Sold to Moretti Mafia

Claire

The cell is where I remain, scared and alone. Two men guard me at all times, so while I’m not really alone, I might as well be. I’m still wearing the pj’s they kidnapped me in, so I’m grateful for the water bucket and wash rag the maid brought down last night. At least I have Lucca’s jacket keeping me covered and warm. Every time I feel like I’m going to freak out, I tuck the leather jacket closer around my shoulders, using it as a security blanket.

Sitting in the basement’s corner on the cot they tossed at me, I await Lucca’s return. He said he would come back for me, and I believe him. Whether or not I want it, he is always there, always watching me since the day he made that promise to me.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” Lucca says. He is only a few feet away, but it sounds like he is at the end of a long corridor. His voice barely above a whisper.

“Y-youuu…” I croak, feeling the vibration in my throat but having a hard time recognizing my own voice. It seems so raspy and far away.

The nurse told me I hurt my ear badly and that I’ll have a hard time hearing, but it’s more than that. Everything feels wrong. All the surrounding sounds are off.

Squeezing my eyes shut, I pray everything goes back to normal the moment I open them again.

“Claire, look at me.” Lucca’s voice reaches me, but only barely.

I shake my head slightly, making the insistent pounding inside my skull worse. I’m so confused, so lost. None of this can be real.

A few seconds later, I blink my eyes open again, hoping my surroundings have changed, but I’m still in the hospital bed. Lucca is still standing in front of me, looking at me like he knows exactly what I’m thinking of him now.

“Please, don’t look at me like this. All I did was protect you. He could’ve killed you. Hell, he almost did.”

“I… you’re a bad person. You work for bad people. My father told me. Told me you would hurt me.”

He takes another step toward the bed, and my entire body trembles. Pausing mid-step, he says, “Claire, I would never hurt you.”

“Don’t come any closer… or I’ll scream.”

“Okay.” He lifts his hands like he is showing me he’s not a threat before he takes a few steps back.

“I’m going to make this right…” The distance between us makes it harder to hear him now, but I don’t want him to come closer again. I have to look at his lips and watch them move to make out the words he is saying. “I will protect you, provide for you, and ensure you’re always taken care of.”

His words are heartfelt, and if he had said them to me a week ago, I would have been over the moon. Now, everything has changed. Now his words make my skin crawl.

I can’t shake away what I saw. I can’t forget the person he transformed into. He’s an evil man. A horrible man. Yes, my father hurt me, but he was still my dad, the only family I had. He didn’t deserve to die. He didn’t deserve what happened to him any more than I did.

“Claire, I know you’re scared right now, but I swear, I’ll make this right. I won’t ever let you down again. From now on, I’ll never let you out of my sight.”

His words cause a shiver to run down my spine because I know he is telling the truth. He is never letting me go again, and right now, that’s scarier than anything else.

That fear has turned to my salvation. The words that caused me to shiver back then are the only thing that can stop me from falling apart now.

A maid brings down my breakfast and hands it to one of the guards, who opens the cell and enters. My natural reaction to this man is to curl up in a ball and hide. I know that’s what he expects, so maybe that’s why I don’t do it.

“What do you think I can get you to do for a…” his eyes roam the tray and then fall back on me, “a peanut butter sandwich?” The way his tongue darts out over his bottom lip and his eyes gleam with lust, I’m sure whatever he wants isn’t something I’m willing to offer.

“I just want my food. Please…” I try not to sound as weak as I feel.

Lucca said to be brave, to be strong. I can’t give them the reaction they’re expecting. Even if it terrifies me, I have to do the opposite of what my brain says, which is to huddle in the corner and cry.

The guard advances toward me and tosses the tray onto the ground. I jump back and collide with the wall, watching as the pitiful peanut butter and jelly sandwich flies across the dirty concrete.

“You think you’re protected because of that fucker, that he’s going to come back and save you.” The guard grabs me by the throat and squeezes. I freeze, my body becoming a block of ice. He leans into my face, and I can feel his hot breath on my cheek.

Tears spring from my eyes and slip down my cheeks without approval. To cry in front of these men is to give them a loaded gun and beg them not to shoot me.

I can’t control my fear, not here, in this place. I’m afraid of what may happen next. The darkness in his eyes sends a shiver down my back.

I didn’t want to be here. I wanted to escape, even if that meant I had to crawl inside a dark place in my mind.

