Dirty

by Ella Miles

  Yes, occasionally I gather enough strength to spit in someone’s face, bite a finger, or give a swift kick to a groin, if I’m really in a fighting mood. But it’s not fighting. It’s revenge.

  I don’t care if I die anymore. I just need Dante and Roman to suffer.

  The door crashes open, rattling the doorframe, as steady boots stomp inside my cage.

  I used to shutter at such sounds, but I no longer do. I don’t care if Dante is here or if he’s gone. It makes no difference. I no longer feel pain. I feel nothing.

  Lights flick on, and I close my eyes. The light too bright for me to keep my swollen eyes open.

  “Such a good whore. You are exactly where I left you.”

  I don’t answer. Where did Dante expect me to go? I have a broken leg, and he tied my legs with shackles to the post behind me. I didn’t have any options but to stay exactly where he left me: naked and slumped on the floor.

  “Stand, whore.”

  I can’t stand, idiot.

  I feel Dante’s eyes burning into me. I expect the kick will come soon, but I don’t brace myself for it.

  “No,” I spit back. Maybe I’m feeling more defiant than I realized.

  The kick jerks my body backward and hard against a wall. Other than my body moving, I don’t feel the pain I would expect from being kicked with solid boots at full force. It’s all the same pain to me.

  It benefits me. I no longer whimper or groan. I give Dante none of the sounds that turn him on. Now, he tries harder to evoke those sounds from me. He’ll keep attempting until I’m dead.

  Maybe today will be that day?

  No.

  That word has hovered around in my head and heart every time I’ve wished I was dead.

  No.

  I don’t know why. I don’t know where the hope or strength comes from, but it floats through my body, filling my soul, all the same.

  No.

  “Stand, whore.”

  “No.”

  “I told you she had a spirit, unlike any woman I’ve ever had. She’s been here a month, and she never breaks. In fact, she may have grown stronger. She controls her whimpers for the most part, but today, I think that will change.”

  Another kick to the ribs. This one doesn’t send me flying back. I’m already against the wall. I hear something cracking in my body. What was it this time? More ribs? My leg? Or my skull cracking?

  No. No. No. Don’t focus on the tiny slivers of pain creeping in. I’m dead. Nothing can hurt me.

  I feel the tears starting in my eyes. I don’t know how they formed. I’m dehydrated from crying so much when I first got here. I thought all my tears were empty.

  One month, Dante said. Have I really been here that long?

  It seems like longer and shorter at the same time.

  One month. Has Matteo or Arlo realized I’m gone yet? I told Matteo I would be gone for a month. After not hearing from me, or my security team, for this long, would he come for me finally? How much longer do I have to hold on?

  Another kick.

  A low growl.

  Wait…a growl? Did I make that sound?

  My puffy eyes flicker open, as wide as I can bring them. I don’t have access to a mirror, but I don’t doubt I look bad. My face has to be all sorts of shades of reds, blacks, and yellows, as different parts of my face are in different phases of healing. And my cheeks, in particular, are at least twice the size they usually are.

  I see men. At least five standing over me. I don’t bother to count the exact number. That should scare me. It doesn’t.

  One more kick.

  And this time I definitely hear the growl. It’s not mine. My head darts in the direction of the sound. My eyes are too clouded to see clearly, but I swear I see an angel.

  “Mr. Conti, would you like a turn?” Dante says, lust dripping off his voice.

  Mr. Conti. A vision creeps in, one I’ve played over and over in my head. Mr. Conti barges into the dungeon with my brothers. He apologizes profusely, telling me he never wanted to turn me over to Dante. He had to, to save me later. But now that Conti’s here, standing over me, I realize it was a stupid dream that will never become a reality.

  Mr. Conti moves forward, and he still looks like an angel in my eyes. A cloud of fog forms around his head, shining brightly in the darkness of the world I’m trapped in. I know it’s just my eyes playing tricks on me, but he was the culprit. He was the one who growled. He didn’t like what Dante was doing to me. This man won’t hurt me. I don’t care why he’s here; he won’t hurt me.

