Indebted to the Mafia King
Pay Up

Eleni

I tug the hem of my dress a little farther down my legs and feel the tiny straps strain to hold my chest in. Doll, in the back seat next to me, chuckles. "Don't bother," he says. "I doubt you'll be needing that dress much soon."

I grit my teeth. He's been saying ominous things like that for the last forty-five minutes, and every time I try to ask him where we're going, he just laughs. I do wish I'd insisted on a longer dress when Gianna and I were getting ready, but nobody's discovered the pistol in my purse yet, so I'm not too worried. Since I'm supposed to be Luca's bride, I think backward mafia logic might save me from sleeping with anybody but him, and if I can get close enough with this gun, I don't even have to worry about that.

Now, I just have to repeat that to myself often enough that I don't panic. Which is a lot, since I'm in this limo with Doll, two of the other men from that upper room, and a driver who hasn't spoken yet.

The smooth asphalt under the wheels turns into something crunchy. Gravel, maybe.

"Almost there." He grins.

"Thanks, Doll." I smirk back at him, and he scowls.

The limo rolls to a stop, and Doll climbs out first, then holds the door open for me. I exit, wobbling over the fine gravel in my sky-high heels. The men just snicker as I struggle. Finally, I catch myself on the hood and straighten to see where I am. The air here is fresher than the city, but not fresh like it was at Dante's safe house. A massive concrete building squats at the end of the drive, and I can see some body of water past it. Maybe a lake? Have we driven so far upstate we've actually reached the lakes?

Doll strides away, and I stumble to catch up. Useless. I need my dignity and I may need speed. I snatch the heels off and hurry after him. He leads me through a side door and into what looks like a back room of a warehouse. A cheap, metal desk sits on one side, and a second door with a window of textured glass blocks my view of the rest of the space.

"Sit tight." Doll leaves through the second door, abandoning me with the other two men.

I glance at the two chairs in the room and decide to take the one behind the desk. Either I have to talk to someone else, and sitting back here will knock them off guard, or he's getting Seb, and where I sit doesn't matter.

The door opens, and in walks someone I haven't seen in a very long time. Luca Lombardi. He has his father's broad build, but small, watery eyes in his wide face, making him look like nothing so much as an overgrown kid. He sneers when he

sees me.

"Little Ellie," he says. "I've missed those tits."

Hearing him sends me back to nights being heckled at The Greek Corner, watching Mama and Baba struggle to not say anything. But Frank doesn't own us anymore, and neither does Luca.

"You're going to miss them again soon." I don't bother covering myself from his gaze. Let him look. I know who and what I am. "Where's Sebastian and the other men you kidnapped?"

He taps the gun holstered on his hip thoughtfully. "I don't think I know anyone by that name. Is he one of your little pets? I can kill him before the wedding, don't worry."

I lean back in the chair. "Your man told me I could make a deal for his life. Are we dealing or not?"

"We, as in you and me?" He laughs loud and long. "Ellie, baby, I don't know where you got the idea you have any power here. You're nothing more than a cute little slut for my collection and a way to piss off your master."

I clutch my purse. I'm going to get a chance to show him exactly what I am soon enough. But his hand is on his gun, and there are two other armed men in the room. I can't strike yet. No matter how much hearing him call Dante my master turns my stomach.

"I have already let him in on your little road trip." Luca leans one palm on the desk. "It's funny, I don't actually know which of you is the pet. You both come when called."

The men in the room snicker. Luca smirks at me. No, not at me. At the exposed tops of my breasts. I stand and look him as much in the eyes as I can, wishing I hadn't pulled my heels off.

"I'm here for Sebastian."

He hooks a finger into the front of my dress. "That one is mouthy. Maybe I'll turn him over if you come with me."

I swallow. Only thin straps keep him from exposing me. But this is the opportunity I've been waiting for. "I'll do it. Prove you have him here first, though."

He grins and plucks his finger out of my dress, then knocks on the door he entered through. After a moment, it opens, and someone shoves a handcuffed Sebastian in. My stomach drops. He's covered in bruises, his T-shirt is split, and blood leaks down his face. He lands on his knees with a groan, then peers up at me through the one eye he can open.

"Eleni?" he groans. "You look-"

Luca kicks him in the ribs. "How about an aphrodisiac, my darling?"

I clap my hand to my mouth to keep from screaming as Seb curls into himself. Luca grins and hauls him up by his broken shirt, then sits him in the chair I didn't take. "Stop, please," I whisper.

"I can't. You see, you were promised to me." Luca slams a punch into Seb's face, splitting his cheek and spilling fresh blood. "And that fucking Staten Island scum took you."

I meet Seb's gaze and mouth "sorry." He offers me a lopsided grin just in time for Luca to punch him again. I wince.

"Dante Cattaneo's taken a lot of shit from me recently." He slams Seb's head into the metal desk, and I jump. "He took my dad. He took my place in the city." Luca grins at me. "He's taken some good fucking men, ones you were acquainted with, if I remember correctly."

"I'll do whatever you want, just stop." I cling to my purse, to the promise of the gun. Luca's so close now, so distracted, but both of the guards are looking at me.

"I have to send a message, darling." Luca kicks Seb off the chair to the floor. "And murdering his caporegime's younger brother is just the first step." He draws his gun.

No one else is going to die for me.

I leap to my feet, pulling my own gun out of my purse, and fumble to get the safety off before Luca can fire.

"Down, boss!" One of the guards launches himself at me.

I squeeze off a shot, but he tackles me, and the bullet goes wide. We land on the concrete floor. The sharp pain of the scrapes on my bare skin contrasts the dull pain of missing my shot. I close my eyes and brace for the crack that ends Seb's life. Gunfire rattles the air, but farther away. Outside, maybe. Or in the rest of the warehouse.

"Shit," Luca hisses.

The man on top of me climbs off quickly, and I get up just in time to watch him and the other guard hurry Luca out of the side door I came in through. I stuff my gun back in my purse and race around to Seb, groaning on the floor. The other door to the back room, the one with the glass window, bursts open. I look up.

Dante stands in the doorway, outlined in a cloud of gun smoke. And he looks furious.