Page 58 of The Beast Who Broke Me
The Clemenza lied. Manipulated me. Like he always does.
I take the earbud out and glance over at him. He’s oblivious, still talking, going on about some broad in Italy we could call if Stuccio doesn’t pan out.
I remember every time he jerked that chain around my neck by invoking the names of my household. The demands he made.
The threats.
He notices at last, and asks, “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Keep talking.”
And after a pause, he does. Because he doesn’t know the ground just opened up beneath him.
I watch the city slide past the window while he talks and strategizes and plans. The Clemenza is still under Morelli protection. But my people are safe. They were always safe, and as long as they’re protected, I don’t care what happens to me. I’ve been ready to die since I was thirteen.
I look back to the Clemenza, who’s quiet at last, those golden eyes thoughtful and shining in the city lights.
You should’ve stayed gone, golden boy, I tell him silently.
Because when we get home, I’ll take him back into that basement empire of his, and do what I should have done long ago.
CHAPTER 21
CALIGULA
By the timewe get home, I’m tired and irritated. I can’t decide what to do next. Icouldget in touch with my mother in Italy, if Stuccio screws me over, but there’s no guarantee she’ll have anything of use to tell me, either.
I’m distracted. I can’t think.
And it’s all Dami’s fault.
I’m still astonished at myself for hitting the bathroom floor so fast when he ordered me to my knees. And then I waited there like he ordered until someone walked in, an elderly man who blinked at me in surprise.
“Dropped something,” I’d muttered as I got to my feet.
I wish I could convince myself I let Dami treat me like that for strategic reasons. But there was no strategy involved.
As we come into the foyer, he stops me as I head for the stairs. “Did you text your brand new buddy today?”
Finch D’Amato. I’ve been diligently checking in with him each day, but today… “I forgot.”
“You might not give a fuck about my people,” Dami says, “but I do. I don’t want Rosa killed just because you forgot your own deal with the Morellis.”
I grab the phone from the sideboard where I always leave it, and turn it on. “I’m doing it now,” I tell him. And then I turn the phone off, as usual, because I don’t want those Morellis knowing my every move.
He’s still right beside me, looking down at me. “You’re useless like this. Your brain’s floating around in all that backed-up cum.”
My cheeks heat. Does he always have to be so?—
But my dick perks up hopefully.
I know he’s punishing me. After he bought me, he spent weeks refusing to let me makehimcome. Now he’s doing the reverse, just to prove a point. It’s the only semblance of control he has left.
But maybe I can convince him to show me mercy.
Or maybe that’s crazy.
“You want it or not?” he asks. “I ain’t got much more time to waste on you tonight.”
