Chapter 2

Misconceptions were assumptions based on things that people heard. When in reality those things weren't factual, they were merely gossip.

That guy wasn't nice, he just pretended to be polite in public. That company didn't have excellent customer service, something quickly discovered when a problem arose. And there was the supposed safe park to walk through at night, but no one bothered to mention the three girls that got raped last week. Misconceptions would fuck you over each and every time.

I was a prime example of that. When I started school, I assumed certain things would happen. Like typical new kid treatment, and maybe some run ins with a certain someone.

It wouldn't be that bad because I didn't do anything to Gio. Therefore, he wouldn't take it out on me. After all, I didn't hold him responsible for his brother's actions. Did I like him? No. But I didn't blame him. So, I should be able to complete my senior year without too much of a hassle.

Not only was I completely wrong, but now I was sitting in my truck outside Gio Mancini's house, getting ready to trade my life for my brother's. If there was an award for misconception of the year, I'd definitely be the front runner.

Sighing, I leaned over and eyed the house through my cracked windshield.

All these tourists talked about the haunting atmosphere in Louisiana. I never understood that claim until now. There was something intimidating about the way the Mancini mansion stared back at me. As if it knew why I was here, and was taunting me to knock on the door so it could eat me alive. In all fairness, if there were ghosts anywhere in this town, they were probably here.

I was pretty sure death and murder weren't new things to the Mancini's. There was no telling how many bodies Gio had buried in his backyard. I was here to make a deal after all, and not a legal one. Though I'm sure they would find a way to make it hold up in a court of law.

The judges were crooked anyway. Maybe I'd end up joining the forgotten bones on this property? Honestly, that might be a better outcome than what I was about to do.

Was I really going to do this? It wasn't like I had any other choice. If I didn't do anything then Kato would continue to get hurt and eventually killed.

My shaky fingers wrapped around the handle to reluctantly push the door open.

The hinges were especially loud today. Each second of their creak vibrated through me like a warning bell. Then there was the house itself.

The first step out onto the paved ground was easy, but the second was heavy. I could feel the windows watching and beckoning me to come a little closer, while the safety of my truck whispered in the back of my mind. It's not too late to change your mind.

It wasn't too late. I could always just climb back behind the wheel, leave, and everything would go back to normal.

As comforting as that was to think, I knew it wasn't true. There was no normal anymore. Maybe there never was. And if there was, the person I talked to an hour ago ensured that normal no longer existed.

Special Agent Jack was supposed to be my get out of jail free card. Whatever this deal was with Gio, he couldn't hold me to it if he wasn't around, right? I just had to survive long enough for that to happen. It was a simple plan.

Or at least I thought it was.

I once again looked over at the house and fought back the dread churning in my stomach.

Maybe this wasn't a good idea? If Gio found out what I was planning, then I wouldn't just be signing my death warrant, but Kato's as well, and quite possibly Veda's. That would kind of defeat the purpose of all of this. Then again, I didn't promise Special Agent Jack anything. So, I could just keep him as a back-up plan.

Damnit, I wish I had more time to figure this out.

Was Gio really going to do anything I couldn't handle? He'd already tried to kill me twice. Could it get any worse than that? Okay, so maybe Atlee was right and Gio would go there. So what? I made out with Simon, for Christ"s sakes. I could totally do this.

Closing the truck door, I mustered up all of my courage and marched forward.

I so had this.

That confidence lasted about thirty seconds before I spun around and headed back to my truck.

I definitely did not have this.

Okay, so my first attempt failed. I blamed that on the two staircases curving down from the balcony on the upper floor. They ended on either side of the walkway and cast an ominous shadow in the fading sun, and I swear I saw something move in them.

And guess what I had to walk through in order to reach the front door? The creepy shadow of soul swallowing. Then again, that could just be the house… or the situation. There were many factors at play here.

Who needed two extra staircases? Did anyone ever go on to the balcony to knock on that door? Don't think so. Know why, because normal people only had one front door. What the hell was this bullshit?

"Two damn doors," I grumbled under my breath and once again made my way back down the walkway.

