I should've known that Nevio would have property in Little Italy. Judging by his Italian roots, it's not all that surprising. Still, I find it hard to believe that he'd like living in such a compacted neighborhood like this.
The streets are thin— made even smaller by all the parked cars that line the boulevard. I bet one of them are unlocked and it taunts me. If I could just get away from Nevio for a single second, I could be long gone, driving off into the sunset.
"Where did Patch go?" I ask as Nevio unlocks the door to his house with one hand and holds onto me with the other. His grip isn't that tight, but I know that he has a gun on the ready. Maybe I could get out of his hold, but I wouldn't do so without getting shot first.
"He went to go contract an STD from a prostitute." He says with a hint of indifference in his throaty voice, pushing the door open. He steps in quickly, pulling me in behind him. "Why do you even care? Are you jealous?"
"No, but you sound like you are." I roll my eyes, folding my arms across my chest. "Sorry your bromance is being put on the back burner."
As soon as that sentence leaves my mouth, I regret saying it because I know how easily Nevio Vignale is triggered. One minute we're walking inside of his house, the next minute I'm shoved against the wall with his hand squeezing my jugular.
My throat burns as he tightens the pressure around my neck, while my hands tangle with his in an effort to relieve the pain. He brings his face to mine until we're only inches apart, bringing his mouth to my ear. I can feel the warmth of his breath radiate against my skin, mixing in with the cold air of his house.
"You really want me to kill you, don't you?" He whispers into my ear, grabbing my jaw with his free hand to ensure that I'm looking directly at him. I fight him by closing my eyes, but he tightens his hold on my throat until I open them again. "Answer me."
He alleviates the force on my throat just enough for me to choke out, "I don't want you to kill me. I just want you to hurt me."
That's exactly what I want Nevio De Luca Cristiano Vignale to do to my body—amongst other things. If he truly hurts me, if he personally attacks me, then I won't have no qualms about killing him. I won't have remorse or regrets about murdering him in cold blood. Maybe that makes me a monster, but I've never pretended to be a good girl.
His hand drops from my throat and he looks away with a harrowing darkness in his brown eyes. "Be careful what you wish for, bambolina. You just might get it."
I fall to my knees, clutching my neck and gasping for the breath he'd denied me. Air floods into my lungs, but the bruising on my neck makes the intakes of breath sharp and painful. I cough a little, surprised that I'm not spitting up blood.
"That was just a preview of what's to come." Nevio turns his head toward me, shaking his head adamantly. "I won't only hurt you, I'll ruin you."
There's something sinister about a promise that won't be broken and that's exactly what this is. In fact, it's not just a promise, it's fate. He's telling me that this is going to happen. He's going to ruin me and I believe him.
Up until this moment Nevio was just a complicated hit, but now he's a complicated threat. When I was contracted to kill him, no one told me how difficult this would be. I was supposed to find him, poison him, and be well on my way to South America before anyone ever found his body.
It obviously didn't work out like that and I'm beginning to wonder if it will work out at all. This might be my last mission and it's a failed one at that. I'm the worst killer in the world, but the humane part of me thinks that's a good thing. I don't want to get so blinded by bloodlust that I forget my morals and what I stand for.
I stand for women who can't stand up for themselves. I stand for women who can't stand up because they're always being pushed down by men like him.
I hate men like Nevio. I hate men like my father.
❋ ❋ ❋
I lay on the floor for what feels like an eternity, like an antique collecting dust on a shelf. I don't try to run, even though the door is only a few feet away. Nevio may not be in sight, but I know that he can hear me. He'll hear my footsteps if I walk toward the exit. He'll stop me before I even get the chance to turn the doorknob.
Standing up from the ground, I go to seek him out. My curiosity and boredom get the best of me, making me seek companionship in a notorious killer. My dad was an abusive piece of shit and my mother was a thief. I guess I shouldn't be surprised by the criminal company that I keep.
As I walk down the empty hall, I notice bags of money lying on the ground haphazardly. I presume it's the money he took from his father's business, Vignale Enterprises. He's careless for leaving it out like this, but I already knew that he was reckless. He's a ticking time bomb and he's going to explode one day. He's going to burn everyone he touches.
I tip-toe down the corridor, only stopping when I come to a half-closed door at the end of the dimly lit foyer. It's cracked open enough that I can make out the dark silhouettes of two people. One of them is sitting down with their hands on their jaw, while the other is pacing around back and forth.
"Why is she here?" A female asks, her voice full of deep and unrelenting abhorrence. "She drugged me and she tried to kill you!"
"You think I don't know this, no?" I immediately place the voice as Nevio and I'm assuming the woman is Aviana. I guess she's still pissed that I drugged her and left her in an alleyway unconscious. Oops. "I have a target on my back and she's the only one who knows who wants my head on a silver platter! She will stay alive so that I can stay alive, capische? If you don't like it, get the fuck out of my house and never come back."
She bites her lip, contemplating her next move. It's like she's standing on a thin sheet of glass and any wrong movement could send her tumbling toward a dark oblivion.
"C-c-can I kill her?" She asks quietly, fumbling over her words. "I mean, once we get her to talk. After we get her to tell us who wants you dead, can I kill her?"
"Honey, she'd slit your throat before you even got the chance to touch a hair on her pretty little head." Nevio says with a hint of amusement in his voice and I can't help but smile because he's right. I don't typically target women, but I believe in self-defense. If Aviana ever tries to touch me, she's going to experience what real pain feels like. "When the time comes, I'll be the one exterminating her. Not you, not Patch, no one else but me."
