Page 2 of And Twice as Twisted (Agostino Crime Family #4)
SIENNA AGOSTINO
SEVERAL MONTHS PRIOR
“ N ow I lay me down to sleep, I pray to the Lord my soul to keep.” I stared out into the mesmerizing night sky above me, one arm tucked behind my head, the other resting on my stomach.
“I have spent so many years asking—no, begging to hear him say those three stupid words. Words that mean nothing if he isn’t here. ”
I wiped at the silent tears pouring from my eyes with a humorless laugh. I didn’t survive the insanity that was my life to end up here. Tomorrow just wouldn’t be the same without him .
“If you’re listening, please grant me this. I begged you for his love and now I beg you for his life…” I rose to my feet, stumbling twice before righting myself again. “Fucking mud!” I grumbled, kicking off my heels.
“Your mama is gonna beat that ass if you stomp in her gardens!” Al taunted, stepping around a rose bush. “Oh, no, Sienna. Not the red-soles.” He chastised with a sad smile, his eyes focused on my destroyed shoes.
“How long have you been listening?” I bent over, face-planting when my foot slipped.
“Long enough for you to rip my fucking heart out.” He reached down a hand, and I stared at it for a moment before I allowed him to help me up.
I raked a palm over my face, feeling my mascara clump. “Any word on Octavia?”
“No. Nothing since Mario’s call.” Al pulled me to his large chest, my head slamming against the wall of muscle. “We’ll find her, and Apollo will come home.”
“When?” I tugged from his grip, only to fall back on my ass, and rolled to my knees with my head in my hands.
The cold mud seeped through my pants as my sobs filled the open air.
We’d found Apollo and lost Octavia, simultaneously.
There had been no demands, no more calls, and no information as to her whereabouts, while her pleas for help, for us to rescue her, served as a haunting reminder of how we’d all failed her.
“She is stronger than we think.” Al’s large hand warmed my back. “She…” He stopped, knowing nothing he said mattered.
“Why’re you playing in the mud?” my brother’s reprimanding tone called out amidst the darkness.
“Fuck off, Lucky!” I steadied my feet before charging forward. “You were supposed to protect her! You let her down!”
“We’ll find her, Sienna. Use your head, not the bottom of a liquor bottle.” He lifted the empty whiskey container from the ground. “Apollo’s gonna be pissed that you drank his expensive shit.”
My neck snapped in my brother’s direction. “Well, he ain’t here to stop me, now, is he?”
“Sienna.” There was that tone again. And I wouldn’t allow it. My entire family was acting as though my pain didn’t matter. As if I had no right.
My heart thumped in my chest, beating against my rib cage, and a red haze settled over my consciousness. A rage like nothing I’d ever felt before. He had the audacity to come here, interrupt my meltdown, and act like I was wrong for seeking a moment of reprieve.
It was true. The booze did little to heal me, and in all honesty, probably made my anxiety worse. But I was on a mission of self-destruction, and if I wanted to get tanked and play in the mud, then fuck anyone who tried to stop me.
I shoved at Lucky’s chest, screaming all my pain into his face. “He doesn’t want me! He never wanted me!”
“You need to rest, Sienna. You’re exhausted.” My brother ran a thumb over the bruises that still colored my neck. “He needs time.”
“Time. Right.” I rolled my eyes. And the moon twinkled in response, mocking me as it prepared to drop and allow the sun to rise again. “And Octavia, does she have time?”
“Sienna.” He was losing his patience.
“Tell me, dear brother. As the future-fucking-king with no mietitore to do your dirty work, how do you plan to save your little sister?” I could feel his anger burning at my back.
“Handed the fucking city, just because you happen to have a dick swinging between your legs, yet you do nothing with it.”
“Boss, I got her,” Al interjected, but Lucky’s grip on my arm was already spinning me around.
“Fuck you, Sienna. Don’t you pin this on me!” His tight hold on my shoulders was the only thing keeping me from falling. “I’m sorry he hurt you, but Octavia isn’t my fault.”
Liar. We all knew il diavolo was just as guilty as the rest of the family. Forever surrounded by flames, it was our turn to burn.
“Boss, let me.” Al pulled me from my brother’s grasp. “Breathe, Sienna.”
It was too late. I could already feel myself slipping, succumbing to the darkness. Whether it be the booze, the sleepless nights, or the mental fatigue, the shadows just didn’t offer me the same peace. Instead, I was plagued by the images of Apollo in that hospital bed.
“Sienna!” Numerous voices drifted in and out in the distance, but they faded quickly.
“I’m so sorry. I should’ve fought harder,” I cried and squeezed his cold hand, begging him to wake up. His fingers twitched, forcing me to look up into a pair of honey-brown eyes that seemed to watch me curiously. “You’re awake!”
He’d been shot six times, stabbed twice that. Though the worst injury was a long gash from ear to ear. They’d cut his throat before throwing him into the river. The team of doctors had no idea how he’d survived all of it and the freezing temperatures.
He’d come back for me.
The hopeless romantic in me fantasized that it was fate bringing us together. I was an idiot. God, I had never been so wrong in my entire life.
“Don’t talk. The nurses said it could be painful. But, Apollo, I’m so glad you’re going to be okay. I love—”
“Get. Out.” Cold. Dead. Not pained or whispered.
“What?” I was taken aback by the venom leaking from his lips and licking at my sanity.
“Out!” He repeated the command, punctuating it with a new wave of hatred.
It startled me, forcing me to my feet as I stepped away from the bed.
Left to bear witness as Apollo began throwing anything he could get his hands on.
He tore the IV from his forearm, splattering blood along the white walls and linens before sending a chair flying across the room.
I watched, helpless, as it shattered against the wall.
My legs moved of their own accord and I ran for the door, fleeing as doctors and nurses stormed in behind me.
My cries seemed louder in the silence of the hallway as I ran along the tile flooring with my newest guard following in my footsteps.
The elevator doors closed, shielding me from Apollo’s screams but doing little for my broken heart.