Born in Blood Collection Volume 1 - Cora Reilly Page 0,321

a Made Man. Back then I hadn’t realized that this glimpse of brutality wasn’t even the worst way I would fuck up her life.

Liliana didn’t stop screaming.

“Romero!” Matteo snarled. “Take care of Liliana.”

I headed toward her but her eyes didn’t even register me. Gianna made a move as if to step in my way but then she allowed me to pass.

The steel door slammed at the top of the stairs, and Luca stormed in. “What the fuck is going on here?”

I was right in front of Liliana but she hadn’t stopped screaming. “Calm down, Lily. Everything is okay,” I murmured. She didn’t seem to hear me.

I reached for her, my fingers closing around her thin arm, but the touch sent her into flight mode. She jerked, tried to lash out but I slung my arms around her chest, trapping her arms at her side. Her back was heaving against my chest as she struggled against my hold.

She screamed and kicked. For a girl her size she put up a hell of a fight.

“Shut her up! Aria will hear,” Luca growled. He tried to catch her legs but she managed to kick his chin. He stumbled back, more from surprise than anything else.

Fuck. I had fought men twice Liliana’s size, experienced fighters, but with them I had been ruthless, intend on killing, but with Liliana I had to make sure to subdue her without harming her. Luca faced the same problem. Aria would go off on him if he hurt her baby sister, and even though he was Capo, Aria held that kind of power over him.

“Lily,” Gianna tried to calm her sister. “Lily, stop.”

Tito made a move as if to help us but Matteo shoved him backwards. “No. Stay out of it.”

Liliana twisted in my arm. It was like holding a wiggling cat. She raised her leg and kicked the wall. I stumbled backwards, not having expected that kind of move, and fell to the ground. Liliana was still pressed up against my chest but my grip had loosened. She pushed to her feet before I could grab her and tried to storm past Matteo but he was too quick. He grabbed her wrist, and wrapped an arm around her waist. A moment later she was sprawled out on her back and he was kneeling on her legs and had her hands pinned above her head. I jumped to my feet, not comfortable with what I saw. A fourteen-year-old girl shouldn’t be here, shouldn’t experience these kinds of horrors. Luca headed toward them with a syringe in his hand.

“Don’t hurt her!” Gianna shouted. “Don’t you fucking dare hurt her!”

“I’m trying very hard not to hurt her, but she’s making it difficult. Luca, now!” Matteo growled from his spot on top of Liliana.

Gianna blocked Luca’s way. “What is that?”

“Something that will calm her down,” Matteo said.

“Get out of the fucking way,” Luca said as he brushed past her, knelt beside Liliana and pushed the needle into her arm. She stopped struggling. Matteo released her wrists and straightened. Freed from his hold, Liliana whimpered, curled into a small shivering ball and started to cry. Luca sighed as he ran a hand through his hair, regret on his face.

“I hope you all burn in hell,” Gianna said. She knelt beside her sister and stroked her hair.

The Bratva asshole dared to laugh but Matteo got right into his face. “Shut the fuck up, or I swear I’ll cut your dick into pieces while you watch.”

“Romero, take Liliana into her room and tell the doc to check on her,” Luca ordered.

I nodded. I bent over Liliana, slipped my arms under her petite body and lifted her in my arms.

She pressed her face against my chest and sobbed. It was an image that would haunt me for a long time.

Liliana

I woke to something warm and soft below my body. My mind was sluggish but the memories were clear and focused, more focused than my surroundings when I finally dared to open my eyes. Movement in the corner attracted my attention. Romero leaned against the wall across from me. I quickly did a check of the room I was in. It was a guest bedroom, and I was alone with Romero behind a closed door. Without the lingering effects of whatever Matteo had injected me with earlier, I would have started screaming again. Instead I watched mutely as Romero walked toward me. I wasn’t sure why I’d ever thought of him as harmless, now every move he