Shane: A Mafia Love Story: Dark Erotic Romance (17 page)

Mia woke with a crick in her neck from her head slumping against her chest, and drool running from her mouth down her chin, leaving a wet patch on her neck. It took a few moments for any real awareness to return, but as soon as she recognized an unwelcome voice, her head snapped up as though she had never been drugged by that awful Selena.

“Aldo.” The name felt thick on her tongue, and waves of nausea surged up her throat, as though her body was trying to reject the syllables. Her blurred gaze made it difficult to find him for a second, but when she did, his features came into sharp relief.

“Ah, Mia, it’s about time you joined us. You’ve been asleep a long time.”

“Us?” Still fuzzy, she moved her head cautiously, first looking down at herself. Shane’s robe was long gone, and someone had dressed her in a slinky white negligee that barely covered her nipples and appeared to end about an inch below her butt. A small wiggle of her hips revealed she wore no panties, and that surge of nausea rose again at the thought of being unconscious and naked. “What did you do to me? Where are my clothes?”

“No idea.” He laughed, and the cold sound slithered around in her skull. “It wasn’t me who got you ready. I would have left you naked.” Sounding a bit sullen, he added, “Mia helped you dress.”

“What?” How could she help herself dress? She blinked as her arm throbbed. Looking down, she saw a lumpy bandage covering the spot where Selena had cut the chip from her arm.

He waved his hand, and she followed the motion, realizing they were sitting at a small dining table. A plate of food was before her, along with a set of dull disposable silverware. Surprisingly, her hands weren’t confined.

Still slow from the sedative, it took her eyes a moment to focus on the face across from her. When she did, she gasped with shock. “Who is that?”

“Mia,” he said casually. “Though to avoid confusion, she will now be called Spare.” He turned to look at the girl. “Do you understand, Spare?”

The girl nodded, her face betraying no emotion. “Yes, Master.”

“What did you do, Aldo?” Horrified, she stared at the girl, who was probably a few years younger than her. It was like staring into a slightly distorted mirror, as though the angle wasn’t quite right, or tiny imperfections marred the reflection. Her nose was smaller, and her eyebrows fuller. A scar down her cheek showed through a layer of makeup, but otherwise, they shared almost identical features.

“I secured a substitute.” He patted the other Mia’s hand in a patronizing fashion. “She looked a lot like you before Dr. Sandoval performed his magic to transform her. It was a bit harder turning her
into
you, but she soon broke.”

Mia glared at him before meeting the placid gaze of the girl across from her. “I’m so sorry you’ve gotten dragged into this. What’s your name?”

“Mia.”

She exhaled. “I mean your real name, honey? What were you called before this sick fuck got hold of you?”

“Mia,” she repeated, no trace of emotion visible. “I am Master’s Mia.”

Mia’s heart thumped with bewilderment and pity. What had Aldo done to the other girl? “Okay, how old are you?”

“Twenty-one.”

Perhaps, but she looked younger. “Your birthday?” Mia asked with a sinking sensation, unsurprised that the other Mia’s answer was the same as hers.

“February second.”

“Tell Mia your parents’ name, Spare.”

The girl jumped slightly at the sound of her new moniker, but immediately obeyed. “Vadim Kasilli and Olga Kasilli. My stepmother was Stefania Peretti, but she died a deservedly painful death after she helped me run away from my master.”

Mia gasped, once more turning to Aldo. “Did you kill Stefania?”

He snorted. “No, but at least her disease made her die in terrible pain. After forcing me to promise to leave you alone, and hiding you from me for so long, it was what she deserved.” With a dismissive shrug, he said, “Don’t get me wrong. I would’ve loved to have smothered her with a pillow, but I couldn’t get rid of her without enraging my grandfather. The bitch got too sick to speak and died without breaking, but your father tracked you down for me even before she croaked.”