  A sly grin forms on Conti’s face, and it warms me a second.

  Then I’m kicked. Hard into the wall.

  And the illusion of Conti being an ally shatters. He’s as much of a monster as any man in this room.

  “Now stand, whore,” Dante says.

  “Don’t you think if I could stand, I would? I want nothing more than to look you all in the eyes so that when I do get free, I will know who to torture and kill.”

  Men chuckle. Not Conti. His eyes never leave mine. His jaw twitches and I swear his eyes are trying to tell me something, but I have no idea what.

  He’s not on my side. No one is. It’s just my imagination.

  Dante snaps his fingers, and I’m on my feet. Hands grip my arms too tightly, and I try to balance on my uninjured leg only to realize it’s just as useless as my other leg. When did Dante break my other leg? How did I miss that?

  “Oh whore, today I share you, but tonight, you’re mine alone,” Dante says in my ear before biting my earlobe.

  He’s never gentle. Not even for a second. He’s relentless in his pursuit to cause me harm. It never stops. I don’t know how he has the energy to hurt me while still keeping up with his job.

  “On the bed,” Dante orders.

  Hands drag me to the bed. Shackles release from my legs. No longer needed with five powerful men in the room. Not that it was needed before. I couldn’t walk, but I guess Dante thought I would crawl.

  I’m spread open, something that used to embarrass me now seems like nothing.

  Look at my body you disgusting cunts! Look at what a beautiful woman you are breaking, and tell me how you would like your karma handed to you for what you’ve done. The words form in my head, but I don’t think I have the strength to make them leave my mouth.

  “The guest of honor can have his way with her first,” Dante says.

  I don’t care who the guest of honor is. They will all rape me. Defile me. Break me.

  No.

  I won’t let them break me.

  Conti moves in close, settling between my legs, grabbing them with his hands. He’s going to be the first to rape me. I pull hard once. It’s all the energy I have. One of my legs gets free, and I kick Conti in the side. He doesn’t move. It was a weak kick. I’m surprised I even had the strength.

  The grips on my arms and legs tighten as I’m spread wider for him. His clothes are still on, but the men don’t usually reveal anything but their cock to me. While I’m naked. Always.

  I watch as Conti begins to undo his pants and a single tear trickles down my cheek. I hate the damn tear. And I don’t even have arms to wipe it away. Every man here can see my weakness.

  It’s been a long time since I cried. Or felt anything. But watching as my angel turns back into the devil has done it.

  I close my eyes tightly. I won’t open them again. I need to find a happy place to survive. But there is no memory or dream left which can take me away from here. I need to sleep. But I can’t.

  I open my eyes again. I can’t help myself. I need to see Conti turn into the monster I knew he always was. I need to make sure he’s added firmly to my revenge list, instead of living in my fantasies.

  Smack. A hand shoots fire against my face. One of the hardest assaults I’ve ever experienced. My head is spinning, and I can’t open my eyes.

  Conti punched me in the face. He’s too much of a coward to rape me fully conscious. Asshole.

  I s
tart drifting in and out of consciousness, but I won’t fully let sleep consume me. I’ll remember every moment of this, while I play brutal images of what I will do to Conti when I get free. He’s a bigger monster than all the rest. And now I know I’m really on my own.

  5

  Caspian

  “Leave,” I say.

  The men in the room stutter, not sure what to do as they look to Dante to give them orders.

  “Leave!” I shout.

  The men let go of Gia’s hands and legs and leave the dark room. Dante is the last to leave, but he doesn’t say anything as he eventually leaves me alone with Gia.

  I rest between her stretched legs that are no doubt broken, but it doesn’t stop me from pushing her wider.

  She moans.

  I lean down and kiss her lips. Lips I’ve been desperate to taste since she fell into my lap weeks ago.