I almost made it to the front steps before I ran away and placed my palm on my truck like it was a safe zone. But in my defense, I heard something this time. There was a high possibility that it was my own gasp, but one could never be too sure.

Wishing there were more seconds in a minute, I glanced down at my watch. It was 7:55. Five minutes to the deadline Gio gave me. Based on my previous attempts there was a high possibility I would need every single one of those minutes to reach the front door. Especially considering my next two tries also failed.

Confidence came with the next one however. I made it to the front steps. Then froze as the weight of my decisions pressed down on my shoulders.

It might already be too late, but there was no turning back once I knocked on this door. I'd have to live with whatever Gio had in mind, or risk the consequences of turning against him. The entire Mancini family could be affected, or just his father. Either way Gio would lose something, and this time it would be my fault. Could I live with that?

One look at the brass numbers marking the address and I knew what I was going to do.

The way the fading light glinted off that polished finish reminded me of how my brother's eyes used to sparkle. All he'd have to do to brighten up a room was walk in it. I'd give anything, including my own soul, just for the chance of seeing that look on Kato's face again.

Before I lost my nerve, I lifted my balled up fist and rapped on the door.

It felt like hours passed while I stood there, contemplating my possible quick escape. There were a few potted plants and expensive looking deck chairs I could hide behind. The one on the right would work great. It was bigger than the others, and by bigger I meant at least three times the size.

What the hell? It looked like a chair, but maybe it was a loveseat? It was also made out of metal.

My eyes narrowed.

Was that thing reinforced? Why would anybody need something like that? Exactly what kind of torture was happening in this house of horrors? I wasn't sure I wanted to know the answer to that, though I was seriously considering making a mad dash for my truck.

"You're late."

"Jesus Christ!" I sprang back from the sudden deep tone resounding through my ears and slapped my hand over my hammering heart.

I shouldn't have been surprised to see a familiar scowl sneering at me from the now open doorway.

"Do you have to answer the door so quietly?" I snarled back at Gio's stupidly chiselled form.

Who lurked around in their doorway like some kind of creep? And yes, this might've been partly my fault. I was slightly distracted by the abnormally large chair, but that was no reason to scare me. Bastard.

Gio folded his arms over his chest. "Maybe if you were on time…"

Who cared about that? I was much more interested in his apparent ability to be sneaky. Would it hurt him to apply those skills to stalking? Seriously, I was a little insulted by the lack of effort.

"Calm down, punctuality police." I wasn't that late.

"I told you to be here by 8."

I looked down at my watch, then cocked a brow at him. "It's 8:03."

"That's not 8 o'clock."

"Technically, it's three minutes into eight o'clock. Henceforth, it's still eight o'clock."

Gio smacked his lips together, "Don't get smart with me."

Well, someone had to. Obviously the guy didn't understand the basic fundamentals of logic.

"I could play stupid if you prefer, but I think you'd be doing yourself a serious disservice. Clearly you need to learn a few things."

I didn't think it was possible for Gio to look more unimpressed, but I was wrong. His expression fell even flatter while those deep emerald eyes of his darkened, giving away just a hint of anger.

"You need to learn how to be on time."

There were so many ways I could respond to that statement, all of which would more than likely enrage him further. Considering I was here to basically trade myself for my brother, I should probably try and stay on Gio's good side. If that was even possible.

"I don't accept tardiness."

Tardiness? Who did he think he was? The school receptionist?

"Actually, I was here early. I just didn't knock on the door before eight."

Apparently my mouth didn't care why I was here or about staying on his good side.

"I know." He stated flatly. "I saw you."

He saw me? "What were you doing, just sitting in the window watching me?"

"Yes."

Okay… well… I wasn't really sure how to respond to that, so I opted to glare at him instead. That didn't work out very well. Gio's response to my action was to do nothing. He just stood there, staring right back at me. And he was much better at this game than Memphis was. I was the staring contest champion in childhood, but Gio…

He was on a whole other level. His intimidating aura pressed down on me with every passing second.

Well, this is awkward.

