Page 183 of Unchained

Something slides along the floor and hits my foot. I glance down and hold back my grin. A knife. This right here is my window. Tate glances down and stills.

“You want me to stab you, Tomasso? I didn’t realize you were a sadist,” I say, keeping my voice neutral. Slowly bending down, I retrieve the blade, squeezing the handle in my hand, my eyes locked on Tate's.

“Prove your loyalty lies with the Milanos and not the Sterlings,” Tomasso presses.

I nod slowly, trying to gauge Tate's reaction.

“Just fucking do it,” Tate mutters under his breath.

If I play this game, Tomasso will take me to my uncles. I can end this, and Tate did say he’s prepared to do what it takes to protect his family.

“Either put that knife in him, or slit your own throat, Gianna,” Tomasso demands.

I’m well aware of the gun aimed at me. Part of me debates throwing the knife at his head, making a run for the door, and unlocking it with the keys in my bra.

But that’s a risk that could end up with us both dead. I need to get closer to Tomasso and take him by surprise. He has to think he’s manipulating me. Because that’s what these men want from me. To believe I’m the little puppet they get to dance for them.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper to Tate.

Taking a step forward, I plunge the blade into the side of his thigh. Not deep enough to cause any critical damage, but enough to make him cry out in pain.

I hold my hands up in surrender, the knife still in Tate’s thigh, my back to Tomasso.

“Good girl. See, you can follow orders,” he praises.

The hairs on my arms stand on end, a shiver running down my spine. “Take me to my uncles,” I say, flatly.

A crackle comes through his handheld radio, followed by rapid Italian, “Breach in three entrances. Sending in back up to re secure.”

Colten. My heart flutters. But it’s soon replaced by dread. This is my family, and I won’t let them hurt another Sterling. Even though technically I did just stab one of them—it was for the greater good.

“All entrances have been compromised except the mausoleum. Armies have been dispatched to regain territory. Lock the prison down; do not let her go,” the voice on the radio spits out.

I let out a breath. That entrance is the closest point to here. This is my chance.

The cell door unlocks, and I keep as still as I can. Tate is clutching at his thigh, and I swear he’s putting on a show. I’m more worried about the fact that his eye has almost completely closed up and the gash on the back of his head.

Tate’s dark eyes lock on mine.

“Trust me,” I mouth.

Tomasso grabs the back of my neck, but before he can pull me back, I yank the knife out of Tate’s leg. Tate screams out in agony as I spin, slicing it across Tomasso’s throat. His gun clatters to the ground as he grabs at the wound with both hands, the crimson spilling through his fingers.

The choking noises he’s making are music to my ears. He slowly slides his back down the bars, slumping onto the floor.

While he’s fighting for his life, I pick up his gun and look him dead in the eyes. “I told you not to play games with me, Tomasso. I warned you.”

The color drains from his face.

“You lived as you died, like Fabio did, a complete fucking pussy,” I say and pull the trigger. The sound bellows through the room, making my ears ring.

Taking a deep breath, I stare at his body. At the blood trickling over his white shirt. Another one from the Milano family dead. He was never blood, but he’s worked for the family since I was young. My father trusted him. I never did.

The only way LA is going to move forward is by wiping out every single asshole that ever worked for my father. None of them can be trusted. It’s an empire forged on lies and theft. It has to be rebuilt, and as I stare down at the smoking gun in my hand, my chest tightens. This was my dream: to build an empire of my own.

But all I can think about is getting out of here and being with Colten. Sterling Ranch is my home, and I’m going to end this family, and then I’m shedding the poison.

I am not Gianna Milano anymore. I am Gianna Sterling.