Chapter 4 The Finger
"She's too scared, man," Damon muttered, pulling his hands through his hair. "She's not going to fucking open it."
"You need to work on your patience, little brother. Patience is a virtue."
"Oh God, you know I hate it when you say shit like that."
I lifted a brow. "Shit like what?" He glanced my way. "Shit like, 'patience is a virtue.' You act like a fucking fifty-year-old with all the smart shit you like to say."
I snorted. "Smart shit? It's idioms, Damon." "I don't give a fuck what it is. It's stupid."
I scoffed at him, ignoring the fact that my little brother was trying to act all cool with his slang, his ridiculous walk, and that god-awful handshake with his buddies. It was embarrassing.
Lila moved, and I glanced at the monitor. When she reached out and finally picked up the box, adrenaline surged through my veins. I leaned on the table next to Damon, fully focused. I wanted to see her face when she opened it, realizing this wasn't a dream, but a goddamn nightmare.
"Open it, sunshine." I gripped the edges of the table, feeling thrill and frustration burn inside me.
Damon snorted. "Devil woman? Nice. Suits this bitch perfectly." I ignored him, willing Lila to open the box.
Slowly, she pulled the white string. As it fell to the sides, she leaned back, staring at the box like something might jump out.
"Open it," I muttered, leaning closer to the monitor, fighting the urge to force her hand with my gun.
She bit her thumbnail. Thoughts raced through her mind-some telling her to leave it alone, others urging her to open it. Finally, curiosity won.
As she opened the box, my spine tingled with expectation. God, it felt like I was seconds away from a fucking hard-on.
She looked down. I knew exactly when she noticed. Her face turned ghostly pale just before she screamed and scrambled off the bed, falling against the wall.
"Oh my God," I heard her voice through the speakers. "Jesus Christ! What the fuck is this?" she screamed between tears.
It was beautiful. Poetic, almost watching her crack, seeing her mind spin in a thousand directions. Finally, after all these months of planning and plotting, the time had come. The time to exact revenge I vowed against the Falcone. She had taken from me what I could never get back. The only way I'd be free of this burden was spilling blood...her blood.
Damon glanced at me. "Game on, brother."
I smiled, tasting victory on my tongue. "Game on."
LILA POV
"Oh my God."
I rocked back and forth, clutching my knees against my chest, my face buried in my arms. I didn't want to look up. I couldn't. What the fuck was happening? Who were these people? And why the fuck was there a severed finger in that motherfucking box?
Better yet, whose finger was that?
No, I didn't want to know. I just wanted to wake up and realize this was a nightmare. But the longer I sat there, the more I realized it was real. I'd been kidnapped. Nikolai was dead. And his twin brother had just left me a human finger in a box. How could the Nikolai I knew be part of this family?
The Nikolai I knew... Did I really know him? Was he pretending to be someone he wasn't? Judging by what Nico had told me, it seemed so. I didn't even know his real surname, let alone his family.
Tears streamed down my face as my mind spun in a thousand directions. What did they plan to do to me? Kill me? Torture me? Hurt me? Did my family even know I was missing yet?
Thinking of my mom, dad, and brother had me shaking. For the first time since leaving home for Manhattan, I regretted it. If I had stayed home like my dad wanted, they would have known I'd been kidnapped. But because I tried to survive on my own, I might never see my family again. I might be dead by the time they realized I was missing.
My body ached, my lungs pleading for air while my tears choked every breath. I hated crying. I cried for weeks after thinking Nikolai had left me. I couldn't believe I was heartbroken over a guy I didn't even know for two months. We only had sex a few times. But I was in love. He didn't care who my family was, which was rare. Guys swarmed me for my surname, for our wealth and yachts. But Nikolai... he didn't give a fuck. And that's why I gave him my heart.
Nikolai was gone one day, whispering sweet words, then gone the next. I thought he had moved on. I never understood what happened. Now I did. Nico made it clear: Nikolai was dead... and he thought I had something to do with it. Absurd.
The pain stabbed through my chest, causing more tears and sobs. Fuck! I didn't even know if Nico was telling the truth. But he looked like he believed I was responsible. Nikolai... dead.
The thought cracked my chest open from the inside. My body slid down the wall. I landed on my side, crying into my arms. Shaking and cold, I couldn't stop the grief.
I had no idea how long I lay there, thinking about the horrors ahead. Nico and his family held me responsible for Nikolai's death why, I didn't know but fear pulsed through me. I shivered like it was minus twenty degrees.
I wasn't naïve. I read the news, knew the world was cruel. Girls got kidnapped, sold, raped, murdered... I just never thought I'd be one of them.
For the first time, I felt thankful for my father's wealth and power. It meant a better chance they could find me. But how long before they realized I was gone?
An image flashed in my mind. I lifted my head, staring at the bed. The box was still there, but the finger had rolled off. There was something on it something familiar.
I pushed myself up, wiped the tears, and stared at the bed. Dear Lord, please don't let it be what I think it is.
"Get a grip, Lila," I muttered, pulling my tangled, dirty hair. I bent my knees, steadying my feet, palms flush against the wall. My heart pounded. My blood rushed. Even my ears rang.
I lifted my feet, inching closer to see. I couldn't bear a full view yet. A few steps more, hands on the mattress, neck stretched... I saw it. A finger.
A fucking finger!
My stomach twisted. Not because it was severed, but because of the object on it a ring. Platinum with a gold F in a black square. Every man in the Falcone family wore one.
"No." I shook my head, pinching my eyes shut. "No. Please God, no," I cried, pressing my face into the sheets.
"Recognize the ring?"
I jerked up, looking at the wall where the voice came from. "Does it look familiar?" I recognized the voice.