  Her lips are soft and delicious, but it’s not what I want. I want her to kiss me back.

  I lower my lips tasting her neck, breasts, and stomach.

  And then I pull my rock hard cock out of my pants. I shouldn’t do this. I shouldn’t fuck her, but I can’t stop myself.

  I’m desperate for her.

  She’s all I’ve thought about for the last four weeks. I almost did something incredibly stupid. I wanted to steal her from Dante before he touched her, but it would have fucked up all my plans. So I didn’t. I let him touch her.

  I growl.

  That was a mistake I won’t repeat. She’s mine.

  I’m not a better man than Dante. In fact, I might be worse. I let an innocent woman suffer when I could have done something to stop it, but I chose not to.

  “Gia Carini, you will be mine. You don’t belong to Dante. You belong to me.”

  She whimpers.

  She hates me, just as she does Dante. And I deserve her wrath.

  I should stop, but I have to have a taste of her. I have to fuck her. I can’t stop myself.

  My cock sinks into her slit; wet and welcoming. I don’t know what she’s dreaming about, but it’s dirty if her cunt is this slick for me. I sure didn’t do anything to turn her on.

  Beautiful.

  The most beautiful, fierce woman on the planet lies beneath me, encircling my cock. I should stop. But I can’t. Dante didn’t break her, but I can. First, I’ll steal her; then I’ll destroy her.

  I walk up the stairs to the front door with my team encircling the house. My sister and second best, Terence, stand behind me.

  Today, everything changes. Dante’s team will be taken out and replaced by a team I hired for him. Dante wanted to do all the killing himself, but he realized he couldn’t. So instead, he took out his most valuable men in the darkness of last night. Today, everyone else dies in the daylight.

  Then, my first phase will be complete. I’ll be able to monitor everything he does and be able to make my move on Dante whenever I want. Once I confirm what I already know about Dante.

  And then I can steal Gia.

  No.

  I can’t steal her. It will ruin everything.

  But I have to have her.

  My inner conflict never stops. Not since I had her in my grasp.

  Today, I need to focus on my job. I’ll decide what to do about Gia tomorrow.

  I knock on the door and am surprised when Dante opens the door. I expected one of his guards. Did he jump the gun and take out all his men himself? I do not doubt Dante is capable enough of doing the job. It doesn’t matter to me. Killing demons like Dante’s men pleases me. I’ll admit it. But I’m just as happy to have someone else do the bloodshed, as long the task is done.

  “Mr. Conti, come in,” Dante says, not giving anything away.

  I see his men out of the corner of my eye. Dante told them I was here to work on the security system I installed a few weeks ago. It’s a lie. My security system is running flawlessly. Right now, it’s allowing my team to know the precise location of Dante’s men, so they can all be taken out at the same moment.

  I follow Dante into the living room with Terence and Adela following behind me.

  I freeze at the entrance when I see Gia. I wasn’t expecting her. It is clear from the security tapes that Dante never allows her to leave the room she was locked in. But today, she’s lying on the black leather couch. A rope is tied around her hands and legs. She’s naked and bruised, but not broken. I’m not sure if anything can truly break her.

  I can.

  I don’t know why Gia is here, but she’s going to distract me, and most likely Dante, from doing the job.

  “Want to put your whore away before we get to work?” I ask Dante, not liking using the word ‘whore’ to describe Gia. She is anything but a whore. Warrior, gorgeous, precious, angel. All those words describe her so much better.

  Dante laughs. “Don’t worry. She won’t distract us from our job. I want her to watch.”

  My lips thin, but otherwise I don’t give away my disgust. Dante wants Gia to watch, in an attempt to break her. If she sees the carnage, it might scare her. Death has a way of doing that to people.

  I suspect Gia isn’t one of those people. For one, she seems completely prepared for her own death. And two, she’s a Carini. My understanding about Carinis is they are as ruthless as Dante. She may not have killed anyone with her own hands, but she’s seen death before.