Mia closed her eyes, taking a moment to absorb the newest round of betrayal from her father, and to mourn the woman who had been like a mother to her. When she opened her eyes again, she felt a little stronger and hoped it meant the sedative was fading. “So why’d you wait so long, Aldo? You’ve known where I was for a while now.”

He grinned, but it held no amusement. “I do like to delay gratification. It enhances the pleasure when I finally yield to my desires. I was simply playing with myself, Mia, tempting myself with you and seeing how long I could hold out. When Spare fell into my lap, it was a perfect way to ease my more strident urges while still denying myself until the moment of ultimate pleasure.”

“How did she ‘fall into your lap’?”

He yawned. “I saw her one day in the museum. Her high school was there for a field trip, I suppose, and I had stopped to admire the Balthus collection again.” With a sigh, he glanced at a reprint dominating one wall of the small dining room. “There is no substitute for the beauty of the original
Guitar Lesson
.”

She grimaced at the painting, having seen it many times in his room when she had been forced to live in the same household with her disturbed stepbrother. “It’s funny how one pedophile attracts another.”

Aldo glared. “Don’t be crass, dear sister. He was a gifted artist, and a true genius with the female form.”

Having heard his praise of the artist before, which had led her to learn more about him, she countered, “He was a sick man who enjoyed painting little girls. And probably touching them too.” Sneering at the picture he so treasured, she sniffed. “And I’m not your sister.”

“Oh, Mia—”

“Yes, Master.”

Aldo blinked for a second at the interruption before backhanding the other girl. She flew from her seat with a small cry and landed hard against the stone floor. “Spare. Your name is Spare. You will no longer answer to Mia. Do not forget yourself again.”

Spare curled on the ground, hand pressed to her cheek, and gave him a look of complete adoration. “I’m sorry to fail you, Master.”

Mia nearly lost her battle with the nausea she’d been fighting at the display. “What’s wrong with you, Aldo? How can you do that to her? Is she even an adult?”

He looked unconcerned. “She was in high school when I collected her, and I’ve had her for three years, so probably.” With another shrug, he added, “It doesn’t matter. Soon enough, she’ll be superfluous.”

She shook her head, sickened. “What does that mean? Will you let her go home?”

His look answered volumes more than his simple, “No.”

“I hope Selena is happy with her blood money.” She pressed her hands into fists as rage swelled inside her. Knowing Selena had been a victim didn’t excuse her turning into a predator—or assisting one.

His laugh was full of genuine amusement that was even more chilling. “That fat little maid is dead. I don’t believe in loose ends.”

She stared at him impassively, not able to find a shred of compassion for the woman who had brought her back to Aldo because of sins her father had committed. “What happens now, Aldo? Will you be playing your waiting game?”

He smirked. “No, I discovered I waited too late.”

Mia didn’t expect it, so his vicious right hook slamming into her cheek caught her by surprise. Pain exploded behind her eye, and she whimpered as her chair rocked back, but didn’t spill her onto the floor.

His suave exterior was gone, replaced by the cold reptile within. “I discovered waiting deprived me of my property and the one treat I had waited years to enjoy.”

Her ear was ringing, and she had a hard time concentrating on his tirade. “What?”

“Your virginity. You gave it to that Mick bastard.” He hit her again, though her hand provided some blockage this time. “You stole what was rightfully mine and squandered it on him.”

The briefest flash of how Shane had taken her virginity in the shower made her shudder, but memories of the night when he had made love to her so gently in a similar scenario pushed them away. “It was mine to give, and I chose him. Not you.” Her conscience didn’t prickle at the lie, because she knew it would rankle worse for Aldo if he thought she had surrendered voluntarily to Shane.

“It was mine.” He stood up so quickly his chair slammed to the floor. Spare whimpered as wood hit stone, but she must have been too well trained, because she remained sprawled on the floor where she had landed several minutes ago.

“Mine,” he screamed as he loomed over her. His fingers bit into her upper arms, and he shook her until her head was snapping forward and backward. “You stole it, you cunt.”

