Bought By The Ruthless Don

Episode6

ALESSIA.

For days, the image of Silas Dravetti’s face haunted my dreams.

The cold promise of retribution in his eyes followed me even in sleep.

Having jumped from his window that night, Usuv had been waiting with the engine running, and we'd sped out of there like hellhounds were on our tail. We'd stopped several times, switching cars along the way, ensuring we weren't being tailed. It wasn't until hours later that we'd finally reached the Moretti estate.

I’d hesitated just for a second before extracting a small piece of paper from the file and hiding it in my pocket.

By the time I handed the file over to Salvatore, his greedy eyes had gleamed. He shuffled through the documents, nodded, and grunted a curt, "Good."

Then he dismissed me. Like I was nothing.

I'd hoped this mission would be different for me. That maybe, just maybe, he would finally notice my worth.

But I wasn't so sure now.

The following days were a cycle of training, eating, and sleeping, nothing different from the past. There was an increasing nervousness in me, a silent desperation for something to shift, for things to change.

And change they did.

And in the worst, most unexpected way possible.

---

I was in my room, stretching, the constant thumping of music vibrating through the room when there came a knock at the door.

I opened it to see Usuv standing there.

His expression was empty and cold, the way it normally was when he wasn't pretending.

"The Don sent me to fetch you," he said.

I frowned. "Why?"

"He didn't say."

There was a quality in his voice that brought a twist of unease to my belly. Was this about the mission? I felt a surge of anxiety. Did Salvatore know about the one document I'd kept back from the file?

I kept my expression blank as I followed Usuv down the hall. We passed by Salvatore's office, heading instead to a private lounge, one that he used exclusively to entertain special guests.

Usuv stopped in front of the door and, without a word, turned and left. I hesitated. Then, drawing a deep breath, I pushed open the door and entered.

The moment I was inside, I took in the room.

Salvatore was lounging in his usual chair, relaxed, a cigar burning between his fingers. Four strangers sat across from him, a woman and three men.

Their faces turned to me simultaneously, their eyes raking me with slow, probing looks.

I stiffened. I bowed slightly. "Don Moretti." I inclined my head toward the others. "Gentlemen. Ma'am."

One of the men, an older man with gray hair, turned to Salvatore and asked, "How old is she again?"

"Twenty-five," Salvatore replied. "As you can see, she's a pretty thing."

A chill ran down my spine. My eyes cut to him. What the hell was going on here?

The woman rose, heels clacking on the floor as she moved in a slow circle around me.

"Very good curves," she muttered, nearly to herself. "And perky assets."

Her fingers brushed briefly across my arm.

"She'll bring a good price."

I tensed more, heart racing. "What do you mean, a good price?" My tone was level, but a dangerous note crept into it. "I'm not some good to be sold."

The woman smiled a knowing, cruel smile.

I turned on Salvatore but he wouldn't meet my eyes. Instead, he knocked the ash from his cigar, bored.

Panic began to take hold in my chest.

"What the f**k is going on here?" I commanded.

The woman tilted her head, a sparkle of amusement in her gaze. "Well, girl," she drawled, "you're part of a debt the Morettis owe us."

The words had ice running through my veins.

I clenched my fists. "What does that mean?"

"It means," she said, voice dripping sweet, "you're coming with us. We'll put you to good use."

I felt sick.

Spinning on Salvatore, I spat, "*You're selling me out?* To do what, w***e myself out for them?"

He didn't say anything. Didn't even flinch.

"Salvatore! " I barked.

That got him to look up. A warning frown darkened his face. "Be careful how you address me."

Dismay clawed at my throat. "But I did what you asked," I cried out, my voice shaking with rage. "I completed the mission in spite of the ridiculous time constraint you put me under! I…"

The woman sighed dramatically, cutting me off.

"We haven't really got time for this, dear," she said. "We need to hurry. The next auction is already being set up."

Auction.

The word dropped into my stomach like a lead weight.

My breath hitched. Human trafficking circles.

My muscles clenched. No f*****g way.

With practiced speed, I shifted on my feet, my hand flashing to my waist where my knives were hidden.

I began to throw when pain erupted at the side of my neck. A searing prick,then a dull, creeping numbness.

My fingers loosened, the knives dropping from my hands and clattering on the floor.

My vision blurred. My legs and arms wouldn't move.

No. No. No. I turned my head, staggering on my feet, and saw a man setting down a syringe.

I collapsed, my knees slamming into the floor. My vision blurred, but I forced myself to look at Salvatore.

He was looking at me with a smirk.

"You cowardly, fat f**k," I weakly spat.

His eyes flared for a moment before humor played on his features. Then he exhaled a stream of smoke and told me, "You'll be more helpful over there, Alicia."

His voice was lazy. And then, in a colder tone, "Come back here, and it'll be the last thing you ever do."

His words echoed in my mind as the last of my strength drained from me.

The world tilted, my body collapsing to the floor. My name is Alessia, prick, I thought last.

Darkness swallowed me whole.