Page 62 of Forbidden Sins

SEBASTIAN

I wake in misery, sitting in a chair in the middle of that damned stable, my thigh on fire. I open my eyes and sneeze almost immediately, dust motes swimming in the air around me as I blink awake to a world that’s nothing but pain.

There are guards posted at both exits, not that it matters. I’m zip-tied so tightly to the chair that I can’t feel my fingers, and there’s no getting out of this. Not this time.

Why didn’t he just leave me to fucking die? The only thing that makes sense is that Antony brought me back here to kill me himself, probably slowly, for kidnapping his daughter.

The stable door creaks open, and sunlight fills the dim area inside the stable.

My head is pounding, and I squint, making out Antony Gallo’s form as he steps inside.

The door closes behind him with a finality that makes my stomach drop.

His men move back into place, guarding any route of escape as Antony strides toward me.

“Sinclair.” His voice is flat and cold. I don’t respond.

What could I possibly say? He’s going to kill me, either fast or slow.

I won’t ever see Estella again, but I can’t regret any of it.

Those few days with her were the best of my entire life.

I’ll hold onto those memories in the moments before my death comes.

He stops in front of me, his expensive Italian leather dress shoes gleaming against the dusty floor, inches from my boots.

“Look at me,” he snaps, and I obey—if only because I want him to have to look into my eyes, too, as he kills me.

If I’m going to die, I’m not going to do it staring at the floor.

“I gave you a second chance,” Antony bites out. “I warned you what would happen, Sinclair. And you abducted her. You sealed your fate the moment you decided to take her.”

“I protected her.” I stare him down unflinchingly.

“I kept her safe from Vito. He tried to fucking assault her in the garden, do you know that? Tried to get her to please him before the wedding.” My mouth twists with disgust. “I saved her from that. Since you couldn’t—or wouldn’t—protect her from it yourself. ”

The backhand comes suddenly, but it’s not unexpected. Antony’s hand connects with the side of my face, hard, splitting open the old wound on my lip. Pain burns through my mouth, but I stare up at him, defiant.

“Vito is a piece of shit,” I spit out. “And he should never have been allowed to have her. My place was to protect her, and I?—”

“This has gone far enough,” Antony growls. “Your place will be six feet under, Sinclair. After I cut you up into so many pieces that they’ll be able to fit you into a single bag even before you’re cremated.”

“I love her.” I shrug. “I’ve always loved her. And if I have to die for it, fine. I did my best to keep her safe. I’ll die knowing that—and that she loves me, too. That what I have from her Vito can’t ever take away from either of us… and neither can you.”

Antony’s jaw clenches. He shifts, about to harm me in some new and inventive way, I’m sure—when his phone buzzes in his pocket.

He stops, frowning, and reaches into his pocket. When he pulls out the phone and looks at the screen, his expression visibly hardens.

He takes a step back, turning away, but I can still hear the conversation. A part of me thinks that he wants me to—so I can understand just how helpless I truly am right now.

It’s not necessary to rub it in. I’m well aware.

“Vito,” he mutters as he answers the phone. And then, his voice sharp as a blade and full of rage: “What the fuck are you playing at, Bianchi?”

I see his face go pale. Whatever Vito is saying on the other end, it’s not good.

“How dare you?” he spits, his shoulders tensing. “You think you can just?—”

He goes quiet for a long moment. “I want proof she’s alive.”

What the fuck? I tense, straining against my zip-ties with some small hope that I might hear Estella’s voice on the other end. But Antony is standing too far away, as if he’s determined to deny me even the smallest crumb of solace before I die.

He stands there, frozen, every muscle in his body tense. And then the hand holding the phone drops to his side.

Antony turns to face me, slowly. His face is ashen, bloodless.

“What happened?” I strain uselessly at the zipties, forgetting all about the circumstances I’m in. All I can think about is that I need to get to Estella. I need to find her.

“Vito has Estella.” Antony’s voice is hollow. “He didn’t bring her back here, like I expected. He’s got her somewhere in the city. He says if I don’t sign everything over to him—the businesses, the house, the properties, all of it, he’ll kill her.”

Antony runs a hand through his hair, his jaw tight. “Fuck!” He curses aloud. My heart beats rapidly behind my ribs.

“How the hell does he think he’s going to get away with that?” I demand. “The other bosses?—”

“Will believe I’ve decided to retire early and hand over the reins to my daughter’s new husband, if I sell it,” Antony bites out tersely. “After my son’s death, who wouldn’t understand? Vito has thought this out, clearly. And if I refuse to play ball, Estella’s life is at stake.”

