THE MAFIA KING BROKEN ROSE novel Chapter 197

Chapter 197

Ana’s Pov

The concrete floor beneath me felt like ice, seeping through my torn dress and into my bones. I’d lost track of how long I’d been here, in this windowless. room that smelled of mold and desperation.

My wrists were raw from the rope that bound them behind my back, but I refused to let Victoria see me wince.

She sat across from me in a metal chair, legs crossed elegantly as if we were having tea instead of her holding me prisoner. Victoria Romano was beautiful in the way that poisonous flowers were beautiful, all sharp edges hidden beneath soft petals.

“You know, I used to sit in chairs just like that one,” she said conversationally, taking a sip from a water bottle that she’d deliberately placed just out of my reach. “When Dominic’s men captured me three years ago.”

I kept my mouth shut. Every word I gave her was ammunition she could use against me later..

“Oh, you’re the strong, silent type. How refreshing.” Victoria stood and began pacing around my chair, her heels clicking against the concrete. “Most of Dominic’s little toys break within the first hour. Crying, begging, promising me anything if I just let them go.”

“I’m not his toy,” I said quietly.

Victoria laughed, a sound like breaking glass. “No? Then what are you, sweetheart? His girlfriend? His lover? His equal?”

I didn’t answer, but something in my expression must have given me away because her smile grew wider.

“Oh, you poor thing. You actually believe that, don’t you? You think you’re special.”

“I know what I am to him.”

“Do you?” Victoria crouched down in front of me, bringing her face level with mine. “Let me tell you what you are, little girl. You’re just his latest victim. Another broken bird he picked up off the street to play with until he gets bored.”

“You’re wrong.”

“Am I? Tell me, how did he find you? Let me guess, you were in trouble, desperate, and he swooped in like some dark angel to save you. Made you feel safe, protected, cherished even.”

1 tried to keep my face neutral, but Victoria was reading me like an open book.

“He did the same thing to me, you know. And to Maria before me. And to countless others whose names you’ll never know because they didn’t survive long enough to become memories.”

“You don’t know anything about us.”

Victoria stood and walked over to a small table in the corner where she’d laid out various implements. Knives, pliers, things I didn’t want to identify. She picked up a small blade and tested its edge against her thumb.

“I know that he’s already tired of you. Why do you think it was so easy for me to take you? If you really mattered to him, you’d be surrounded by bodyguards twenty–four seven. Instead, you were alone in that penthouse, just waiting to be plucked.”

“He was handling business.”

“Business.” Victoria turned the word over in her mouth like it tasted bitter. “Yes, that’s what he calls it when he’s off torturing someone else’s loved on How noble.”

She walked back over to me, the knife glinting in the harsh fluorescent light.

08:16 Thu, 26 Jun 2016.

Chapter 197

“You know what the beautiful thing about Dominic is? He makes you feel like you’re the only person in the world who matters to him, Like you’re his salvation, his redemption, his one true love.” The knife traced along my cheek, not cutting but promising. “Right up until the moment he decides you’re

not useful anymore.”

“I’ve seen the good in him,” I said steadily. “The bad and the ugly too. You don’t scare me.”

The slap came so fast I didn’t see it coming. My head snapped to the side, and I tasted blood where my teeth cut into my cheek.

“Don’t lie to me, little girl. Fear is written all over your face.”

I spit blood onto the floor and looked back at her. “If you say so.”

Victoria’s eyes flashed with anger, but before she could respond, the door opened and one of her men walked in. He was young, maybe mid–twenties, with nervous eyes and hands that shook slightly when he thought no one was looking.

“Ma’am, we’ve got movement on the perimeter. Looks like scouts.”

“How many?”

“Two, maybe three vehicles. They’re keeping their distance, but they’re definitely watching us.”

Victoria nodded and dismissed him with a wave. After he left, she turned back to me with that cold smile.

“See? He’s already coming for you. Just like I knew he would. Dominic De Luca, so predictable.”

Over the next few hours, Victoria left me alone with various guards while she coordinated her defenses. The young man who’d reported the scouts was named Tommy, and he was clearly new to this kind of work. Every time he brought me water or checked my restraints, his hands trembled slightly.

“First time doing this?” I asked during one of his visits.

Tommy glanced toward the door nervously. “I’m not supposed to talk to you.”

“I’m not asking you to untie me. Just making conversation. Gets lonely in here.”

He hesitated, then sat down in Victoria’s chair. “Yeah, it’s my first time with something like this. Usually I just run numbers, handle the books. This is way outside my comfort zone.”

“Mine too, if it makes you feel any better.”

Tommy almost smiled. “You seem pretty calm for someone in your situation.”

“Panicking won’t help anything. Besides, someone will come for me eventually.”

“Victoria seems to think your boyfriend will try something stupid.”

“He’s not my boyfriend,” I said automatically. “It’s complicated.”

“Isn’t it always?” Tommy stood up and walked to the door. “I’ll be back to check on you in a few hours.”

After he left, I started thinking. Tommy was scared, inexperienced, and clearly uncomfortable with the whole situation. If I could get him to trust me, maybe I could convince him to help me escape.

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