The Mafia King's Nicotine

Chapter 39

Morning came too soon. Usually, Vivian spent the nights wide awake, listening for any sign of Ollie or Gino coming down the stairs.

Ollie had only spent the first week in the basement with her and now, rounding on the fifth week, he would usually leave once he had finished with her for the night. Sometimes he would return later and force her to be held, as he left wet kisses across the back of her neck. She hated those nights. She wished he would never return.

Sometimes it wasn't Ollie though. Sometimes it was Gino, who came downstairs to torment her or cop a feel. She didn't know which was worse, but neither of them was good.

But now, the one night she was terrified of passing, breezed by within what felt like minutes.

She hadn't slept. At least she didn't think she did. Sleep was hard to calculate in the dark, all she knew was she was wide awake now and scared.

"Good morning Gattina." Gino's gravely voice sent shivers down her spine as he limped down the metal stairs, his cane clicking along with each step.

She sat up, pulling her chained foot under her bottom. She squinted in the dim lights, watching him approach. She was too terrified to remember the rules and stand up to greet him so she remained seated, controlling her raging heartbeat.

He pulled the silver key from his suit pocket and grabbed the chain pulling her foot out from under her, causing her to fall back from the force.

"Ollie told me to come collect you." Ha! Imagine, Ollie, bossing around his Don of a father! Gino must have read the look on her face because he chuckled darkly, "No, Gattina, I don't take orders from my son, I just wanted to see you one more time before we put you in some real clothes."

His words left a bad taste in her mouth as the bile rose in the back of her throat. Ollie creeped her out, but his father was on another level of creepy. His crooked yellow teeth added to the disgust of his devious smile, that already sent chills through her body. She watched him closely to make sure he didn't try anything. Not that she could do much if he did, but Vivian was not going to go down without a fight.

He threw a dress at her and she fumbled with the fabric for a minute, trying to get dressed as quickly as possible to escape from Gino's eyes, "When I take off your chain, you will not move, you will not run. You will sit there and if you don't I won't hesitate to shoot you and no guarantees that you will enjoy what I do after that."  She nodded quickly, eager to be able to walk around for a bit. She had been only able to wander as far as the edge of the rug around her bed or when Ollie took her to the bathroom and that was not very much fun.

He pulled the heavy metal band off her ankle and she immediately pulled her leg to her chest and rubbed her foot, trying to bring back some circulation.

Gino tossed the chain to the floor and sat on the bed beside her, watching her hands. He swiftly grabbed onto her arms and pulled them out to her sides, looking her body over nodding in approval, "You look nice."

"Thank you?" She knew she didn't look her best, she and probably still had several bruises across her arms and neck. She could still feel the painful stings on her back and thighs from the first week and just last Thursday. Still, Ollie had been taking care of her, ensuring she still looked nice for him. He had standards that she was forced to uphold and one of them was looking good for him. With her limited access to the bathroom, since she could only bathe with him, it made it difficult but not impossible.

He grabbed her hand and helped her up off the bed, supporting himself still on his cane. She accepted his help tentatively, stretching her legs out, before setting foot down on the cold carpet. She shuddered slightly and limped from the new feeling of weight on her legs. She hadn't moved at all yesterday, or what she thought was yesterday and the limited movement had made her legs weak. Gino's hand, as deadly as it was, helped her tremendously in keeping her balance, which she was oddly grateful for. They staggered together towards the stairs until feeling had finally registered in her legs and she could walk on her own. Gino walked before her up the stairs and one of her two, constant guards in the basement followed behind. She scratched her arm nervously, anxious for what waited for her upstairs. Strangely the terrifying basement had become her comfort, she always knew what to expect, but upstairs was new territory and she wasn't sure she was ready for that.