A Second Chance: A Mafia Romance

SNEAK PEAK

PROLOGUE

FRANKY

Franky slowly opens her eyes but shuts them the second she feels a shooting pain at the back of her head. She gently lifts her hand to touch it and feels a wound with dried blood. She opens her eyes and tries to recall how she got the injury and where she was. Her eyes widen in terror, seeing her environment. She's in a cell. Oh my God! What am I doing here? How did I even get here?

Franky racks her brain, trying to remember anything that can explain why she's here. Her heartbeat quickens as everything starts to come back to her. She recalls two men sneaking into her room and grabbing her. She can't believe she got abducted again. Melina must be worried sick about me. Franky wonders if she knows and has started looking for her. Most likely, she has.

Franky whips her head to the cell door as she hears it squeak open. Her heart beats faster against her ribcage as someone approaches her. She wraps her trembling hands around her body and waits at the end of the wall for her kidnapper to reach her. Franky whispers a prayer in her heart, hoping she won't meet the same fate as the last time. They were cruel to her. She trembles even more against the wall just thinking about it. Her breathing seizes, hearing no more footsteps, and she gets hit with a strong intoxicating cologne.

"Hello there," the man says in a thick Spanish accent, crouching down to her level on the floor. His cigarette- and alcohol-laced breath lands on her face. "Don't hide from me; show me yourself," he cooed softly.

The room is poorly lit, so the man can't see Franky as she hides in a corner of the room, but she can see him. Franky lifts her head to look at the man standing before her. She doesn't recognize his face as one of the monsters who harmed her the last time. Their faces were imprinted in her brain forever, hunting her in her dreams. Franky examines his face more closely and is struck by the man's features-hair as dark as a night sky with no stars and perfectly shaped, natural-looking brows. Her fingers itch to stroke them, betting they'll be soft against her skin. The man's long eyelashes fan his face as he blinks, and his beautiful green eyes search for her by the edge of the wall. His nose is straight and slightly pointed. Franky's gaze is drawn to his lips, and she finds herself wetting her own. They're pink and the ideal size. Franky comes to her senses when she notices his lips are adorned with a cigarette. He takes a drag and blows the smoke in her face.

"I suggest that you step out on your own before I fucking drag you out." His words send a cold shiver down Franky's spine. He rises and moves away from her. He must be waiting for her to heed his warning.

Franky learned from her previous experience that she should always obey men like him. She noticed they would be gentle with her if she did what they asked. So Franky slowly lifts herself off the ground, her muscles protesting. She leans against the wall, gathering her strength to walk toward him. Franky worries about what he will do to her and hopes she will be able to handle it. After taking a deep breath, Franky emerges from the shadows.

His eyes widen when he sees her but quickly darken in anger. They explore every inch of Franky's body. Franky isn't sure if he's disgusted or pleased by what he sees, but she soon finds out. In the blink of an eye, the man pushes her against the wall. Her dress does little to protect her skin as the man snarls in her face.

"Who the fuck are you?" he asks, breathing down on her as the anger coursing through him causes his body to vibrate.

Franky looks at him, confused. She believes it should be her if anyone should wonder about the other's identity.

"Didn't I ask you a question?" he growls at her, his grip tightening around her neck. Franky locks eyes with him and gazes into his beautiful green eyes, which are blazing with rage. She finds it saddening to see such lovely eyes filled with rage.

"Franky," she rasps out, finding it a little difficult to speak properly with his hand around her neck. He isn't blocking her airflow, but having his hand there is still uncomfortable.

"Why the fuck are you here instead of Melina?" Her eyes widen, realizing they weren't supposed to take her. Thank God they got me instead. Melina has suffered enough already. It's good that they made a mistake and kidnapped me.

His grip around her neck starts to hurt. Franky realizes he's waiting for her to answer his question.

"I don't know," Franky says as he punches the wall, a hand span away from her head. Her eyes close as he rips the wall open and yells "fuck" into the room. When she doesn't smell his cologne, Franky slowly opens her eyes. He throws his cigarette to the ground and extinguishes it with his feet. He looks at Franky for a good minute before walking toward the door.

"Please don't harm my sister," Franky says, halting the man for a second before he continues walking to the door.

"Please, I beg you, please don't harm her."

"Why the fuck should I listen to you?" He stops walking and turns to face her.

"I'll give you anything you want."

"Anything I want?" he laughs drily at her statement. "What the fuck can you offer me?" He walks back toward her.

"A lot of things." Franky speaks with confidence even though she doesn't think there's anything she could genuinely offer him.

"Even your head on a silver plate won't get me shit."

"I know that, but I have a lot I can offer you."

"I'm listening." He fetches a cigarette from his pocket and lights it. He takes a long drag before fixing his attention back on Franky.

Franky ruminates on what she can offer him that she knows he will appreciate. Her mind suddenly suggests something that causes her to freeze. Franky considers the implications of offering what just occurred to her, and as much as it breaks her heart to do so, she believes it's the only thing she knows a man like him would accept in place of her sister's life. She believes it's even a small price to pay for her sister to live. I will do anything in my power to make sure Melina lives.

"My body." Her heart quickens, waiting for his response.

"Your body?" He draws out as his eyes roam every inch of it.

"Yes."

She might not be showing it, but she's concerned he might not accept it. Franky hopes he's a lust-driven man and accepts it. It's the only thing she can offer.

"Strip," he commands.

"You want me to take off my clothes?" Franky heard him correctly, but she was hoping he would reconsider if he saw how unwilling she was. She hoped he would agree, but she was not ready to offer her body to him just yet.

"I don't think I need to explain to you what the word 'strip' means."

"No, you don't."

Franky's hands tremble as she moves them to her shoulders and slowly pulls down her dress. Franky has been naked in front of a man before, but it doesn't help build her confidence now because that was before consensual sex. She forces her hands to the side of her body and draws them into a tight fist.

"Take everything off," he says, and her heart sinks into her stomach. She removes her bra and panties with tears filling her eyes. Franky has never felt more degraded than she does right now. She looks to the ceiling as his heated gaze rakes her body.

"Turn around." Her tears stream down her face as she slowly turns around. She can't believe this is what her life has become. "I'll think about it," he says finally after what seems like an eternity. Franky lets out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding and quickly picks up her dress from the floor. As he walks toward the door to leave, she puts it on, along with her underwear.

Franky knows he didn't fully agree, but it's something. She will make sure to convince him. I must do everything I can to save my sister's life, even if it means suffering on her behalf. Franky walks back to the edge of the wall and drops to the floor.

She begins to think about how she will give her body to a gender she fears more than anything else in the world touching her. Franky doesn't think she can ever be with a man again after what happened during the first abduction. Thinking about sleeping with the unknown man brings back memories of the pain those horrible men inflicted on her. Franky wasn't a virgin when they raped her, but she can't remember what it's like to crave a man's touch. She mentally facepalms and can't believe she still went ahead to offer her body to a handsome man whose name she doesn't even know. Franky doesn't know how she will do it, but she will figure out how to save Melina from dying.

A SECOND CHANCE

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