The gory image made my stomach turn. I couldn’t risk Samantha. Helpless to do anything else, I obeyed. A growl slipped through my teeth as I moved stiffly to the metal chair. Sitting in it willingly made my skin crawl. This was where Cristian had started working on me the last time, when his knife had sliced so much deeper than my flesh.
The two guards who always watched Cristian’s back were at my sides, shoving my shoulders so I dropped down onto the metal seat. I didn’t resist as they tied my arms behind me and trained their guns on the back of my skull. I’d do anything my brother asked of me, if only he’d spare Samantha. With his knife at her throat, I had no choice but to comply with his demands.
“That’s better,” Cristian said with satisfaction.
He withdrew his blade, and she heaved in a gasping breath.
“How should we punish my little brother for his transgressions?” he mused. He cupped her breast, squeezing hard. Samantha winced, but she didn’t cry out. Undeterred, Cristian twisted her nipple cruelly, until her pain left her lips on a rough shout. Tears slipped down her cheeks as he took his satisfaction in the sound of her agony.
Driven by blind rage, I tried to push to my feet. The guards behind me applied pressure to my shoulders, forcing me down.
“He doesn’t like that,” Cristian observed. “I thought you enjoyed when she cried, Andrés. Or are you the only one who’s allowed to enjoy her tears?” He leaned forward, so his face was close to hers. His tongue snaked out to lick at the wetness on her cheeks. She shuddered and flinched away.
“I should fuck her raw while you watch,” he continued, his tone conversational.
“You said…” She gasped for breath. “You said this was for show. You promised I could hurt him if I worked for you.”
Confusion fogged my mind, even as my gut tightened. Samantha wanted to hurt me? Cristian was the one torturing me by making me watch while he touched her. I didn’t understand her words.
Cristian laughed, running his hand along the curve of her hip.
“She’s a vicious little thing,” he said. “No wonder you couldn’t manage to break her. Is that why you’re so obsessed with her? All of your other pets were very obedient by the time you handed them over to me.”
She paled, her eyes going wide as they fixed on me. I’d never told her about the women I’d trained in the past. I’d never told her about how I’d taken my pleasure from them before my brother inevitably stole them away. The horror in her taut features told me she found me repulsive. I’d kept those women because I’d been starved of devotion, affection. I’d known Cristian would take each of them away, but that hadn’t stopped me from hoping he wouldn’t. It hadn’t stopped me from indulging in my dark needs.
Samantha had been meant to be mine to keep, but Cristian had taken her, too. Or maybe she’d never been mine.
She’d just said she wanted to hurt me.
I had hurt her. This was only what I deserved after what I’d put her through.
“Let me down,” she insisted with vindictive fervor. “Give me what I want, and I’ll give you what you want.”
“Savage,” Cristian remarked with approval. “Your little pet is going to cut you up for me,” he told me. “You risked your life to set her free, and she came back here to kill you. But don’t worry. I won’t let her take things that far. You’ll survive this, and I’ll patch you up again after. I’ll always take care of my baby brother.”
She’d said she loved me. Had it all been a carefully crafted deception? Or had she come to her senses when I’d released her, realizing that I’d used and violated her? I didn’t blame her for hating me. Not after I’d fucked her while she was high on Bliss and helpless to resist me.
I met her pale gaze and nodded my silent agreement. I didn’t begrudge her the retribution she deserved. If she needed to hurt me, I’d take it. Especially if it saved her from Cristian’s knife. It seemed she’d made a deal with him: she’d work for him in exchange for the opportunity to punish me for my sins.
Cristian unbuckled the cuffs around her wrists, and she dropped to the concrete floor. I jerked with the impulse to catch her, despite everything she’d just said about wanting to harm me. I didn’t care how she felt about me or what she might do to me. I would always protect her, regardless of the circumstances.
“Get up,” Cristian said coldly. “You have work to do.”
She pushed to her feet, turning to tak
e the knife he offered her.
She moved with more brutal coordination than I’d ever seen, punching my brother in the throat at the same time as she grabbed the hilt of the knife. I bellowed out my fear for her as the guards’ guns left my skull to turn on her. Shots blasted through the room, and her body jerked slightly. She moved quickly, darting behind Cristian for cover as he choked and clutched at his throat. He dropped to his knees, and she followed him down, crouching at his back. Her fingers fisted in his hair, and she pressed the blade against his artery.
The guards stopped firing at her.
“Drop your weapons,” she ordered. “Do it, or I’ll kill your boss.”
They slowly lowered their guns to the ground, keeping their eyes fixed on the knife at Cristian’s throat. He was still choking, unable to draw in air. Samantha had gotten in a solid punch. Pride heated my chest as my fierce gatita took full command of the situation. She hadn’t intended to hurt me and work for my brother. She’d been playing him. The relief that washed through me made my head spin.
She loves me. Everything we’d shared was real. The few minutes I’d thought she hated me had been far more agonizing than any torture Cristian could have devised.
“Untie Andrés,” she barked.