The girl was being used from both sides and no one would help her. It was nothing like when Costello had touched her, used her. He’d been rough, but she knew he wouldn’t cause harm. The girl over the couch would be in pain later, maybe even torn.
“Did you like it when Daddy fucked your little asshole?” he whispered into her ear. “Do you want me to do it again?”
She licked her lips, unable to tear her eyes away from the terrible scene before her.
“Not like that.”
“No, Ariana, Daddy will never hurt you like that,” he promised, pressing a kiss to her temple. “I think you’ve seen enough. Let’s get you to bed.”
“You’ll tuck me in?” she asked, using her little voice as some of the other Daddies were watching them and she didn’t want to break character for even a second.
“Of course. You’ve been a very good girl tonight.” He smiled and took her from the playroom.
The memories of what she’d seen and heard would be burned into her mind, but if anyone could help wipe away the horror, it was her daddy.
Four tens and an ace of diamonds.
Costello stared at his hand, the music and the chatter fading into the background. Not a bad hand, but looking around the table at the other men, he couldn’t read them. His head wasn’t in the right place.
“You gonna bet, or what?” Gianni shoved his elbow into Costello’s arm.
“See and raise.” Costello tossed a few more chips into the pile. Marco threw in his portion and called.
“Okay, show them.” Gianni put his cards down. “Full house.”
“Shit.” Marco tossed his cards into the pile with Tony following.
Costello slowly laid out his cards. “Four of a kind.” He grinned.
“Son of a bitch.” Gianni slapped the table. “This guy’s barely paying attention to the game, and he’s winning most hands.”
“Lucky night, I guess.” Costello racked up his winnings and put the chips into neat piles. He’d rather be upstairs tucking Ariana into bed, but being with her three nights in a row wouldn’t look good. He’d been asked to join the card game, and that’s where he needed to be.
“Tony, grab me another beer, would ya?” Marco waved his empty bottle in the air toward Tony when he opened the fridge.
“So, what’s this I hear your Ariana is going to the adoption party already?” Gianni asked while collecting the discarded cards from the kitchen table.
“It’s Frank. He thinks we can speed up the training program and get them out faster.”
“Yeah, but three weeks?” Marco asked, puffing on his cigar and filling the air with the thick gray smoke.
“If he wants to move the girls faster, why not just dose them and sell them? Why bother with this whole program?” Tony asked, placing a beer in front of Marco and taking his own seat. Gianni shuffled the deck.
“I know Johnny would be happier if he stopped the program and just used the House like a whorehouse,” Marco piped in then sucked on his stogie again.
“How do you know that?” Costello asked. Hearing Johnny was unhappy with Frank’s leadership one time didn’t mean much, people grumble, but hearing it a second time meant there could be something there.
“He complains sometimes.” Marco sipped his beer. “You know how brothers are.”
“Brothers maybe, but Frank’s his boss. The head of the Romero family. If he has gripes, he shouldn’t be spreading them around.” Tony jabbed the table with his finger.
“Why would he have gripes?” Costello asked with a laugh. “He runs around with his little computer programs and cash rolls into his accounts.”
“Maybe Frank’s not as generous as we think he is,” Marco offered. “I dunno. I’m just sayin’ maybe Johnny’s gotten into Frank’s head, and now he wants to speed up production.”
Speed up production.
Costello stared at Marco. That was the reality of the House. They kidnapped innocent girls right off the street and turned them into a product.
They were a fucked up manufacturing plant.
If he hadn’t been the one to get Ariana to train, she’d be with one of these guys and on her way to being sold to some asshole who wouldn’t give two shits about her wellbeing. They wouldn’t appreciate her snark or enjoy watching her face light up when she got to a fun part of a book. They sure as hell wouldn’t understand her temperament. And they wouldn’t care. They’d beat her first and never bother asking questions later.
Costello dragged his hand through his hair. Fucking hell.
“So, Johnny wants to just run girls the way he runs the guns?” Costello asked, fishing for more information. Marco knew Johnny better than the rest of them.
“I don’t get too involved.” Marco waved his hands then pointed at Gianni. “Hey, you gonna deal?”
Gianni dealt out the next hand. “Shelby’s going again to the adoption party. If she doesn’t find anyone there, Frank’s going to put her in the playroom permanently.”