Adriano turns his face away and I know I’m right.

“You want to get rid of me,” I say quiet as a prayer. “But you can’t end my life and the others don’t want to let me go. So, take me to see my Zia and then I’ll run and never come back.”

He closes his eyes, and I realize Adriano Rossi is almost handsome, with his thick hair and full mouth. Even his silvery scars are kind of pretty. Then his eyes flick open and all I can see is his cold, empty gaze.

“You think my brothers will let me lose you?”

“They’ll forgive you. What you four have is bigger than me.”

“It was. You fucked everything up.”

“I’m sorry, I just—”

“Heartbroken,” he spits the word like it sickens him. “All three. Not talking. Not eating. Because of you.”

His eyes fall to my breasts, and I feel him turning like a handle on a door. He shoves his gun back into its holster. “I’ll fuck you then I’ll take you to your Zia. Then you can get on a plane to South America. Chile or Brazil. You’ll have to figure out everything on your own. Learn the language. Probably clean houses or suck cock for money.”

I ignore the sudden pressure in my stomach. “I don’t care.”

He moves closer. “You’ll never see the others again. If you even dream about contacting them, I’ll kill you.”

I think of Eli waiting for me as I showered. Doc sidling up to me in the kitchen. Bobby asking me to sing. “Fine.”

“Then it’s done.”

I freeze, waiting for his next move. He reaches down, cupping my pussy in his palm. His other hand closes around my neck and he steers me toward the bed. The pressure between my legs hurts, but I keep my mouth shut. Whatever happens I will not cry out in pain.

He pushes me onto the mattress and pulls off his shoulder holster and his shirt. His chest is covered in mottled scars and bruises and tattoos. He tears open the button on his jeans, yanking down the zip. He’s not wearing underwear and his cock juts through the V. It doesn’t look the way it did at the cathedral. It’s thick and hard and red at the tip, the tattoos stretched tight around his skin. He bends forward and skims a palm across the flat of my stomach. My body contracts. I feel like I’m going to pee but yet there’s another sensation behind it, a hot, warm, alive feeling.

“You’ll fuck me for your freedom?”

“Yes,” I whisper.

He settles over me and I’m sure he’s going to sink his teeth into me. Then his lips find mine and his big tongue strokes into my mouth. I’m so surprised my eyes roll back. Not only is he kissing me, but I like it. It’s as easy as kissing Bobby or Doc. His hands pin mine above my head and he kisses me so deeply I feel like I’m drowning. Up close his scent is musky like the forgotten corner of a library. I’ve been alone for days and my hunger for touch roars up like a beast. I wrap my legs around him.