A vision of Angel flickers behind my eyelids as I blink through the harsh fluorescent lights that encase me. The memory of his strong warmth gives me the little boost of strength I need right now. Add to that the anger of his still unexplained two-year absence and I’m suddenly ready to go toe to toe with Dante again.
Dante may be cruel and merciless, but he’s also a weak, twisted version of his older brother. If Angel was mad at me, then maybe I’d be smart enough to be scared, but Dante? Now that I know Angel is in town and working with Juan, it can only be a matter of time before he rescues me for real.
... At least, that’s what I tell myself to keep from crumbling.
“There’s only one person in this world who looks like me...” Dante teases, a cruel grin coming over his gaunt features.
“Don’t flatter yourself,” I spit back.
Dante’s demeanour changes in an instant. He slams an open palm against my cage and grunts like a primal beast, sticking his nose between the rattling bars like they’re the only thing keeping him from running in and ripping me apart. “Watch your mouth, whore,” he hisses.
For a split-second, I sneer back, not nearly as afraid as I probably should be, but then I think
better of it. There is still so much that can happen to me before I’m rescued—if I’m rescued. I need to be smarter, otherwise I risk leaving Oscar motherless...
But with any luck, he’ll at least grow up with a father.
That thought imbues me with a new spirit. Hope isn’t completely lost, at least not for my baby boy, not yet.
“... We’re getting married in three days.” Dante’s words are like a slap to the face. His reptilian eyes slither down to my ring finger. For a second, I panic, remembering his threats, but when I look down and see that it’s still there, the panic only gives way to dread. I’m still living in this nightmare; I’m still under Dante’s icy grip; I’m still trapped... for now.
“You can spend the night here... for safety,” Dante’s nose twitches with cruelty, but his gaze doesn’t wander far from my finger. I wonder if Angel took notice of the familiar engagement ring? “Tomorrow, you will be taken to a secure location and prepared for our wedding.”
My heart sinks, and suddenly, for some strange reason, I’m reminded of our first encounter.
Maybe it’s the fear or the dread or the helplessness that brings me back to that moment, I don’t know, but the memory of Dante’s initial explosion into my life rushes at me like a wild beast.
So many things have changed since that night he cornered me in the ballroom at Angel’s old compound, but in this moment, something sticks out.
Back then, Dante had seemed to want me for more... ‘physical’ reasons. I can still remember the slimy lust in his alligator eyes and the frigid reach of his scaly fingernails. Now, though, there doesn’t seem to be any physical desire for me in him.
It’s a relief, don’t get me wrong. My first two months alone with this monster were spent in constant fear that he’d force me into his bed... but he never did. Something changed in him when he got me, and now, when he looks my way, it’s more as though he’s looking at an object, and not the kind of object he’s dying to stick his dick in.
So, then why does he want to marry me?
Before I can think better of it, I ask that question out loud. I immediately regret it. Dante was about to turn around and leave me be, but instead, he pushes his face a little further through the thick steel bars.
“Who wouldn’t want to marry you?” he teases, his words purposely vague.
“You...” I respond, though I know it’s only wishful thinking.
“Wrong.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re useful. You were useful to my brother and now you’ll be useful to me.”
Pain rips through my chest. Angel’s proposition wasn’t exactly romantic, but it was far kinder. I remember those old times with a sweet coat of nostalgia. “Some good I did your brother.”
Dante gurgles out a greasy chuckle. “He failed because he was weak. I’m not going to make the same mistake. Two years ago, I wanted you for different reasons, but now I’ve seen the light. You’re nothing but a tramp, and tramps don’t deserve kings.” His bony fingers squeeze tighter around the bars of my cage.
A part of me wants to spit back at him that I’m not a tramp, but I know that would be stupid. Someone has clearly talked Dante out of wanting me for personal reasons, and I’m not going to try to undo that mindset. I may not be safe under his cold hard grip, but life under his wandering hands would be even more unbearable.
I shudder at the thought of Dante forcing himself on me, and thank my lucky stars that at least one thing has changed in my favor.
“I agree,” I whisper, trying not to challenge his view, but my curiosity is pushing more out of me, and I can’t quite seem to stop myself... Plus, if Dante is as impressionable as he seems, then who’s to say I can’t try to change his mind on our wedding?
Before I can contemplate whether or not talking him out of marrying me would put me in more or less danger, the words are out of my mouth. “But what good could marrying a tramp do for a king.”