by Bella J.
“Are you sure you ate enough?”
I smiled when I saw the concern in his eyes. “Karina kept on filling my plate. I couldn’t eat any more, even if I wanted to.”
Antonio shrugged. “My sister has made it her life’s mission to mother you.”
“She’s been very kind to me.”
He snorted. “Consider yourself lucky.”
“She likes giving you a hard time, huh?”
“There is no end to the attitude in that tiny packet of Italian dynamite.”
I let out a laugh but then swallowed when I heard the shrill sound.
Antonio stepped closer and gently touched my cheek, causing my heart to pick up pace. “You have a beautiful laugh, Doe.”
I smiled, my cheeks burning. “I like that you call me that.”
“Doe?”
“Yes.”
His thumb brushed across my lower lip. “Alessia is a beautiful name, but I can’t get myself to call you that.” He leaned down, pressing his mouth softly against mine. “You’re my Doe.”
I sucked in a breath, still tasting his lips. “I like being your Doe. I have no desire to be Alessia. She died a long time ago.”
His face hardened, his dark eyes suddenly turning black. “They killed Alessia. I got rid of Nessuno,” he wrapped his hand around the back of my neck, pulling me closer, “and no one will take Doe away from me. No one.” With a hard, desperate kiss, he sealed his vow, his tongue sweeping through my mouth with vigor. I felt it spread through the marrow of my bones, the power of his promise filling me to the brim.
He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me against him, our bodies molding together so perfectly. I’d never had the opportunity to travel, seeing the world, or been given the option to choose my favorite places to be, but there was no other place in this entire universe I’d rather be than in Antonio’s arms. Being so close to him, in his embrace, was my idea of Heaven. The comfort, the security, the sense of feeling cared for was so foreign to me, yet it was something I had quickly gotten used to. I wanted to be lost in him for the rest of my days.
With a deep rumble in the back of his throat, he moaned as he reluctantly pulled his lips from mine. “I have no idea what you’re doing to me, Doe.” Dark eyes stared down into mine. “All I know is that you’ve ruined me in the best possible way.”
I stilled. “Ruined?”
He traced his fingers over my hip, his hand finding mine. “You ruined me by taking my entire existence and making it yours.”
Our fingers twined together, and I bit my lower lip. “Is that a bad thing?”
A grin tugged at the edges of his mouth. “We’ll see.”
We walked up to the house. I leaned deeper into him, wanting more of his heat to spread through me. I wanted to breathe in his scent as much as I could to chase away the uncertainty that was currently burning a hole inside my chest.
We reached the top of the stairs when Lucio approached us. “You ready, cous?”
Antonio nodded. “Just give me ten.”
Lucio nodded, and I noticed the knowing glances they gave each other, the temperature around us dropping by twenty degrees. Antonio’s demeanor changed, hardened, and I could see the mask of his role as boss slip over his features as he turned to face me. “I have something I need to take care of.”
“You’re leaving me?” Panic started to claw at my lungs. I hated when he wasn’t with me. Without him, I felt vulnerable, weak…alone. I’d been alone for so long, and now that I finally had someone who made me feel secure like he did, I never wanted him to leave.
He brushed the back of his hand down my cheek. “I already know what you’re thinking. Don’t. I’m coming back. You know I always do.”
“I know.” I glanced at him from under my lashes. “Are you—?”
“Don’t. You’re not ready yet.”
I bit my bottom lip, my mind willing me to ask a thousand questions. But it wasn’t my place to ask…not yet.
“Come,” he took my hand, “I’ll take you up to our room.”
In silence, we walked up to the bedroom we shared. It still felt surreal, the fact that he wanted me to share his bed, in his arms. Master V never allowed me the comfort of a soft mattress and silk sheets. The only place he gave me in his chambers were the cold, hard floor, and if I behaved well, maybe a pillow. But nothing more.
I closed my eyes and tried to force the memories back into their compartments. If only they would stay there, hidden away and unable to hurt me anymore.
