CAPTURED BY THE MAFIA KING

Chapter 2

Sienna's POV

“No!” I screamed, fighting against the grip on my waist, as someone threw me to a broad, strong shoulder, marching out of the forest to the SUV with me.

The car was too quiet. No one spoke. Not the suited man driving. Not the one in the passenger seat who had hauled me into the car. Not Lorenzo De Luca, who sat beside me like a statue carved from night. He reclined proudly on the posh seat, elegant in his posture, eyes trapped forward on the road. Except for occasional glances at me, I might as well not be in the car with him.

I pressed myself against the far door, arms wrapped around my knees, still barefoot, still shivering, and I cleaned off the tears staining my eyes. The cold leather beneath my skin felt less foreign than the men around me now.

I stared at the tinted window, watching the high-rise buildings of Brooklyn pass in a blur as the car sped down the road. I still couldn't believe they were gone. Never to be seen again. Never to be heard from again. I would no longer see Mom's beautiful smile teasing me while we make baked pastries in the kitchen or Dad's scolding eyes when I go against any of his orders. The only thing I would remember now about them was the bloodied hole on Mom's head and Dad falling back to his death.

But what the hell had Dad done? How had he pissed off the Lucentinis so much that they would have to kill him so cruelly? Importantly, what deal or business does he have with Lorenzo De Luca, the devil that has decided to claim me for himself as if I were some commodity?

I stared at him and his men in the car, carefully considering them, their postures, and their demeanors, especially him. His body was big and powerful, muscles taut under his suit, his biceps outlined in the jacket as he sat.

Can I escape them if I try? I grabbed the car door, turning to the window for a quick glance at the sidewalk, seeing it blur out beside the car as the driver drove on. I could just drop down. I might die, sure. At least, that would be better than what I would endure with the devil beside me. But if I didn't, and I ran to the nearest police station, would I still be safe?

It was common knowledge in Brooklyn that Lorenzo and Don Emilio of the Lucentinis both control half of the police force each. But would there be a kind cop to stick his head out for me?

“I wouldn't suggest that, darling. You will only hurt yourself.” He turned to me and muttered, and I swallowed hard, made uncomfortable by the blank yet predatory look in his eyes.

He nudged his eyes from my face to the car door. And as if he’d commanded my body to his bidding, I found myself dropping the door. I pulled away from the door slightly, yet still gave him enough room on the backseat so our bodies wouldn't touch.

Since he was willing to talk now, I damned my fears, and I stared up at him. Surprisingly, being the devil he was, the most hated man in all of Brooklyn, he had a face that could be defined as handsome. His jaw was a smooth V-shape that carried a long face with slightly high cheekbones and thin yet elegant lips. His jet-black tousled hair had a slight stylish wave at the end that added extra radiance to his face. With his suit, he looked like he had just stepped out of a Hollywood model magazine, but I knew better. He had come from hell, the same one he was taking me to.

I was lost for words, staring at his face. I swallowed again to clear my throat, and I found my voice. “What do you really want with me? I am unimportant and know nothing of my father's dealings and crimes. Can't you just let me go and let me mourn my parents, let me live my life?”

A smile appeared on his lips, and his steel-grey pair danced with it. He thrust his face lower to me slowly. Each second of the way sent my heartbeat on a rise. It echoed loud in my head, and I shifted back from him. “I can't let you go, darling. You are more important to me than you know, just as you are important to the Lucentinis. You are the key to everything. And I have claimed you first.”

There was no heat in his eyes, and yet, I felt fire crawling over my face as his gaze lingered on me. “What do you mean by me being the key to everything? My father never tells me anything, never shares his dealings and secrets…”

I stopped when it seemed he had stopped listening, since he pulled back from me and threw his gaze forward. “You would soon find out how important you are with time. But before then, you will have to become mine completely so the Lucentinis can never lay claim to you, no matter what.”

There was something about his voice that caused another round of sudden palpitations in my chest, squeezing off my breath. “What are you planning to do with me, Lorenzo?” I steeled my nerves and asked, yet still, my voice trembled, cracking like a bad audio file.

He glanced briefly from the road to me, brandishing the same smile he always wore. Like a disguise, a mask to hide the real him. “You will soon find out, darling. It's just a matter of time anyway.” and he turned away.

