42-Sadie

Oh, God.

No. No, no, no.

This can't be happening.

The familiar musty, dank smell burns through my nose as I open my eyes. I glance around the room that I was held in the last time. Tears burn my eyes as memories of what happened during those two horrific weeks I had to endure, when I prayed for death to come, flash before me.

I'm tied to a steel chair in the middle of a room, smaller than the one before, with my ankles and hands bound with ropes. There are no windows but one light flickers above me, and a table with three chairs sits a few feet away from me.

With my hands behind the chair, I try to wiggle out of the ropes, but they are too fucking tight, my fingers are starting to go numb. Frustration takes over as I thrash in the chair, trying to get free, but nothing works.

I lay my head back with the urge to scream, but instead, I drop my chin to my chest and silently cry. I'm unsure how long I've cried when the metal door latches open. I lift my head to see the Romano brothers walk toward me, and two men stand beside the door like guard dogs.

Vince is wearing black dress pants and a top with a few open buttons, exposing a skull tattoo on his chest. Vince is bigger than his brother Neo. Vince looks like a modern mafia prince and Neo looks young, like a college student.

"I was wondering when you were going to wake up. For a minute, I thought the slap to your face knocked your ass out." Vince laughs and pulls a chair over and sits across from me. He leans forward, hands clasped between his parted legs.

"What do you want?" I say in a whisper.

Without warning, he slaps me with an open left hand across the face.

My brain doesn't get the memo and fails to catch up when another slap to my face snaps my head to the side.

"No questions!" he barks.

Vince cocks his head to the side, studying me like a lab rat, and a wicked smirk appears. "If your father or ex didn't fuck up my original plan, you'd be half across the world by now, being passed from one man to another for their own pleasure."

I flinch at the cruel words that easily leave his mouth.

"Just kill the bitch, bro."

Vince"s gaze stays on mine. "I can't, brother. You know how much I love to play with my toys." He smirks.

"Why are you doing this?" I ask.

"You see, Reina" —he uses the nickname mockingly— "your father was a piece of shit. He got greedy. The fucker was so drunk and high half the time, he didn't know what he was doing or whom he was fucking."

Memories flood my mind like waves of destruction. My father left behind permanent scars and I recall the number of times Dad came home with hickeys around his neck. I knew they weren't from Mom.

"Ah, so you're not surprised to hear that your father was unfaithful?"

I have no words, but my tears speak for me.

"Let's get this show on the road, shall we?" He rolls his shirt sleeves to his elbows, showing off his sleeve tattoos and a Rolex on his wrist.

My stomach turns into knots, and it's not coming from the baby inside of me.

"Bring them in," Vince hollers as he glances over his shoulder to the men beside the door.

Vince steps closer and runs his finger down the side of my face. "I have something you're going to want."

When the doors open, Vince steps to the side, and chains rattle as the men drag in two figures. As they walk closer, I gasp, not believing what I'm seeing. Have I gone delirious, or is this just a nightmare?

My breathing comes rapidly as I stare at the ghost before me. The man is wearing gray scrubs like a nurse, and a chain is fastened around his ankles. He appears to have lost weight because his clothes are baggy. Even his hair has grown longer, just enough to cover the tips of his ears.

"Sade?"

His voice is so small, and tears form in his eyes.

"Jo-Jo?" My voice comes out shaky. I would've fallen on my knees if I weren"t sitting down.

Vince stands before me, blocking my view of my dead brother, who has somehow been resurrected.

What the fuck?

"Surprise!" Vincent exclaims as if he is calling out the next act in a magic show.

I look at Jo with tears clouding my vision.

"How?" I can barely hear myself.

Vincent holds up his hand in a don't interrupt gesture. "I'm not done. Wait for it…"

One of the men sets two chairs in front of me, forcing Jo to sit in one, and I rear back when my eyes land on the figure behind Jo.

"Elisa?" I rasp.

What the hell is going on?