Mia didn’t try to speak until he finally stopped shaking her. Bile spewed from her, and she turned her head at the last minute to avoid painting his black button-down with vomit. It wasn’t consideration that prompted the move. Self-preservation motivated her, though she would have loved to puke all over him. “What are you going to do to me?” She barely framed the words as blood trickled from her mouth, making her realize she had bitten her tongue during the mad shaking.

“First, we’ll get back what you threw away, and then I’ll take it the way I deserve.”

Her head was muddled from the confrontation, and perhaps the lingering sedative, so she didn’t intuit his meaning. Mia slumped in the chair and tried to regain her equilibrium. A sucking sound caught her attention a couple of moments later, and nausea swirled with renewed vigor at the sight of Aldo hammering into poor little Spare’s mouth. It was a disgusting sight, made all the worse by the complete adulation on the girl’s face as she gazed up at the brute ravaging her oral cavity so violently.

Mia vowed she would not turn into that young woman, no matter what Aldo did to her. She’d rather die than surrender to him, or be his devoted sex slave. She truly believed Shane would find her, but she had to survive as herself until then.

***

Shane did his best to stand still as he faced Patrick Murphy, though his body vibrated with tension to be in front of the man again for the second time in one day. It wasn’t often that the head of his family summoned him for a meeting, and he was in no mood for a rerun today.

Six hours. Six fucking hours since he’d come home to the bloodbath on the sheets and no Mia. Five hours and forty minutes since he’d discovered Selena had accompanied a load of laundry away from the estate, though it wasn’t the usual laundry day.

Five hours and thirty-nine minutes since he’d begun trying to roust Aldo and find Mia. His first hit had been on Aldo’s private club. Guns blazing had been his quick and dirty approach, since he’d lacked the luxury of time and finesse. A gun in the face broke down all kinds of language barriers, and it was amazing how quickly the goombahs had dropped the pretense of only speaking Italian to reveal they hadn’t seen Aldo in a few days.

Shane had made his way systematically through Aldo’s known haunts and business endeavors until the summons came from Murphy fifty-seven minutes ago. His impulse had been to ignore it, but he’d known that might sign his death warrant. The last thing he needed was a war on two fronts.

“At our earlier meeting, I believe I made it clear that retaliation was the order of the day, Shane?”

He nodded, not speaking as he tried to judge the other man’s mood. Patrick kept his intentions hidden until he wanted to reveal them. It was part of what made him such a fine boss, but it was irritating the fuck out of Shane right now. He wanted to scream at the other man to cut the shit and get to the matter at hand, because time was ticking away, and the longer Mia was in Aldo’s hands, the worse she would fare.

“I’ve had some time to cool down a bit. I was angry then.” The statement was bland, though his hazel eyes sparkled with a remaining hint of rage. “Peretti and Kasilli have both called me, and they want a meeting.”

Shane shrugged. “How does that affect me, sir?”

Patrick blinked. “Really? You’re going to ask me that, show me disrespect, after what’s happened today? Riley Kilkearny and three of my closest friends are dead.”

Shane sighed. “Yes, sir. They were my friends too, and I meant no disrespect.” God, he hated the posturing bullshit the mafia families insisted upon, at least the Irish and Italians. He didn’t think the Russians were so hung up on stupid customs. “My thoughts are elsewhere.”

Patrick nodded. “I understand that. I called you here because officially, I can’t support your endeavors at recovering your lady until the meeting, and I evaluate the situation.”

He sucked in a deep breath. “Are you asking me to stop looking for her, Mr. Murphy?”

The other man shook his head. “No, of course not. I know how you feel about her. I’m just telling you there will be no family support for now. I intend to turn a blind eye to whatever you do, but I want you to understand I can’t defend your actions with the Italians and the Russians, and if they catch you…”

Shane swallowed. “Yeah, I get it. I’ve been disavowed.”

Patrick gave him a small smile. “Pretty much, my friend.” His eyes narrowed, and rage bled through. “You can bet you’ll have full support and a huge war if we can’t find a resolution.”