A ripple of drunken complaints come from the men. I keep count in my head, and I'm pretty sure there are five or six guys total.
Alaric spins around, grabbing me by my arm a little rougher than necessary.
“Nonsense, Alaric. Stay, I insist,” one of the men orders in a tone that doesn't leave room for an argument.
Alaric tightens his grip on my arm painfully, making me wince as he drags me to a couch. He sits down, then pulls me onto his lap. I keep my back straight, and my head down still, which only lets me see a little of the men sitting close to us.
“There you go. Here, have a drink,” a different voice says. A moment later, a glass filled with ice and amber liquid appears in my view. Alaric grabs it while keeping his other hand planted on my hip.
“Saluti,” all men say in unison, and I watch Alaric finish his drink in one gulp before slamming the glass on the table in front of us.
“So, Alaric,” the man closest to us says. “Tell me, old friend. How much for her?”
All air whooshes from my lungs, and my whole body stiffens.
“She is not for sale, I’m afraid,” Alaric answers calmly.
“Everything is for sale.” The man laughs.
“Not her.”
“You refuse to give me what I want, Alaric?” All the humor is gone from his voice now, and a deadly threat appears in its place. All the other men go silent as well, leaving the room to be eerily quiet. What happened to the music?
I try to breathe in, but my lungs won’t work. My chest burns from the lack of air, and I know if I don’t get this panic under control, I’m going to pass out soon. I close my eyes and concentrate on calming down when Alaric says something that makes me wonder if I’ve already passed out.
“You can’t have her because she is my fiancée.”
15
Alaric
I don’t know who is most shocked by the words that just came out of my mouth—me, him, or Monroe? She is sitting on my lap like she is frozen in time, completely still, every muscle tight.
Calling her my fiancée was the only thing I could think of, a split-second decision that will alter my entire life. I’ve never even thought about getting married before, but right now, this might be the only thing that will save her from Alessandro.
I owe this man my life. He is the only family I’ve ever known, but I know what he does to women. I know he likes to cause pain, and sometimes, he takes it too far and kills them. The thought of Monroe in his clutches makes my chest ache. Marrying Monroe might be drastic, but it’s the only thing that will give her a chance to get out of here.
“So you want Monroe to join this family?” Alessandro asks, eyebrow raised. When I nod, he continues. “You know what that means, right? She needs to prove her loyalty to us.”
Fuck. I didn’t think that far ahead.
“She has to go through initiation just like anyone else. She will have to kill someone for the family.”
Monroe’s head snaps up at his words, all blood drained from her face as she looks at me with impossibly wide eyes.
“I guess I should introduce myself first if you are going to be part of this family. I’m Alessandro Lombardi. This is my younger brother, Savio, and some of our close friends,” he introduces everyone one by one before turning back to Monroe. “So, who are we going to have you kill for us?”
Monroe's mouth falls open like she is about to say something, but no words come out.
“Don’t be ridiculous, Alessandro,” Savio interjects. “She doesn't have it in her to kill someone, and you know it. There are other ways she can prove herself. We can plant her for information or use her as bait. Those would be much smarter choices since she has no affiliation with us until now. No one would suspect her.”
“Maybe smarter, but certainly less fun.” Alessandro leans back in his seat, running his hand over his chin in thought. “However, I can think of something she could do for us, something that would prove her loyalty to this family, and the best part, it can be done today.”
The mischievous glint in his eyes tells me I don’t want to know what he has in mind. Nevertheless, I ask, “And what would that be?”
“Fuck her in front of us and give us a show.” He smiles. “If you won’t let us fuck her, that’s the least you can do.” The other guys in the room nod their head in agreement, their eyes already undressing Monroe like the hungry hyenas they are.
“Those are your choices. Either she kills someone, we get to fuck her, or you fuck her in front of us.”