Born in violence (A Mafia Romance Book 2)

Chapter Fifty-Six

My heart will always find a way to be close to yours.

                     ~Gemma Troy~

      
                               Mia

The anxiety I felt and the fear of the unknown culminated into a ball of massive panic every second I was on that flight. Stefan got tired at some point; he was leaning on the seat with his eyes closed. His frail body disappearing in the afghan wrapped around his body. I couldn't understand why a man who knew he was about to die would be involved in such a diabolical plan regardless of debt.

Once in a while, he opened his eyes, narrowed them at me as if I was doing something wrong, and close them again.

I found no remorse in his eyes of what he was doing to me. My fear did not move him; in fact, he seemed to feed on it.

During that whole flight to Italy, Paulie did not say a word to me; neither did he once look at me. It was as if he had decided I wasn't worth his time, or perhaps he'd been warned against it; either way, I was happy I did not have to endure his verbal abuse or looks that told of torture and slow death.

It was the second-longest flight of my life. I had taken a similar flight to Italy with Rom, but that was special; I didn't even think of the time we spent on air because Rom was with me; it was also right about the time I discovered sex didn't have to be uncomfortable, painful or messy. That sex with Rom was in another different league. That I could want it over and over again with a spell of sleep in between, and then wake up to experience the same. It had been beautiful then, just like it had been yesterday night.

I wondered what he was doing at the moment. Was he already in Mexico?

Will he be able to get me out in time before anything could happen to me?

I realized that I wasn't afraid of death; I was, however, terrified of rape or forced marriage. How could I survive that?

One Sunday morning, a few weeks ago, Rom told me about Silvio, the man Stefano was forcing on me. He told me how he killed his first wife, how his daughter committed suicide a fortnight after he married her off to one of his associate's son at the age of fourteen and the son who ran away at nine.

This was the man Stefano was selling me to. Somehow I thought I was living through a nightmare because there is no way a man would think to force a marriage on me based on the fact that he was my biological father. It was so archaic if it weren't happening to me, I would think it was fiction.

The only saving grace for me was to escape to my happy place, which was Rom. I traveled through our memories from the first time we met three years ago up to yesterday.

Romano had given me memories worth a lifetime. He had taken me dancing in Pulse, taught me how to play pool, cheat at cards even while he said honorable men didn't cheat at cards, and one time out of the blue; he walked home and told me if he would like us to go out for dinner.

I loved soph's food, but going out with Romano sounded terrific. I dressed up, with my hair falling over my shoulders, but the surprise was dinner would be in Las Vegas. I ate, drunk, danced and gambled. I lost money, that was so obvious. I saw Rom in my mind as he had been then, standing beside me, smiling while his chin rested on my gold crutch bag he held. I remember telling him If it opens, everything in there, including tampons, would be scattered on the floor.

He had smiled then, before holding it horizontally. I laughed out loud when he jokingly said I lost all his money, and we would have to fly home because there was no money to pay for a room. I remember saying it was his fault because he kept pushing chips at me.