Antonio opened the bedroom door and allowed me to walk in first. He came up behind me and placed his hands on my shoulders. “I don’t know how long I’ll be. But I promise I’ll come back.”
I swallowed hard, hating that he had to leave.
I turned to face him. “I know it’s not my place—”
“Stop.” He reached out and touched my chin, his gaze focused on mine. “This is your place. Here. With me. You are no longer a slave, Doe. You’re not a nomad. You belong here, with this family.”
His heartfelt words spread through my veins, numbing all my uncertainty. All I could do was to lean closer so I could steal a kiss. A soft, gentle, simple kiss. Then, with my eyes closed and my head against his chin, I whispered, “Thank you.”
Strong arms wrapped around my shoulders, his warm breath coating the skin of my neck. The silence around us spoke volumes. He knew my thanks wasn’t for what he said. It wasn’t because he gave me a place to call home, or the kind of respect I had always longed for. My thanks was for what he was about to do—what he had been doing for the last few weeks.
With his nose pressed deeper into my hair, I heard him inhale as one hand reached behind my neck. “You are mine, Doe. And not even the devil himself will stop me from righting all the wrongs you suffered.”
I closed my eyes, pushing back the tears. They weren’t tears of sorrow or pain. They were tears of gratitude, of gratefulness and appreciation. No one had ever shown me such kindness, such devotion, and for that, I would give this man my soul if he demanded it.
Chapter 5
Antonio
I fucking loved this part. The part where I could shed the mask of the perfect fucking Valenti and embrace the twisted son of a bitch I hid from the rest of the world. The best part? I now had the motivation I needed to hold on to the beast, to hold on to the darkness so I could do what needed to be done to avenge my woman’s ruin. Doe deserved this. She deserved to have someone who was willing to take on every goddamn demon in Hell in order for justice to be served. And even though I had spent half my life fighting the shadows within me, I no longer needed to. In fact, now I embraced it.
I parked my car outside the warehouse and caught sight of Lucio standing by the side door. He was pacing. It was never a good sign when Lucio paced.
“You have them?” I buttoned my suit jacket as I approached him.
“Yeah. We got them.”
“Why do you look worried?”
“Not worried, just a little…edgy.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Why?”
“We’re upping the numbers, cous. One, you can get away with unnoticed. Two, there’s a slight risk. But more than that, you’re bound to raise some eyebrows.”
“I don’t give a fuck about anyone getting suspicious. All I care about is killing each and every one of these motherfuckers.”
“Antonio, cous,” Lucio roughed his fingers through his hair, “I get why you need to do this. All I’m saying is we need to make sure we leave no trail. That nothing leads to us. Right now, even the common goddamn thug on the street knows about Doe. If people with connections to her and Vadik start disappearing, we’ll be on everyone’s fucking radar.”
I straightened the sleeves of my jacket. “And why, exactly, do you think I give a fuck?”
Lucio snorted. “Oh, believe me, that’s not what I think. All I’m saying is that if it were up to me—”
“Luckily, it’s not up to you.” I brushed passed him, pretty sure
my cousin’s mind was filled with a whole lot of f-bombs.
Lucio called out, “Listen, bro, I totally get why you want to do this. But by doing this, you’re digging a hole right into hell, cousin. And once you’re on that road—”
“Does anyone know about them?”
Lucio hesitated then let out a breath. “No. Castello helped us get them here from New York undetected. They probably don’t even know he’s missing yet.”
Man, I loved having Castello Fattore as an ally. Not even the goddamn president had the kind of power Fattore had.
“Well, then,” I jerked my elbow free from Lucio’s grip, “let’s get this shit show started.”
“Are you sure, Antonio?”
I balked then slowly turned to face him. “And if it was your woman, Lucio? If it was your woman who went through years of torture, rape, abuse, would you not go to extreme measures to make things right for her? Would you not do anything in your motherfucking power to make sure she gets the justice she deserves?” My gaze burned through his, my determination to avenge Doe’s suffering clear in my stance.