My brother's dead girlfriend walks in without restraints. She looks like a shell of the person I've known since we were kids. The light from her eyes is gone, and the way her face sinks in shows she has unhealthily lost weight. Her long brown hair is pulled into a messy bun, and her feet are bare. She is wearing a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved top.

Elisa eyes are full of pain and regret when her gaze meets mine. She quickly looks away and stares at her feet.

What did they do to you?

A clicking sound snaps my attention back to Vince. I watch him empty the bullets from the revolver, but he leaves one. He closes the chamber and spins it a few times.

My heart is beating against my chest, ready to explode.

"After your father died, I was still fucked because the bastard stole from me. Fucker didn't even bat an eye after I threatened to sell your pretty ass."

My stomach rolls with nausea, trying not to imagine what my life would've been like had my father sold me. I can't, and won't, think about it.

Vince tucks the gun in his pants and strides toward Elisa. He yanks her up by the arm, and she yelps, causing Jo to stir in in his seat.

"Bring me the chair!" Vince snaps over his shoulder to one of his men.

Like good little dogs, they comply and grab the chairs from the table and set one beside me. Vince tosses her, and she almost loses her footing but quickly rights herself. He walks over to Jo and gives him the gun.

Jo looks up at him, clearly confused.

"Take the gun." Vince holds it out, and Jo takes it with shaky hands. I've never seen Jo so lost and broken.

"Don't be stupid, Jo. I've kept you alive this long. But I can change that really quick if you keep pissing me off."

Neo raises his gun and holds it against Jo's head. Tears are falling down my face, and my heart races, knowing how this is going to end if Jo refuses.

"Here are the rules: point the gun at your sister and pull the trigger. If nothing happens, pull it again. You will keep playing until the bullet hits her."

I swallow the lump lodged in my throat. "Why are you doing this?" I ask again, sounding like a broken record.

"Do you know what the problem with greed is? It's never enough. In your father's case, he was drowning in it." Vince keeps a stern gaze fixed on me.

"Your father cost me a lot of money." He pushes off the table and steps toward me.

He crouches before me. I lean as far as I can away from him.

He's too close.

"Desperation and fear made your father willing to sell his own daughter and he begged his son to help once he learned whose money he stole." Vince reaches for my face, but I turn away. He grabs my chin and yanks me back so I'm forced to look at him.

"So, you see mi amor, your familia has caused many problems for me. I hope you can understand why you and your brother have to pay."

"No, V, you promised…" Elisa's soft plea is silenced by the murderous look on Vincent's face.

Vince turns from Elisa to Jo. "Not only did your father lost money, but he also stole from me, and gave the money to you for safekeeping. But I found out later that was all bullshit." He turns back to me. "Your father paid a visit to your brother, but guess what he found instead?"

When I don't respond, he continues. "Mi hermana."

This is fucking crazy.I glance at Jo to see his eyes follow each move Vince makes toward me.

Vince stands up and walks around my chair until the heat from his body burns against my back, and I shudder.

He leans down and whispers in my ear in a deadly tone, "Your father beat my sister, Elisa, nearly to death, causing her to lose the baby."

I gasp. No.

"Elisa was always caught up in stupid shit that ended with me and Neo having to clean it up. Right, sis?"

Elisa hangs her head low and tears fall down her face.

"When she came to us begging for help, we vowed to kill the motherfucker who laid his hand on her. When we found out that your pendejo of a father was the one who almost killed her…" —a dark chuckle rumbles from his chest— "we decided to pay your brother a visit to pay for his father's mistakes, then we would pay a visit to the rest of you."

"But our sweet sister begged me to spare your brother's life. The only way I was going to entertain the idea was if I made him suffer." He licks the shell of my ear, and I try to pull away, but he grabs the back of my neck, digging his nails into my skin, forcing me to stay in place.

"She would've done anything to save his life, but I wasn't going to make it easy. So, I faked her death and made sure he would be the one to find her."

I think I'm going to puke.

