THOMAS
His eyes couldn’t believe what they were seeing. Why the fuck did Rafael bring Franky like this? Thomas becomes enraged as he looks down at Melina. Her beautiful face is flushed and stained with tears. Her body quivers against his as she wails. This is not why I fucking allowed Rafael to return to New York City. I want Melina to feel better about her sister’s abduction, not fucking worse. I need to do something to fix this. My plan couldn’t fail after everything I did to make this happen.
“What the fuck, Rafael? Why does she have a collar around her neck and on her hands and legs?” Thomas barks at him.
“Because she is my pet,” Rafael says, caressing Franky’s hair.
“Are you fucking nuts? She’s a human being. Take the damn collar off her now!”
“If you’re not satisfied with how I’ve presented my pet, you’ll have to pay more to have her the way you want.”
Thomas now understands why the bastard did this. He clenches his fists, trying to control his anger. He badly wants to smash Rafael’s head against the floor, but he can’t. Rafael will kill Franky if he even loses a single hair on his head.
“What do you want?” Thomas asks, gritting his teeth.
Rafael blows out a drag on Franky’s face and says, “The whole city and your family gone from it.” As the smoke enters her eyes, she doesn’t even flinch. What the fuck has Rafael done to this girl? Rafael is referring to the city of New York. The Mexican cartel once ruled New York City, but the Costanzo mafia seized control and prohibited anyone from their cartel or family from entering the city. They would be killed if they did.
Thomas offered half of the city in exchange for Franky’s return earlier today, but Rafael declined, stating that he only wants Thomas in her place. Thomas then asked if he could only see her for half of the city, and he agreed. Because his family ruled in New York City for a long time before he was born, Thomas did not consider using it to bargain sooner. Thomas also realizes that this is the true reason Rafael wants to fight with his family. By annihilating the Costanzo mafia, he hopes to reclaim New York City and restore the Mexican cartel’s honor. To accomplish this, Rafael would have to kill all of his family members as well as the thousands of men under their command. Good luck with that Rafael.
“Done,” Thomas says, without even a second thought. He notices Melina’s gaze on him and looks down at her. Her eyes widen as she stares at him, with utter shock on her face. “Anything for you, principessa,” he whispers to Melina before returning his attention to Rafael.
“Wow, if I had known a piece of pussy had this much control over you, I’d have abducted her sooner,” Rafael says as he removes the collar around Franky’s neck.
“Melina isn’t just a piece of pussy, you fucking bastard,” Thomas growls at him.
“Whatever you say.” Rafael says shrugging his shoulders, smirking.
“Let her sit!”
“That has a price, too.”
“Rafael,” Thomas growls, glaring at him with venom. His hands itch to pull out his gun and shoot him between the eyes.
“Yes, that’s my name,” he answers with a smirk.
“I’ll fucking….”
“Please,” a soft feminine voice cut Thomas off.
“Wow, she knows how to beg,” Rafael exclaims, feigning surprise.
“Please,” Melina pleads again. Thomas doesn’t like Melina begging Rafael, but he doesn’t stop her.
“I’ll have pity on you, the less pretty sister. I agree, she can get off the floor and sit down.”
“Thank you so much, thank you” Melina says as she reaches for Franky, but Rafael stops her mid-way. He extends his hand to push her back, but Thomas grabs Melina before Rafael’s hand even brushes hers.
“Fucking keep your hands to yourself,” Thomas snarls at Rafael, who just smiles in return.
“I didn’t say you can come close,” Rafael says, lifting Franky off the floor.
“Okay,” Melina pulls her hands to her side. Thomas could see how much they were itching to touch her sister. Fuck, Rafael will pay for making Melina feel like this. I’ll make him pay with his fucking life.
MELINA
She watches as Rafael helps Franky in sitting beside him. He rests his hand on her exposed thigh, but Franky appears unconcerned about having his hand on her, an inch away from her core. She’s barely wearing any clothes, doting just a black satin slip-see-through lingerie, with a black underwear underneath.
Franky hasn’t looked at her. Melina wonders if that’s because Rafael asked her not to or if Franky feels too ashamed. Melina can’t imagine how her sister is feeling right now, let alone the humiliation she’s endured. Asking someone to behave and sound like an animal is the most degrading thing a person could ask of another. Melina’s heart aches for the emotional trauma her sister must be facing. It hurts her that Franky is going through this because of her. Melina couldn’t help but feel responsible and guilty for her sister’s condition. If there was a way she could relieve her sister’s suffering, she’d do it in a heartbeat.