  And she won’t care if men, who have held her captive, die. In fact, she will rejoice at the sight.

  I nod and glance at my ready sister behind me. I stare at Dante, letting him know this is his last chance to stop this.

  He smirks and sits down on the couch next to Gia, pulling her into his lap. Using her as a shield in case this goes badly.

  Coward.

  He won’t partake in what is about to happen, and he’d prefer his whore get shot, rather than him, if a bullet goes awry.

  He doesn’t think I’m the best if he thinks that’s even a possibility of that happening.

  “Dante, I’ll get to work then,” I say, giving my team the signal.

  All at once we reach for our hidden weapons and begin taking out our targets one by one with silenced pistols. Most of Dante’s men shout out and surround him. That’s why my best people are with me. I take out three as I head toward the kitchen, knowing there are two more in there.

  A bullet whizzes by my head as I duck and shoot the bastard dead with one quick shot to the head.

  Another gets a bullet to the heart.

  I hear my team all confirming their targets are down, but it doesn’t make me drop my gun. Not until I get the all clear from Steward, my man monitoring the security system to ensure every man is down.

  “You have one more in the hallway,” Steward says.

  My heart races, and my lips curl into a wicked smile. I enjoy this more than I should.

  I move to the wall as I slink down the kitchen counters to the hallway where my last target awaits his death.

  I turn the corner and fire before he has a chance to move or shoot. I watch his body drop to the floor in front of me.

  “All clear,” Steward says.

  “And our team?” I ask, hoping my team has kept our flawless record of being injury free.

  “All good. No injuries reported.”

  I let out a deep exhale. I take pride in not losing anyone on my team.

  I walk back to the living room where Adela and Terence are waiting for me.

  “It’s done?” Dante asks.

  I nod. “All of your men have been taken care of. I’ll have my team dispose of the bodies and get your new team ready to go within the hour.”

  Dante grins as he fondles Gia’s breasts much too hard. She doesn’t move or flinch, if she notices his touch.

  “What do you think, sweetheart?” Dante asks Gia, calling her an endearment for the first time; his tone conflicting with the dead men covering the floor.

  “I think you are a coward.”

  I smirk. I can’t help it. I agree with her assessment.
r />   Dante doesn’t notice. He’s too intrigued by his plaything to notice me.

  God, I have to have Gia.

  It will fuck up all of my plans if I steal her from Dante. Plans I have been working on for years. I no longer care.

  I stare at my sister out of the corner of my eye. I will need her help. I can’t do this without her. She will hate me for doing this, but I can’t help myself. And in the end, my sister will do anything for me.

  But will I make her?

  Yes.

  I stare at the stunning brunette, who deserves so much better, but she will never get it.

  I will steal Gia. I just have to be careful, so Dante doesn’t realize I’m the one who stole her. And then, when I need to get in Dante’s favor, I will return her. Pretend some other bastard was the culprit of her disappearance.

  But how can someone steal her and my security team not be blamed?

  “I’m taking my whore to my work while you finish. Call me when it’s done.”

  I smirk. I have to steal her. Now. I’m not responsible for his security at his office. I have no cameras or security set up there. He can’t blame me.

  Dante forces Gia up. I don’t know how she’s standing. I’m pretty sure her legs are broken. She’s fucking amazing, that’s how.

  And she’s mine.

  Gia will think I’m saving her when I steal her from Dante. But really, she’ll be trading in one monster for another. One with the power to actually break her.

  6

  Gia

  Worthless. That’s what Dante thinks I am. That’s what my brain tells me my body is. My legs, my arms, my eyes; all broken, futile, and useless.

  It’s not the first time I’ve heard the word used. Enrico used to call me worthless all the time. I was no use to him. I was a daughter, not a son. I wasn’t built for this world.

  Enrico said I’m too stupid to understand the business.

  Not strong enough to handle the bloodshed.