CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN: WINTER
Idon’tknowhow long it is before I hear the basement door creak over. Hours, days, I lost track soon after Giovanni and Vito left.
My body hurts but more than anything, my mind is killing me. Because I didn’t hate what Giovanni did to me.
And as the basement lights flicker on and footsteps move down the stairs, shame riddles me. I try to hide my exposed body but my hands only pull tight at the cuffs that are still on me.
I squeeze my eyes closed as the person draws closer, not wanting to see. But after a few moments of silence where I can sense the warmth of the person next to me, I force my eyes open and come face to face with Vito.
His lips are pressed together tightly as he looks down at me and I can’t read the emotions on his face. He lets his eyes roam over my face, but it doesn’t go toward my naked body as if he wasn’t here when it was violated.
He looks away, his hands moving to the shackles on my wrist. The pressure releases from my right wrist and I pull it to my chest as he works on the left one. I immediately rise to my feet once I’m free, my body aching and my face hot as I look at Vito.
He stares back at me for a moment, and I watch as his chest heaves before he starts to undo the buttons on his coat. He pulls it off of his shoulders. “Come here,” he says softly.
I obey, lowering my head to the ground as I move toward him. He pulls the jacket over my shoulders and I push my arms through the sleeves, the soft fabric rubbing my skin. It smells nice, something crisp and sweet. I take an inhale out of instinct and realize the smell is whatever cologne Vito is always wearing.
Gently, his hands come out and he does up each individual button, covering my body completely.
“Come,” he says, turning and heading back up the stairs.
I follow after him, wondering what he’s thinking. He saw everything, saw my reactions, does he know that a part of me wanted more? That a twisted little piece of my soul is growing more and more, not only accepting but enjoying the things that the Costas have done to me.
It started with Maximo and now Giovanni has only stroked the flames.
Vito leads me to my room in silence, opening the door and gesturing for me to go inside. There’s a tray of food on my perfectly made bed and for some reason it’s the thing that seems to break me.
I turn around quickly and Vito’s brows pull together but he doesn’t move away from the door as he watches me.
My body shivers as I hug my arms to my body. “Kill me,” I rasp out.
He takes a step back, shock moving over his features. “What?”
“I said kill me,” I shake my head, my throat feeling dry. “I don’t… I don’t, I can’t live like this,” I tell him. “Every day I grow closer and closer to turning into one of you, into a heartless monster. And you fix problems,” my eyes meet his, “So just kill me now, before I become the biggest one you’ll ever have to deal with.”
I don’t mean for it to come out as a threat but as the words move through the air, I realize that’s exactly what they are. If I continue to let them corrupt me like this, ruin me like this, one day I’ll completely break and become the biggest problem the Costa family has ever had to deal with.
Because I’ll get my revenge.
Vito shakes his head, inhaling a deep breath. “You shouldn’t say things like that, Winter,” he warns, keeping his voice low. “Someone less inclined to keep you alive, just may hear it.”
“Let them.”
Vito doesn’t say anything for a moment but then he steps into the room, closing the door behind him.
Fear tries to worm its way into my heart as he draws closer, but I force it away, meeting his eyes as he moves so close to me that his body heat mixes with mine.
“Winter,” he says, so soft and so gentle that it chills me right down to the bone. “Giovanni has something in store for you. I don’t know what it is, and I don’t know why, but I know that it’ll be the worst thing you’ll ever go through. If you force his hand, he’ll do it sooner than later.” His eyes are blazing fire as they meet mine. “You’re lucky that going out to that club and letting some other man put his hands on you only cost him his hands and you, a piece of yourself. Because next time, Giovanni may just take everything.”
Vito’s voice isn’t harsh but the truth of his words is like a dagger to my heart.
“And you won’t try to help me, will you?” I ask. “Just like in the basement. You sat back and watched, you sat back and enjoyed what he did to me.”
Vito doesn’t put his hands on me, but with the hateful look that he sends me, he might as well. “Winter. You have all these ideas about me in your head. You think you know me, but the truth is that you know nothing. I may have a soft spot for you that the others don’t, but don’t let that fool you. I will do whatever this family needs and if that means hurting you, then so be it.”
My breath gets stuck in my chest as he continues to hold his gaze.
“And yes, I did enjoy watching, because you know what, I was just as pissed as Giovanni. And if I weren’t in that basement, it wouldn’t have been Enzo who got the privilege of cutting that asino’s hand off, it would have been me and I would have done it with a smile on my face.”