Melina feels her legs moving and realizes Thomas is pulling them back to the couch. She couldn’t believe what Thomas had just done. He didn’t even hesitate before agreeing to Rafael’s request. Melina is aware that New York City is the headquarters of the Costanzo mafia in the United States, as Kat gave her brief history about them.
Melina couldn’t believe Thomas had given it away so Rafael could remove the collar around her sister’s neck. It shows how much she means to him; she had no idea she means this much to him.
“Can I talk to her?” Melina asks Rafael.
“Yes, you can.”
“Hello, sis,” Melina smiles softly at Franky, but she doesn’t return the smile. Fresh tears well up in Melina’s eyes. It feels like she’s lost her sister.
“Stop this nonsense Rafael and fucking let her talk,” Thomas says.
“And why should I do that?” Rafael asks, tilting his head to the side, smirking.
“Please, I beg of you, I know it. I’ve nothing to offer to make you allow her to talk back to me but please just let her,” Melina pleads with tears streaming down her face.
“Sure.” “Why can’t butt face be more like you?” Rafael asks, referring to Thomas. Thomas remains silent and only glares at him. Rafael turns to Franky and speaks to her. “You can now be yourself.”
Franky turns to face him, her eyes widening. Melina observes her swallowing hard before moving her lips. “Can I hug her?” she asks, her voice hoarse. Melina’s heart breaks even more as she wonders what could’ve caused her sister’s throat to become sore.
Rafael nods his head at Franky, and she jolts out of the couch toward Melina. She wraps her arms around Melina and squeezes the life out of her. Melina also squeezes the life out of Franky and cries happy tears for the first time since she saw her.
“How are you doing? Sorry for all the pain and humiliation you suffered. I’m so sorry we couldn’t come to your rescue much earlier,” Melina says, as she pulls away from Franky. She pulls her arms and spreads them wide to check her body for injuries. Melina gets up from the couch and spins Franky around to get a good look at her. She checks every inch of her body, and to Melina’s surprise, she doesn’t have a single scratch on her skin. Her brow furrows in confusion. Franky even looks like she added a few pounds these past few weeks. Melina couldn’t understand how that is possible, but she’s relieved she doesn’t appear to have been physically tortured. Her heart could let go of some of the guilt she’d been carrying for the past few weeks, knowing her sister didn’t suffer as much as she’d imagined.
“I’m okay, Melina. I totally understand, and I’ll be waiting for you guys.”
“Don’t get your hopes up, pet,” Rafael says, drawing both sisters’ attention to him. “I’ll only let you go when I no longer need you. Nobody can take you from me unless I let them. Take my word for it.” As he speaks to Franky, he locks his gaze on her. A shiver runs down Melina’s spine as she realizes he means every word he says.
“Fucking shut up, Rafael,” Thomas says, breaking the tension in the room.
“You have three minutes left,” Rafael says, pointing to his Rolex watch.
“Come, tell me what’s been going on in your life.” Franky pulls Melina to the couch and makes her talk her ear off for the next three minutes.
Melina is disheartened to see her sister go after those few minutes. She bids her goodbye and promises not to stop searching for her. Melina is happy she met her sister tonight and hasn’t forgotten Thomas’ efforts in making it happen. Melina doesn’t even know how to thank him. He did something so amazing for her tonight, and she has no words to express her gratitude. They might not have gotten her sister back, but seeing her tonight for only a brief moment is still a huge deal.
“Thank you so much for what you did tonight, Thomas,” Melina says as they drive home.
“As I said in the club, anything for you, principessa,” Thomas says, kissing her hand close to his on the seat. Melina’s heart swells with love for Thomas as she smiles at him.
Thomas did nice things for Melina when they dated before, but what he did tonight was exceptional. Melina speculates on what he would do if she agreed to be with him again. She also realizes she needs to make a decision about whether she wants to be with Thomas or not. She may be staying at the Costanzo estate for protection, but she still needs to tell Thomas whether or not they have a future together.
Melina goes to bed that night with a smile on her face since her sister’s abduction, and she doesn’t forget Thomas made it happen. She also considers whether Thomas is deserving of her forgiveness and her.