set the rules for these people, he didn’t even qualify to look at my shoes.
Now he was looking down on me like I was nothing.
“Mr. Butcher, sir—this is my sister, Luciana.”
Seamus bowed his way up to him, offering a box of limited-edition Cubans.
Vito didn’t take them. Just snorted.
“Seamus, she looks stiff. You sure she’s not dead weight? Don’s not gonna like that.”
“He’ll love her. Love her.”
Seamus panicked and shoved me forward. My knee slammed into the cold metal deck with a sickening crack.
“Smile for Mr. Butcher!”
Seamus’s voice dropped to a hiss. “Don’t you dare go cold on me. Every breath you take belongs to this family. Now sell that face.”
Eileen joined in, digging her nails into my lower back, all smiles for Vito.
“Mr. Butcher, I promise you—she’s clean. Barely been touched since she got married. Don can do whatever he wants with her. Just leave her breathing.”
The pain shot through me. I bit down hard, nails digging into my palms.
Their grinning faces turned my stomach worse than the fish stink off the deck.
Vito gave me one long look, rubbed his chin.
“Fine. She passes.”
Then his voice boomed, dripping with menace.
“But let’s get one thing straight. Don’s got standards. He’s got rules. You keep him happy tonight, and your family’s debt release gets signed tomorrow. You piss him off—”
He pointed at the black water beyond the porthole.
“—and you’re going down with concrete shoes. The whole Romano family. Every last one of you.”
Seamus went white as paper. He grabbed my hair and yanked my head back.
“You hear that?”
My scalp screamed. But all I saw in his eyes was fear. And greed.
“You die in that bed tonight if you have to. And if you screw this up for the family, I’ll skin you myself.”
Eileen nodded along. She fished a switchblade out of her bag and pressed it into my palm.
“Here. If Don thinks you’re boring, cut yourself a couple times. Keep him entertained.”
My own mother. Teaching me to bleed for a man’s amusement.
I wrapped my fingers around the cold steel and smiled. Swallowed the blood rising in my throat. My eyes lit up, just for a second.
That got Vito going.
“Yes. That’s it. That’s the look. Don’s gonna love her.”
Seamus saw his opening and slithered up to Vito.
“Mr. Butcher, if you don’t mind me asking—Don Enzo can have any woman he wants. So why—”
Crack.
Vito’s open hand caught Seamus across the face.
“Don’s tastes are none of your goddamn business.”
Seamus whimpered and shut up. Vito waved me off.
“Get her inside.”
The guards hauled me toward the bulletproof door at the end of the hall.
Seamus’s voice followed me, low and venomous.
“Luciana. You better give him a show. And if you don’t—”
“I know.”
I smoothed down the black leather dress and finally spoke.
The lock clicked. I stepped into the private elevator to the master suite.
Behind me, Eileen let out a long breath. Seamus was already chattering about which sports car he’d buy once the waiver came through.
I glanced back at him.
You want to know why Enzo likes women like me, Seamus?
Because once upon a time, a woman like me taught him how to beg.