“Untie me,” I say immediately.

Antony’s eyes narrow. “Why the hell would I do that, Sinclair?”

“Because I can help you get her back.” I lean forward as much as I can, my gaze holding his.

“Your men are good, but no one is more motivated to protect Estella than I am. I’ll move heaven and earth to get her back safely, away from Vito.

My life means nothing compared to her safety.

I promised her.” I stare at Antony, my heart beating hard.

“I will help you get her back, sir. Just let me go. Let me help.”

Antony stares at me for a long moment, calculatingly. “You kidnapped her,” he says slowly, and I huff out a sharp, exasperated breath.

“To protect her from Vito!” I shake my head, hard.

“Do you not believe me yet, Gallo? Do you not believe that I saw Vito trying to hurt her before they were even married? I knew you wouldn’t fucking listen, and you’re proving me right, again and again.

So I took her away. And yes, I wanted her for myself.

I love her. But ultimately, I wanted her safe. ”

Antony draws in a deep breath, shoving his phone back into his pocket as he starts to pace. I can see the war he’s fighting—the need to save Estella battling with his hatred of me. With his determination to make me pay for all the lines I’ve crossed.

He turns to me, eyes narrowed. “If you try to run with her again?—”

“I won’t,” I promise. “I swear on my life.”

He snorts. “Your life means nothing to me.”

“Then I’ll swear on hers.” I hold his gaze steadily. “Let me help you, Gallo. You can kill me after, if you want to. I won’t even fight. But right now, she needs all the help she can get. Let me help you get her back.”

Another long beat passes. Antony shakes his head, pulling a knife from his pocket and clicking it open. He circles behind me, cutting the zip-ties loose, and the blood starts to flow into my stiff fingers.

“Get him up to the house and seen by a doctor,” Antony orders. “Tell Brick to start searching for where Vito might have a house around here, an apartment, anything. Go!”

Two men stride forward, pulling me up from the chair. Pain slices through my leg, but I don’t care.

All I can think about is getting to Estella.

—

Six hours later, I’ve had my wound tended to, stitched, and bandaged, and enough painkillers in me to allow me to walk on it. That’s probably causing some damage, but I can’t bring myself to care. I’m no use to Antony on crutches, and I’m probably not going to live much past this anyway.

All that matters is bringing Estella home.

I’m taken to Antony’s study, where he’s looking at a map, surrounded by Brick and several other men.

“Sinclair,” he greets me coldly. “We’ve located the penthouse where Vito is holding her. We have men and weapons ready. Are you capable of coming along?”

I wonder what he’d do if I said no. Probably order me dragged out to the barn. I’m not really in a state to be on a rescue mission, but I’ll be damned if I’ll let anyone go after the woman I love without me.

I need to see her one more time, at least. To know she’s safe, before I die.

“I’m good,” I say as firmly as I can manage. “Get me some hardware, and I’m ready to roll.”

Antony nods. “There’s a helipad on the building.

We’ll take a helicopter there, and go down.

Brick has a floor plan of the penthouse and a plan to get in through the maintenance entrance.

When we go in, you and three of my guys will find Estella.

Brick will handle Vito’s security with some of the other guys. I’ll find Vito with backup.”

My jaw tightens. “I want Vito.”

Antony chuckles darkly. “You’re not in a position to negotiate, Sinclair. Do as you’re told, or I’ll leave you behind.”

And you’ll never see her again. He doesn’t need to say it for me to hear it. I nod sharply, accepting the two guns that Brick presses into my hands and the extra ammo.

“Helicopter’s waiting,” Brick says a moment later. “Let’s go.”

I’ve never seen New York City by helicopter before. It’s a view I might enjoy, if not for the fact that my mind is wholly on what’s ahead of us and the dangers we’ll face. On the need to get to Estella, no matter what.

We’re all in tactical gear, braced for a fight. Brick is with Antony and me, along with ten of Antony’s other, most trusted men. Some of them I know, a few of them I don’t. It doesn’t matter to me right now.

We all have the same goal.

The pilot brings the helicopter down, and we all drop down onto the rooftop of the building.

Quickly, we make it down the ladder on the side of the building, while Brick makes short work of the lock on the outer door.

As quietly as possible, we head to the maintenance door, the helicopter veering away from the building within seconds to avoid the sound lingering for too long.