Lucio remained silent.
“That’s what I thought.” We walked through the door, my mind a goddamn jungle of murderous thoughts and images of Doe suffering because so many people had done her wrong. But the wheels had turned, and now was the time to set things right.
This was all I had been thinking about for the past few weeks. Revenge. The beast in me no longer craved chains, whips, and marked skin. It wanted blood. It wanted revenge. It wanted the screams of the men who hurt my woman. It wanted to extract their last breath as painfully as fucking possible.
We entered the stuffy, humid warehouse. One would think since autumn has already started, the fucking place should have cooled down a little. But the old building still smelled like dirt and death.
Lucio was right behind me as I passed a few of our other security guys who stood scattered with weapons in hand. We were always prepared when we were at war with the Mancusos, but ever since Vadik became our new threat, we doubled our security and muscle everywhere. With the Mancusos, we knew who and what we were dealing with. With Vadik, all we had was a file and the horror stories of the woman who shared my bed. We’d never even seen the fucker in the flesh, but in my mind, he had horns, scales, and a fucking pitchfork.
Lucio and I rounded the corner.
“There’s the one you asked for.” Lucio stepped in next to me and pointed to the corner of the room. I almost had a fucking hard-on when I saw the son of a bitch hanging upside down, gagged, and arms tied behind his back.
“And the other one?” I asked, the bloodlust already starting to buzz throughout my body.
“Secured, just like you ordered.”
“I asked.”
“You ordered.” Lucio scowled at me.
“Fine, I ordered.”
“What’re your plans with the other SOB, anyway?”
I smiled wickedly. “You’ll see.” I took a deep breath, allowing this moment to seep through my pores. “I’ve been waiting for this one since we started this whole…purge.”
Lucio snorted. “Yeah, it’s the purge of perverts.”
The man who hung from the ceiling was none other than the son of bitch Mancuso sold Doe to when she was ten years old. An American who then sold her to Vadik. All the other fucks we managed to get a hold of, whose corpses were now fish bait, were men who used my woman. They touched her, tortured her, fucked her against her will. They were all Vadik’s allies he shared his little slave with, giving them permission to use her.
With Castello’s resources put together with ours, we managed to find a lot of names, a list I was working my way through.
It wasn’t the list hidden inside the scar of Doe’s mutilated ear. That list contained the name of clients, people who fed Vadik’s empire of hell with their dirty money. I still hadn’t told her about the chip buried beneath her skin. Hopefully, I’d never have to.
I pulled on my gloves, my glare of hate fully focused on the demon in front of me. “I hope you don’t have any plans, cousin. This is going to be a long-ass night.”
“You know, I’m one sick son of a bitch, yet I don’t fully agree with the murderous rampage you’re on. But with this one, I’d like a piece of his flesh as well.” Lucio grinned like one evil motherfucker, cracking his knuckles, the veins beneath his inked skin already bulged with adrenaline.
I cocked a brow at him. “Having double standards, cousin?”
“Nope. Just like skinning perverts who get off by torturing kids.”
I slapped him on his shoulder. “Well, then, let’s have some fun.”
Lucio smiled then called out, “Mr. Watson, how’s it hanging?”
“Really?” I frowned at him, and he shrugged.
“Amateur,” I mumbled then walked up to the man who had been on my hit list ever since we discovered his identity. James Watson. Fifty-two years old. CEO of Watson Enterprises, oil magnate, self-proclaimed art collector, and family man. Family man, my fucking ass.
“James Watson.” I started to circle him hanging naked from a chain tied around his ankles. “Do you know why you’re here?”
Since his mouth was taped shut, he shook his head, his eyes wide with fear.
I reached out and ripped the tape off his face. “Talk.”
“Who the fuck are you?”
