A shiver runs down my spine. “The last time I tried to grow a backbone, Giovanni broke it immediately,” I tell her, thinking about what Giovanni had said to me in his office when I’d tried to revolt against the birth control pills.
“Any broken bone can be fixed, Winter. But I can tell you this, I know things, hear things,” she leans close to me, lowering her voice, “and that death you’re so worried about, I’ll tell you this, you’re going to be the cause of it. Unless you grow a pair of balls, toughen the fuck up, and learn to take control. Things here for you could be so much worse. I know what Giovanni does to people caught in predicaments like yours. I know what I’ve had to do to those people. You’ve been let off easy. You’re living in this mansion, working at a decent joint with your own personal bodyguard, you’re eating good meals.” She stands up, patting my shoulder. “You’re living the high life right now and while I know things are going to eventually get worse for you, because Giovanni always has bullshit up his sleeve, you need to enjoy this for the time being.”
“You want me to enjoy being held hostage?”
She rolls her eyes at me. “We just went over this Winter, you’re in the goldest cage known to man. Enjoy it before it turns to rock.”
She turns to leave and I wonder why she came into my room in the first place, so I ask.
“Oh, I almost forgot,” she says, one foot out the door, “Enzo is waiting for you in the gunroom.”
I get out the last question on my mind. “And why are you here? I overheard that you’re typically out on assignment for months at a time.” Not that I actually know what these assignments are.
She pauses, her eyes lighting up. “That’s actually why I’m back. A more important assignment came up. It seems my cousin needs me to take care of the hitman with the contract on your head.”
***
How one walks, knowing their life is in danger is something that I wouldn’t have known a few months ago.
Now?
Now I know the answer is simple. You put one foot in front of the other and wait for the bullet with your name on it.
At least that’s what I told myself after Lucia left my room and I put my clothes on to go to the range.
You’re in the goldest cage known to man, enjoy it before it turns to rock.
This is on repeat in my head instead of the hitman thing. And I guess I can see the reasoning behind Lucia’s words. It’s similar to Enzo’s words about adapting. It’s not as if I haven’t already started to change into someone I don’t recognize.
I killed a man.
So, what would be wrong with changing a little more, if it means my time here will be even easier, until it won’t be. Everyone has hinted at the fact that Giovanni has something in store for me, even though no one but Giovanni seems to know what that is. But maybe I can keep my head down, be obedient, and act like this is normal, until that happens.
I make peace with the idea, just as I push open the door to the gun room and make my way down the stairs. Before I hit the bottom of the stairs, I hear voices and I pause. Typically, the only people in the room when I’m practicing are Enzo and me.
The noise stops and I resume walking, though cautiously. I stop right in my tracks when I turn into the room and find Maximo pressing Enzo up against the wall.
Enzo’s head is leaning back against the wall, his eyes shut tightly as Maximo’s lips trail up his neck. Maximo’s hand disappears between the two of them and Enzo lets out a soft groan at the same time a shocked sound leaves my lips.
Enzo’s eyes snap open, landing on me. His eyes are glazed over, and it takes him a moment before he seems to realize where he is. He tries to straighten but Maximo pushes against him, keeping him in place.
I’m pretty sure Enzo could overpower Maximo, but he chooses not to.
Maximo turns his head to look over his shoulder. “I suppose someone’s ready to shoot,” he says and the double meaning isn’t lost on me, my skin growing warm.
Maximo’s lips spread into a grin before he steps away from Enzo, releasing him. Enzo shakes his head, running his hands over his coat. When he goes to fix his zipper, I pretend not to see.
He stiffly walks over to the gun locker as Maximo perches against one of the stalls, his smile never leaving his lips.
Enzo says something to me, and I blink, moving my gaze from Maximo back to him. “Here,” he repeats himself, holding out a pair of goggles and earmuffs. I slide them on and take the gun he passes me, trying to forget what I saw and most importantly, trying to ignore the disturbing feeling between my legs.
I suck in a deep breath, bringing the gun up and concentrating on the target in front of me, instead of the men behind me. Until today, this has been routine. I get in, I start shooting at my first target and when the clip is empty, Enzo gives me his critique before we dive into the technical aspects of shooting.
No matter how hard I try to focus, my concentration is shot to hell and all my shots go wide. I click the safety on and place the gun on the small tray in front of me before snatching my goggles and earmuffs off. I prepare to listen to Enzo bitch at me. I turn, the goggles and earmuffs falling out of my hands and onto the ground, right next to where Maximo is on his knees in front of Enzo.
Enzo’s fly is down again and it's clear it’ll only be a matter of seconds before Maximo disposes of Enzo’s pants completely. And Enzo… he looks like he doesn’t want to take part in whatever Maximo has planned, but he’s not stopping him either.
I know Maximo is aware of my eyes on them as he pushes Enzo’s pants down his legs, exposing a pair of black boxers. Enzo’s eyes flicker to me, panic in them and he tries to move back but his pants are already around his ankles, making the motion difficult, and when Maximo’s hand slides into his boxers, he stops completely.