They wouldn't have told Richard they'd have me back in a year otherwise, right?
Right?
But I know that they could have easily lied to my brother or he could have gotten the information wrong in his drug hazed head. They could have told him that if he gives me to them that his debt would be clean, with no promises to return me anywhere in the picture.
No, you read the fine print of the contract that you signed. It clearly said you'd be at the disposal of the Costa family for a year before being returned.
Until December 21st next year, I belong to them.
Gravel and snow crunching brings me out of my thoughts. I school my expression, as I'm finally brought face to face with Giovanni Costa, and what a face it is.
Even from afar I could tell that the cruel man is handsome, but now that he's directly in front of me, the height of his beauty hits me hard. His light brown eyes are piercing, the orbs promising death in their hard glare. His jaw is hard, and his lips plump, yet it doesn't make him look soft in any way.
My eyes move over the rigid set of his shoulders before moving down to his big hands. I glance at the guard behind him, unsurprised when the man doesn’t meet my gaze. I continue to take him in, not missing the slight bulge at his hip where I know a gun rests.
"Richard," Giovanni finally says, bringing my attention back to him. His voice is low and deep. His eyes move over my brother before turning to look at me and it's almost as if they're holding me in place. "This is your sister?" he asks Richard, even as his eyes remain on me.
My skin tingles and bristles, my heart pounding against my ribcage under the weight of Giovanni’s stare.
"Yes, this is Winny-, sorry, Winter," Richard says and I can hear the nerves in his voice. But I don't allow myself to look at him, remaining focused on the imposing man in front of me.
Giovanni nods, turning to look at the man behind him before making a gesture with his hand. The other man nods. "Good." Giovanni looks back at me before moving his gaze back to Richard. His lips twist into a sneer and when I look at my brother, I find him recoiling away. His features are twisted, a frown marring his face. As he pulls his coat closer to his body, I know he isn't shivering because he's cold.
He's terrified.
Terrified of the monster in front of him. And yet, he's about to hand his sister over as if it's nothing.
My lips pull together, and my spine straightens.
Giovanni's head snaps in my direction, as if the movement has caught his attention. He frowns and yet it does nothing to make his face look any less beautiful. His brown eyes move over my face before travelling to my shoulders. He studies me for a beat before letting out a soft grunt.
"I do not want to see you around my clubs or my people, Richard. You find a way to run your debt back up somehow, and not even God himself will save you." He threatens my brother. “Do you understand?”
“Yes, sir.” Richard nods his head vigorously, his locks flying around.
"Leave," Giovanni orders him.
Richard’s lips fall open and he looks at me before glancing back at Giovanni. His eyes move to the bodyguard behind the mob boss and he inhales a sharp breath. Turning, he tries to offer me a smile, but it falls flat. “Bye, Winny. I'll see you in a year." He doesn't say it confidently and if he was meaning to reassure me, to comfort me, he is failing miserably.
Just like everyone else before him.
I turn away, not wanting to look at his face any longer, not wanting to see the shell of a man who once would have met his own death before ever putting me in harm's way.
The man who once jumped in front of a dog attacking me is now hurling me at a pit bull and turning the other way without a second glance.
Behind me, I hear my car crank, the engine loud and old. I have no doubt that by the time the year is up, Richard would have sold it for drug money or worse. I listen to the sound of the car as it moves out of the alleyway, keeping my gaze straight ahead and not on the man who I can feel hoovering a foot away, staring at me.
There's the sound of shuffling footsteps in the snow. I take a gulp before finally summoning the courage to look back at Giovanni... only to find him gone.
My brows pull together and I turn my head, spotting the broad shoulders of Giovanni as he walks back toward the car he arrived in.
A throat clears and my gaze snaps to the bodyguard still standing near me. His hands are at his sides, stiff and unmoving, but I know that with the speed of light, he can pull a gun.
He'd shoot me dead before I even made it a foot away.
I tilt my head up, meeting his gaze head on.
No, no running, Winter. You made your bed, now it's time to lay in it, even if it's infested with snakes.