was a kitchenette that housed a rickety metal-and-vinyl dinette and a stove and fridge that looked as if they should have been put out of their misery decades ago.
She was cold, and her shoulder throbbed with pain.
Her head and eye were aching like she’d been hit with a hammer. Her face was pulsing with her every heartbeat.
Every breath she took was musty and damp. Someone was smoking.
She could hear men’s voices outside.
She blinked, feeling dazed yet wired. She’d obviously been drugged. Duh.
The knowledge expanded to the question of how many times. How long had she been unconscious? What had Furio injected her with?
And what had he done to her while she’d been unable to fight him off?
Her gag reflex quivered as her imagination went crazy, bringing her to places that made her wish she could shut down her brain. Swallowing repeatedly so she wouldn’t throw up, she shifted—
She barely caught the scream in her throat as her shoulder protested with a vehemence that guaranteed she wouldn’t be moving again soon. She slumped in place once more, wishing she could claw the cobwebs out of her thoughts.
She was still wishing a few minutes later when she heard the door open. Her mouth made a small sound when her jaw fell open.
Alesio had just walked in. Gabriel’s cousin was here.
Not sure if she should make Furio aware they knew each other, she didn’t utter a word around the avalanche of relief coursing through her.
It was short lived.
When Alesio glanced her way, his normally smiling face wasn’t just empty of all expression, it was eerily devoid. God, if she didn’t know better, she’d think they’d never met before. The optimism that had sparked inside her died. Gabriel must have been wrong about him. He wasn’t here to help her. He was with Stefano.
Who’d just entered the cabin and was closing the door behind him.
As Alesio took a position to the right of the door, Gabriel’s brother dragged a vinyl-covered chair over from the table and seated himself across from her. He put his ankle on his knee and rested his hands loosely in his elegantly suited lap, looking to all the world as if the two of them were about to have an enjoyable visit.
If she had a gun, she’d have shot the asshole right then for all the trouble he’d caused. In her pain-and-drug-soaked mind, that didn’t even shock her.
Thanks for the streak of vicious, Dad, she thought dimly, appreciating the timely reminder of whose daughter she was.
“Let me begin by apologizing for not being prepared to offer you something for the pain I suspect you’re in. You’ve been moaning,” Stefano explained with a dark look in Furio’s direction.
Er…
The apology, the seemingly genuine concern, tripped up her loathing.
“There’s no excuse for your condition. Isn’t that right, Furio? So if there’s anything I can do for you, to ease you while we wait, just let me know.”
She wanted to frown, but it hurt. Was this guy fucking serious? She couldn’t decide whether to be reassured by his sudden amicability or terrified.
As he leaned forward, his suit jacket easily adjusting to him resting his elbows on his knees, Stefano chuckled without looking amused. “Don’t be afraid, Eva,” he murmured. “Gabriel is feeling enough of that for the both of you. Oddly enough, that’s affecting me in a way I hadn’t anticipated.”
As Furio quietly grunted behind her, Eva shook her concussed head, forgetting her body’s previous warning not to move. When the motion jarred her shoulder, her yelp of pain echoed through the room. Jesus H! She ground her teeth through the agony and wasn’t surprised when she felt sweat bead on her cold forehead.
“I d-don’t understand what’s going on here,” she admitted, her voice hoarse. “Aren’t you supposed to kill me now? Or is making me suffer some l-long, drawn-out horror part of the f-f-fun?”
She recoiled when he got to his feet, regretting her big mouth when he closed the distance between them in two strides, his face suddenly dark. When he lifted the neckline of her shirt, she tried her best to push his hand away but only ended up causing herself more pain.
“Christ Almighty.” He threw a withering glare at Furio. “You said you shoved her. You didn’t say you dislocated her goddamned shoulder, you fuckin’ moron. Eva, you need to relax.”
She gasped. “No, please.” Was he was going to try to fix her? Touch her arm? The one that felt as if it were being sawed off? “Can’t you just kill