I shrugged then punched him in the gut, sending him swinging in the other direction. “Let’s be respectful, shall we?”
James cringed. “Respectful? Do you call hanging someone upside down, naked, respectful?”
“No, I call that the start of a long, painful, yet eventful night.”
“What do you want from me?”
I crouched down, bringing us eye to eye. “I don’t want anything from you.” I flicked out my blade and sliced it down his cheek. He cursed and tried to swing himself away from me, only to ram right into Lucio, who stood behind him.
I stood straight and watched as a drop of crimson fell on the ground. “I just want to see you bleed. But first, I have a story I want to tell you.”
James groaned and struggled as I slowly paced around him, flicking my blade. “Ten years ago, there was a girl who lived with her mom. They struggled to get by, but they were happy—the little girl was happy. But then one night, a very, very bad man had the little girl’s mother killed, leaving the little girl all alone. Yet”—I stopped then turned, pacing the other way around—“the very bad man pretended to be someone he’s not. He pretended to be an angel sent to rescue the girl.”
“What the fuck is this?” James blurted between his snot and tears.
With a quick, sharp jab, I stabbed my blade into his side, careful not to cut too deep. I didn’t want the fucker to die before dawn.
He screamed, then cried, then cursed.
“Do not interrupt me, Mr. Watson.”
Blood started to ooze from the wound in his side, and the sight of crimson was fucking beautiful.
“So,” I continued, “the man rescued the girl, and she finally felt safe. Loved. Protected. Until the man took her straight to the devil.” I crouched again, staring right at James’s contorted face. “Do you know who that devil was, Mr. Watson?”
He cried some more while shaking his head.
Slowly, like the theatrical bastard I was, I slid the steel of my blade from one side of his throat across to the other side. He shuddered, and I smiled. “That devil was…you.”
He wasn’t surprised at what I told him. Not at all. He did look confused as fuck, though.
“Do you know the name of the little girl, Mr. Watson? No?” I straightened. “Probably because she wasn’t the only one you took, sending her straight to hell. How many, Mr. Watson? How many girls did you sell into slavery?”
“Wh…wh…I don’t—”
I stuck my blade right into the flesh of his thigh. His screams echoed through the empty warehouse, the sound hollow as it slammed against the roof.
“Do
not even try to lie to me, Mr. Watson. How many?”
Poor bastard sobbed like a little baby. Did I care? Fuck, no.
Between sobs, he managed to spit out, “I don’t know. I don’t know how many.”
“Take a wild guess, then.”
“Ten, maybe fifteen.”
“Wrong!” I planted my fist into his side where blood still oozed out. “Guess again.”
“Please…” he screamed. “Please, stop.”
“Guess. Again.”
“Twenty. Twenty girls.”
I slashed my bloodied blade through the back of his other thigh then pulled down, tearing through his flesh. The squeals of pain that escaped his throat like razor blades were like a fucking sonnet to my ears.
“Thirty-two, Mr. Watson. Thirty-two girls, that’s how many you traded and sold. Thirty-two girls whose lives you destroyed.”
“I’m sorry! I’m fucking sorry.”
“It’s too fucking late. It’s too fucking late for you to be sorry. You don’t have the luxury of being sorry.”
Cries. Screams. Grunts. Those were the only sounds that came from his mouth.
Lucio handed me a piece of fabric to clean my knife and wipe the fucker’s blood off my fingers. “But there’s one specific girl. One little girl who brought us together here tonight. Do you want to know her name?”
“Jesus Christ, please!”
“I’m afraid Jesus isn’t here to help you, James. And he isn’t going to be where you’re going either.”
“Please, stop. I’m sorry. God!”
I glanced at Lucio, the hardened look of hatred plastered all over his face like a mask. He might not agree with my vendetta, but he had a taste for spilling blood—especially when it was due.
With slow, confident strides, I moved toward James, tears mixed with snot dripping on the ground below him. “Ask me what her name was.”
“Who? Who are you talking about?”