"Imagine the trauma he must've experienced." His voice holds no remorse. "Nothing a shot of adrenaline couldn't fix." He grips my neck harder. "She is the only reason your brother is still alive," he grits out.

"Please let them go," Elisa pleads.

"The best part of all of this was how fucked up Jo was when he offed his own father." Vince glances over at Jo. "You did all of us a favor. Which is why I kept you alive but then you started to lose your shit." He shakes his head. "Elisa thought he suffered enough, but I didn't think so." He whips his head to Neo. "Right, bro?"

Neo shakes his head in response.

What is the point of me being here? Our father is dead. There is no reason for him to hold us unless it's just another sick game that he gets off on.

He cants his head to the side and a twisted smile curls his lips as if he read my thoughts. "Jo will be the one to kill you, then I'll make my sister kill Jo—"

"No!" Elisa screams and is immediately silenced by Neo's powerful backhand across her face.

Jo straightens in his chair, rage written all over his face.

"You never know when to quit, do you, sis? Did you really think I was going to let him live, let any of them live?" Vince tsks.

"Don't worry, Sadie." I hate how normal my name sounds coming from his mouth. "I'll make it quick and painless for your mother, abuelita, and your daughter," he continues.

My stomach rolls. I struggle to keep the contents from rising.

"Let's end this now," Vince says in a slow and deep menacing tone.

I stare into my brother's deep brown eyes full of pain as he raises the gun at me. His hands shake as if he is trying to control his emotions.

"Don't make me do this," Jo begs as he looks right at me, silently asking for forgiveness.

"Pull the fucking trigger!" Vince bellows, his voice vibrating off the walls.

I smile, silently letting Jo know it will be ok. Tears pool in my eyes as I feel the weight of his stare.

I close my eyes and wait for the pain to shoot down my body, but nothing happens when he pulls the trigger.

"Goddamn!" Vince leans forward, smacks his legs, and cackles. "That's a rush, isn't it? Makes my dick hard."

Neo grunts with a smug look on his face.

What a twisted piece of shit.

"Game's not over yet," Neo whispers in Jo's ear, but loud enough for me to hear. He looks over his designer glasses and gives me a creepy smile that makes me want to jump out of my skin.

Neo lifts Jo's hand and points it at me.

"Stop this, V," Elisa sobs.

"Shut up!" Vincent roars. "I took care of him, didn't I? I promised you I wouldn't touch him."

When she doesn't answer, he yells, "Right?!"

Her shoulders shake, and she nods.

"Please," she cries.

I don't see it coming when Vince lands a blow to my face.

"Sade! The fuck, man!" Jo yells, voice hoarse.

"Keep talking" —he squeezes my chin while glaring at Elisa—"and her death will be on you," he seethes.

She lets out a small cry and quickly covers her mouth, but it's too late; the blow comes anyway. When I straighten my head, I spit the blood from my mouth. He can knock me out as much as he wants as long as I keep him away from my stomach.

"What did I just say?" Vince hisses.

"Come on, bro. Let's get this shit over with," his brother says in a bored tone.

"Pull the trigger," Vince says in a calm, eerie tone.

"Pull. The. Trigger," he repeats.

"No!" Jo rasps, lowering the gun to his lap. "You're going to have to kill me, motherfucker."

Vincent stalks in Jo's direction and whips the gun out of his hand and points the barrel of the gun in his face.

BANG!

Elisa and I scream.

Then he quickly aims the gun at me and pulls the trigger without warning.

I jolt, as terror sucks the very breath from my mouth.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Sounds of bullets being shot off into the air come from outside the building. I hear men's voices yelling and more gunfire.

"What the hell is going on out there?" Vince bellows.

"Boss, the FBI is here," one of the men shouts.

"Come on, bro. Let's go," sis brother demands. "This shit ain't worth prison time."

Vince pulls the chamber out and spins it until the bullet rotates into a firing position and I freeze.

"Game over."