Thankfully, the other guard walks into the cell and interferes before anything more can happen. “Let her go, Yuli. She’s not worth getting your head blown off for. You heard what the boss said. We have to wait until Lucca is dead before we can have our fun with her.”

Yuli releases me, and I sag against the wall. I’d be relieved he let me go, but my fear spirals after hearing what I just did. Are they planning to kill Lucca? Oh god, I have to find a way to warn him. If anything happens to him, I’ll never get out of here. I’ll never be safe again.

Yuli looks to the other guard and smiles. My heart skips a beat, and I’m tempted to wrap my arms around my middle and make myself appear small. Maybe they won’t hurt me then? Maybe they’ll forget I’m here.

There isn’t a chance, but I can hope.

“Maybe we can take her on a brief walk? Take her to see what awaits her?” Yuli pauses, looking from me and back to the other guard. I don’t want to beg, but I will if it means they’ll leave me alone. I’ll do anything. “What d’ya say, Robert?”

Robert rubs at his jaw like he’s contemplating it.

“Please…” The whimper of a word slips free before I can stop it.

Yuli turns on me, his face morphed in rage, and I cower beneath his stare, wishing I had pressed my lips together. He doesn’t even wait for the other guard’s approval. He grabs me by the arm, his fingers dig into my skin, and I know there will be bruises tomorrow.

Rushing out of the cell, he drags me behind him. I can barely keep up and end up tripping over my own feet. I’m so afraid of what’s going to happen next.

Are they going to hurt me? Punish me? Rape me? It won’t matter if Lucca returns to save me if they do any of those things. I’m not sure I can mentally survive something like that. I’ve endured enough in my life-more pain and sadness than most. I don’t think my heart can take anymore.

Yuli’s boots slap against the marble floor once we reach the landing. Peering over my shoulder, I find the other guard following a few steps behind us.

“Don’t do anything stupid,” he growls, his face morphed with worry.

We turn down a hall, and then another, and all I feel is dread-complete and utter dread. Yuli stops at a door, and I almost topple over. He retrieves a key from his pocket and unlocks the massive wooden door.

I swallow down the fear as he pushes the door open, and I’m tugged inside. My gaze darts around the room full of whips, chains, and other objects that promise pain and humiliation. The sights before me leave me overwhelmed with fear.Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.

“No!” I scream.

My entire body trembles, and I struggle to break free of Yuli’s unforgiving grip. That only causes him to tighten his hold.

“What? Are you afraid of the future that awaits you? Because this is where you will spend most of your time. As a sex slave, used and abused in every unimaginable way.”

“Stop! Please, stop.” I refuse to believe that this is my future. My struggles intensify, my fear reaching a new height. I can’t let them hurt me. My foot connects with Yuli’s calf, and I shove away from him.

“You stupid fucking bitch!” he sneers, and his grip on me loosens enough that I pull my arm free of his grasp altogether.

I don’t realize the mistake I’ve made until Yuli’s fist is flying at my face, and I can’t move out of the way fast enough.

Robert tries to step between us, to stop the train wreck from happening, but it’s too late. By the time he’s reached me, Yuli has already hit me.

His knuckles collide with my cheekbone, and pain radiates across and up my face. I stumble backward, cradling the side of my face. I sob, uncaring how weak it makes me look or feel.

“Jesus fuck, Yuli! Boss said not to touch the girl.”

Robert takes a step toward me, and I shake my head. My vision blurs, and I feel helpless and at the mercy of these horrible people.

“I don’t care what the boss said. She fucking kicked me.”

Robert shakes his head. “You stay upstairs, and I’ll go put her back in the cell.” I can already feel my cheek and eye swelling.

I know it shouldn’t surprise me, but I can’t believe he hit me. Before gesturing for me to walk ahead of him, he says, “Try to run, and I’ll drag you back.”

The warning is clear, and with a black and blue eye already, I’m not about to dig myself a shallow grave. I nod and start walking back the way I came, cradling my bruised cheek the entire way. Tears fall like raindrops from my eyes, and I barely hold back the sob building in my throat. I miss Lucca. I wish he never left me alone.

By the time we reach the cell, I’m a sobbing mess. Robert doesn’t touch me or even offer an apology. He seems more worried about what his boss is going to say than anything. I rush to the back of the cell, where I always sit, passing the uneaten food on the ground.

I hold myself together, hoping and praying that Lucca returns for me tonight. I don’t know what I’ll do if he doesn’t. In no time at all, he went from being the villain to being my savior all over again.