“When I get my hands on you… I’ll kill you myself.” His voice sounds as if it’s right on top of me. Not a moment later, the air shoved from my chest as I land against the stairs. His body is against mine, and I can feel his erection against my backside.
“Get the hell off me!” I scream. Gripping me by the arm, he twirls me around, his body pushed against mine again as he stares into my eyes. All I can think is I can’t let him do this to me, I have to get away. I push against him with all my might, but my arms are pinned, and my body is exhausted.
“Give up yet?” His breath is hot against my skin, and it feels wrong. All of it is wrong, but there’s nothing that I can do about it. He nips at my neck as his hand begins to slip into my pants. I shake my head back and forth, trying to make myself forget, trying to remove myself from the situation.
With the last of my strength, I scream. I scream until tears are streaming down my face until my voice is hoarse, and he’s telling me if I don’t shut up that he’ll gut me.
The door above us is open, so I know someone has to have heard us. Footsteps fall on the floor as I hear someone coming. Zerro’s coming, he’s going to save me! It’s going to be okay…
An older woman peers down at us. Her face contorts into anger as she descends the steps. Her words come out in a dialect that I don’t understand… It sounds Italian, but I’m not sure.
Whatever she says has Mack backing away from me. His eyes eat me, though. The way he’s looking at me tells me that he’ll be back to do what he wants when he gets me alone.
“Come, Piccolo.” Her hands are gentle, and her voice soothes me. Tears spring from my eyes, and I grab her, wrapping my arms around her small frame. She’s my savior, my saint.
In the haze of it all, all I can focus on is that word. The one Zerro always calls me.
“What does that mean?” I ask between sniffles. She smiles at me softly. The kind of smile my mom used to give me.
Her frail fingers reach out, pushing loose strands of my hair behind my ear. “It means little one in Italian.” Her voice is heavily accented, and as I listen to it, I want her to say something again. The way the words sound and come together is soothing to my shattered soul.
I look back down the stairs where I was just assaulted. Mack had already left, completely enraged as he stomped off. I promise myself when he comes for me again, I will be ready.
“Let’s get you some food.” My face softens as I take her hand, letting her lead me to the safety and comfort of the kitchen.
*
Dinner is delicious. Adaline, Addy as she likes to be called, is the head maid in the house. She has been here long before Zerro’s time, and the stories she shares with me make me forget all about the horrific things that could’ve taken place just hours before.
Afterward, I slip upstairs, making sure I watch over my shoulder at every turn. Not that I want to, but I am not going to be taken off guard by Mack again. I will tell Zerro whenever he gets back from wherever it is he went. I really, really don’t want to fucking care about him or care about whatever it is he’s doing. Except as I crawl into his bed, all I can do is see him, smell him, taste him. I feel the weight of his body on mine, his lips on my skin, and relish the passion and fire he stokes within me.
As soon as I close my eyes, I hear the front door open. Laughter and greetings sound, and then it is quiet. Footsteps follow suit, and then Zerro makes his appearance. He bursts through the bedroom door. His eyes are slightly glazed, but he mostly looks tired. I hear laughter again as he turns around to talk to someone in the hall.
“Goodnight, Alassandra.” His voice is velvety soft when he says her name, and I won’t be fucking surprised if she has her legs spread, begging for him. His voice just has that effect.
The girl says something back that I can’t hear before he closes the door and turns around and sees me. Shock shows first and then something else. That same thing I saw before.
“Who let you out?” He completely ignores my presence as he takes a drink from the glass in his hand. There is no hi, hello, how the fuck are you. He doesn’t even point a gun at me. To be honest, I am kind of pissed. I so badly want to throw in his face what Mack did to me, but I don’t think it will matter to him. He won’t care. After all, I am nothing to him but a debt.
“I’m not a fucking dog.” I try my hardest to sound mean. I want to lash out at him with words because let’s face it, I won’t ever be able to hurt him physically. Mentally, though…I can do that. I can break him down, cut him, turn him inside out, just like he does to me.