My fists clench at my sides and I have to refrain from saying something. I hate the he says exterminating instead of killing. It's like he's referring to me as a rodent and it bothers me more than it should. Why do I care about his dumbass vocabulary?
Aviana's demeanor changes in an instant, going from a stubborn woman to a submissive girl. She steps toward him with purpose, swaying her hips to the side for show. She reaches for the zipper on her dress, pulling it down teasingly. Kicking off the heels on her feet, she closes the distance between them.
I feel like I'm about to watch a foreign porno— and like the pervert I am— I can't seem to look away. It might have something to do with the fact that I'm still a virgin at twenty-four years old. The organization I work for believes in strict abstinence and sterilization. You can't really be a contract killer if you're pregnant or if you have children to take care of.
She doesn't get the chance to unzip the rest of her dress. He tears it off her, ripping it down the middle with ease.
Damn. I didn't know that he had super strength.
She reaches for the buttons on his shirt to undo them, but he swats her hands away with force.
"Did I tell you to do that?" He scorns her, shaking his head back and forth. His palms find her body, pushing her back until she falls on the bed. "You don't do anything unless I give you permission. You don't talk, you don't touch, you don't come unless I allow it."
Shit. Patch wasn't lying when he said that Nevio was a bossypants.
"Sorry." She replies with a sudden frown, realizing her mistake. He just told her not to say a word and she's already broken that rule. I'd hate to see what her punishment is. Actually, I'd love to see it. That's why I'm still standing here. "I didn't meant to say that. It's kind of a habit. I really am—"
"Shut up and spread your legs." He interrupts her, taking a step toward her sprawled out body. She's like a blowup doll that he can do whatever he wants with. She doesn't fight him one little bit. In fact, I think she actually likes being dominated. "Take your panties off or I'm going to rip them in half."
She only has them pulled around her thighs when I stumble into the room, falling to my knees once again. I didn't realize how hard I'd been leaning against the door until it gave out underneath my weight.
"What the fuck?" Aviana shrieks at the top of her lungs, fisting the sheets to cover up what's exposed of her body. She looks mortified and angry. Well, at least we're sharing the embarrassment.
"I-I-I was just looking for the kitchen." I scratch the back of my head awkwardly, avoiding Nevio's smoldering gaze. If Aviana is angry and uncomfortable, I can't imagine how Nevio feels. "I was just hungry."
"You sure you're not thirsty, Chameleon?" Nevio asks in a much calmer voice than I expected. "You look a little hot."
He sounds like he's complimenting me more than he's commenting on my body temperature and it makes my cheeks blush with shame and embarrassment.
I guess I'd really gotten into their sexual rendezvous. See this is what twenty-four years of pent-up sexual frustration does to people. I've just become a peeping tom, which is almost worse than being a serial killer.
"If you wanted to join us, you could've just asked." His lips curl into a wry smile, his eyes darkening at the carnal thought. Aviana curses underneath her breath, clearly not liking that idea. She doesn't have to worry about it though. It's never going to happen. "Sharing is caring after all."
Despite my awful predicament, I laugh.
The thought of someone like him actually caring enough to share is ridiculous. He wouldn't even share his scraps. People like him are possessive and materialistic. Sharing isn't in his dictionary.
"What's so funny?" Aviana snickers from the bed, shooting me daggers. Her scrutinizing gaze moves to Nevio, but the hatred isn't directed at him. "And why is she running around free? Why isn't she tied up somewhere?"
"Because I'm not a dog." I wink at her sarcastically, but she doesn't have time for my humor.
"Go home." Nevio says in a gruff voice to no one in particular, although I'm quite positive he isn't talking to me. He wouldn't let me off the hook that easily. "Pack your shit and get out of my house."
His head turns toward Aviana and he snaps his fingers, as if that will make her get up faster. To my surprise, it does. She jumps off the bed, shimmying what's left of her torn dress back over her body. She slides her heels on quickly, but not without a good dose of confusion on her face. I think we share that same look right now.
"Quit staring at me like a deer caught in the headlights." He sighs heavily, closing his eyes to evade her stare. "Leave before I make you leave."
For some reason, my heart is racing and I haven't even moved a muscle. I'm still on the ground in the same position I fell down in. I'm on my knees.
I've never felt this way before. It's not fear that courses through my veins. It's anticipation of what's to come.
Once she scurries out of the room with a pained look on her face, he takes a cautious step toward me, as if he doesn't want to scare me away. He should know that I'm not easily frightened.
He knees down on one knee until he meets my height. His dark eyes align with mine, our lips a mere inch or two apart. We're face to face.
"Don't get down on your knees like that." He growls violently, his voice strained and laden with desire. "Unless you're going to do something with your mouth."
"Like this?" I bring my mouth to his lips, merely brushing the surface of them. I'm surprised by how soft and succulent his lips are, but our kiss doesn't last long. As soon as our lips touch, I make a beeline for his ear and bite him fiercely until I taste blood in my mouth. I just took a page straight out of Mike Tyson's book and I'm not even ashamed.
I bring my knee to his face, pounding him over and over again. He's too surprised by my attack to counteract it so I take advantage of my impeccable timing. I get one last hit in, then I run toward the door. I have to get out of this house and now is as good time as any. Patch isn't here and neither is Aviana. There's no one here to stop me.
"You have a death wish, puttana!" Nevio shouts from the upstairs bedroom viciously, but I'm already out the front door.
I may have a death wish, but I'm not going to die tonight.