Unsurprisingly, I didn't handle awkward silences well. I tried to distract myself by rubbing the chill off my arms. When that didn't work, I moved on to fidgeting with my hands and then bouncing from one foot to the other. And Gio still didn't move or say anything. I'd never felt more judged in my life.

"So… um…" I clicked my tongue off the roof of my mouth and attempted to hide my nervousness. "Are we gonna do this or what?"

The corner of his mouth twitched slightly, making my eyes narrow. Why did it feel like I just lost a game?

"This?" He asked with an arched brow as if he didn't know what I was talking about.

"Yes," I hissed. "This." Then I waved my hand indicating what he already knew.

Because I sure as hell didn't know shit. There was a deal that might or might not involve certain parts of my body, that Atlee seemed to think was the answer to everything. I really would like some more details, though I highly doubted Gio would give them to me.

That thought was confirmed when he once again said, "This?"

Son of a bitch, he was going to make me say it, wasn't he?

Sighing, I rolled my eyes, "The deal."

"Oh," Gio leaned over to rest his shoulder on the doorframe. "You mean the deal you were supposed to be here at eight for?"

Not this again. It was three minutes, not exactly the end of the world. If I wasn't doing this for Kato, then I'd smack that smug look off his face and march back to my truck with a smile on mine.

Sucking back my pride, I hesitantly huffed out, "I'm sorry I'm late."

Gio tipped his head and eyed me, "I'll let it slide this time."

How kind of him. Prick.

"But don't let it happen again."

Oh, it was going to happen again. In fact, I think I'd be late to everything from now on. Not by much, just a couple of minutes. Three to be exact. Punctuality was overrated.

"Alright," he pushed off the doorframe. "You can come in."

A part of me wanted to point out that we wasted ten more minutes of his precious time with his bullshit argument, but I just wanted to get this over with. Unfortunately, when I moved to take a step, Gio held out his hand stopping me.

"Make sure this is what you want to do," he warned. "Once you step inside, there won't be any backing out. The deal will be done."

I paused and gazed across the threshold. The polished hardwood on the other side suddenly seemed like quicksand that would suck me in a deep dark hole of dread and despair. Atlee's voice rang in the back of my head.

"There's only one reason a guy makes a deal like this with a girl."

Was he right? And if he was, could I do it?

I lifted my chin and looked up at Gio. "If I do this, what will happen to me?"

I thought it was a fair question.

Apparently Gio did not agree. "Why would I tell you that?"

Should've seen that one coming. I suppose it didn't really matter. Not when Kato's safety was on the line. Still, I needed to know.

"Will you answer one question?"

It was worth a shot.

Gio's chest heaved with a huffed out sigh. "Fine."

Did he just agree? I was kind of shocked and not entirely sure what to ask. There were so many things I wanted to know, but there was only one question picking at the back of my mind.

"Atlee… said that you would…"

"Fuck you?" He interrupted.

Two words, that's all it took for the chill in the air to seep into my bones. The fact that he finished the question for me kind of answered it.

In that moment I suddenly realized how much smaller than him I was. My tiny form barely filled out the tan romper I was wearing, while there was nothing but a hulking mass of muscle under his black t-shirt and jeans.

If Gio wanted to do something to me, there was no way I could fight him off. But that wasn't what had my body shivering.

Something else was causing the air around me to heat up, making me oddly aware of the stubble on Gio's chin darkening the sharp lines in his jaw.

I'd seen his equipment, and knew what it felt like to have his body pressed against mine, and I'd never been more terrified in my life. Because some deep-seated part of me liked it. But a bigger part prayed that he was just messing with me.

"You don't… I mean… You won't… Will you?"

For a moment I thought Gio wasn't going to answer, and when he did, I wished I'd never asked.

"Yes." He said. "I'll fuck you."

I felt my stomach drop as the urge to run in the other direction tensed my muscles. The only thing that stopped me from taking off at full speed was thinking about my brother unprotected in his cell. What if he didn't survive next time? I already lost Veda. I couldn't lose him too.

Mustering up all my courage, I lifted my foot and stepped inside.

For Kato