Indebted to the Mafia King
One Night Stand

Eleni

The door slams open, and I startle out of the fetal position I've been curled in since Luca left. I haven't even buttoned my blouse.

Luca sighs. "Well, I was really hoping to get a look at that pussy of yours, but your tits will have to do."

I stare up at him blankly. Don't say anything that could hurt Mama. He sneers at me, his lower lip still matted with blood. The rage I'm tamping down flares gleefully when I see that.

He rolls his eyes and hauls me to my feet by one arm. Thankfully, he doesn't grab the one attached to the hand he stepped on. Small miracles.

The men whistle and leer as he leads me through the warehouse again, to a different section. I keep my gaze on the ground as much as I can. For Mama's sake, I do not memorize these men's faces so I could destroy them later. I know how to behave.

But when Luca leads me to a clearing in the high shelves, and I see Dante, Tony, and a bruised Seb, everything else falls away. He found me, just like I knew he would. And he's safe. New scrapes mar his knuckles, and a spatter of blood that doesn't seem to be his stains his cheek, but he's safe. If I can tell him Luca knows about Mama, I can save the two of them at least.

I meet Dante's gaze and replace it nearly feral with fury. The moment slams back into place. I am bruised, maybe bloody, and half-dressed in Luca's hands. Dante won't listen to a word I say until Luca is dead or dying. I try to catch Seb's eye instead, but he seems dedicated to not looking at my exposed body. I'll appreciate that later. I need him now.

Luca throws me onto the floor, and I catch myself on my hands and knees. A low noise tears out of Dante's throat.

"So much trouble for such a little scrap of meat." Luca drags something hard over my back, my ass. I don't need to look to know he's pulled out his gun again. "Let her go," Dante growls.

Luca laughs delightedly. "Ooh, she isn't just an afternoon delight, is she?"

I sit back on my heels and look up at Dante. The fury in his face is a living thing, worse than I've ever seen before. He's on the verge of doing something awful. "And she kneels!" Luca crows. "Got her trained up already, I see. Well, in that case, I have a proposition."

I mouth the word "Mama" to Seb. He's still not looking at me. My heart pounds.

Luca drags his gun over my shoulder, down my chest, until I can feel the cool metal on the tops of my breasts. I don't flinch. I won't give him the satisfaction. Dante fights to regain his cool, likely for the same reason, but I watch it fray at the edges.

"You took something that didn't belong to you," Luca says. He tilts my chin up with the barrel of the gun. "Her ass was already promised to me by her sainted father."

I nearly forget about Mama as the same true, deep fury in Dante washes over me. Baba did not sell me. He died so he didn't have to. He died to save me. I open my mouth-

And quickly shut it as Luca plays the gun over my lower lip. I won't give him the chance to take advantage of me again.

"But I'm a generous man." He slides the gun back down and pushes my bra strap off my shoulder. Luckily, the cup has its own stability, so I'm not exposed. "I'll take one night." Dante pulls out his own gun and holds it tight in one hand. I watch Tony brush against his shoulder, clearly a silent temper check.

"If you agree"-Luca runs the gun under the cup of my bra until I can feel the cool metal on my nipple "I'll be happy to give her back to you in one piece and leave you alone." "I'll do it," I say. Alone means he won't touch Mama.

Dante's face goes purple.

Luca tuts. "You remember the talk we had about your place, Ellie?" He rubs the gun up and down between my breasts. "You're his, so I'm talking to him. Nobody cares what you think." Luca chuckles. "And if you knew what I know about Dante Cattaneo, you might not be so quick to throw yourself on the flames."

I glance at Dante, wondering what Luca is talking about. He doesn't look at me with a strained dedication that tells me not looking at me is the only thing letting him keep his cool.

"And let me guess," Dante says stiffly, "that means you want to hear me say it."

"Ding, ding, ding." I can hear the smile in Luca's voice. "I want you to hand your girl over to me because it's what I'm owed, and I want you to know you don't have another choice." He threads his fingers into my hair.

For Mama, I do not shake him off. For Dante, I sit there tall and proud, like I'm just as polished as I was when we left to meet Thano Coppola. Luca can take the lives of so many I've loved from me, but he can't take my pride. One night with him would be a nightmare, but no worse than what I expected when I signed up for the virginity auction. I can handle this.

Dante looks at me for a long moment. I try to beam my warning about Mama into his brain, and my certainty that this is the only way out. If I am a pawn to Luca, fine. Let him take me into his bed and regret it for the rest of his days. I can bite more than his lip.

"One more thing." Luca's hand in my hair tightens. "I want your word that when she decides to leave you for me, you'll give us the same courtesy and stay away."

Dante laughs, though it's a choked sound. "You really think she'd choose you?"

"I really think I know the right words to convince her you're not the man for her." Luca's words drip with meaning I don't understand. "Oh, she's so much prettier when she's scared." Dante fires.