With that, silence resumed again in the car, except for the soft hum of the car engine. The whole windows were shut tight from every other noise.

Since he went on a sabbatical of silence, I turned to the window again, watching blankly as the city continued to blur past the tinted windows. Then came winding roads. Trees, and finally, the car slowed. High black gates swung open without a sound, and the driver steered the car in, up a wide gravel path.

What lay beyond looked like something from another world. The estate was massive. Balconies coiled in ivy. Tall glass windows glowing with soft amber light. It would have been considered a fortress, yet it was too elegant to be one.

Everyone dropped from the car, and the other man in the passenger seat crossed over to my side of the car. He snatched the door open like he had a grudge against it. He was about to yank me off the car and onto his massive shoulder, as he had dumped me into it earlier, when Lorenzo yelled. “Leave her. I would get her myself. I should, of course. She is my property.”

“I am not you or anyone’s property.” I snarled, and I dropped from the car. I saw my opportunity when the other man dropped back from me, and I bolted fast for the gates.

Lorenzo caught me before I could go far, swinging me to his broad chest. He held me tight to his body, his thick fingers firm like a band on my wrist, my back pressed against him. His warmth was terrifying, yet strangely, a little soothing too. My breath came in and out raspily, as my lungs burned in me, almost squeezed out by my overbeating heart.

“You are my property now, Sienna Moretti, and you have nowhere else to go. Once you leave that door, and the Lucentinis find you, you will be killed for your father's sins.” He said into my ear.

“Just as you will do too.” I snarled, shoving myself against him, but the bastard still didn't let go. He held tighter to me, pressing me harder to his broadness, the muscle of his chest rippling against my back.

“Trust me, Sienna. I won't kill you. I have grander plans for you. Now, come in with me, Sienna. I don't want to be rough with you and drag you with me, but if I have to, I will.” He murmured in my ear again.

Truly the Lucentinis would try to kill me as they killed my parents. Yet, I knew he was no better than them. In fact, he was worse. He was a devil, and like all devils, he couldn't be trusted. I couldn't afford to let him get rough with me. The bastard could kill me.

Despite the heat and adrenaline pouring in my veins, I relaxed against his body. I’d just have to find another opportunity to escape. I would never let him or anyone own me.

“Okay.” I muttered. I was too numb to fight and too tired to scream anyway. I was weak from the tears and grief, from everything.

He released me, yet he held onto my wrists, leading me into the mansion.

Marble floors spread everywhere. Chandeliers like falling stars lit up the grand foyer and also the living room so brightly one could see a strand of air falling. Everything screamed wealth and power.

It wasn't the kind of hell a devil like him deserved. But it was one he got. And unfortunately, this was my hell too, until I could escape from these damned walls.

He led me up some grand stairs and down a hallway lined with oil paintings and heavy silence. Then he opened a door.

The room was… warm. Lavender sheets. A velvet armchair by the window. A fireplace already lit. A beautiful prison. Yet still a prison.

“This is your room now,” he said simply.

I stared at him. “You think a pretty room makes enslaving me okay?”

“Don't worry, I don't really plan on enslaving you. I can't really protect you that way. You are my asset, my leverage, and I don't treat such with levity.” He said, and he stood by the door, his thick, elegant fingers folded on the doorknob.

Something in his words stuck to me, tugging at my heart. Before I could get my lips to move, he turned around at the clatter of boots behind him.

“The priest is ready at the cathedral, Don Lorenzo, and he is already signing the license he got…”

It jolted me, and I started in my own skin. Priests, license. The details seemed suspiciously disturbing.

“What does he mean by priests?” I demanded, forcing more power into my voice, and for the first time since everything began, I finally sounded firm and in control.

He nudged his head back, and his men left. The report of boots battering the marble floor announced his departure. He put his signature smile on display again. “A priest is needed in a marriage, darling.”

Cold shivers danced down my spine. “What marriage? Between who and who?” I demanded.

“You and I, Sienna. It is the only way I can fully lay claim to you, without the Lucentinis interfering.” He said.

At that point, my heart sank into my stomach. My body crumbled fast from the coldness consuming me from the inside.