She licked her lips. “I was trying to leave in the middle of the night. You know, when most of the world is sleeping. I figured I’d slip out of town with the money Stefan and I had saved up. I didn’t even make it out of town before I was run off the road. These men in masks put a bag over my head and knocked me out. I’ve been under Matteo’s thumb ever since.”
“You’re wrong. You’re my property now,” I said, gesturing around to the room. “I negotiated it as part of an agreement with my father. Your safety so I could use you as I see fit.”
She immediately tensed and slid away from me, fear in her eyes. “Stefan said you-you were better than Matteo. H-he said I-I could trust you, V-Vincent, and L-Levin—”
“I’d have already fucked you if I were intent on causing you harm,” I said, cutting her off. “I mean that in more ways than one.”
Her hands shook as she twisted them on the leg of her sweatpants.
“Your brother. Fallon.”
“Don’t hurt him. He’s a good man. My brother isn’t like the others. He’s stuck like me. Please.” She got up and approached me, dropping to her knees in front of me. Her hands rested on my thighs. “I’ll do anything to keep him safe. He’s all I have left.”
I reached out and tilted her chin up. “That wasn’t me propositioning you, Natalia.”
“Then what do you want from me?” she whispered, tears in her eyes.
“Your cooperation. You know you’re the enemy to us, right?”
She nodded miserably.
“I made a deal with your brother to save you. I intend on following through as long as he follows through on his end.”
“He won’t let you down. I know my brother. If he says he’s going to do something, he does it.”
I nodded. “I hope that’s true. But if he fails me, he fails you. So just know, no hard feelings.”
“I know.”
I released her face and studied her. She was a pretty girl. She was no wasp, but no one else was. I could see the family resemblance between her and Fallon. Same hair color. Same high cheekbones.
“If you can think of anything you didn’t tell me, let Haley know. I’ll be sure she gets you better clothes and food in here.”
“And soap?” she pleaded softly, her cheeks flushing at the request.
“I hadn’t realized you were without necessities. I’ll see to it that everything’s taken care of.”
“Thank you, Dominic. Really.”
“Don’t thank me yet,” I said, getting to my feet and stepping around her. “I still own you and have no immediate plans to release you. But I will take care of you. Better than the treatment my father gave you.”
I strode to the door and paused before I opened it. “Did he hurt you?” I looked back to see her trembling again.
“He’s not a nice man. He-he tried to get information out of me. So did Stefan’s father. I think he was worse if I had to say. Even after I broke and begged for death, they kept the punishments coming. Months after.”
She rose and lifted her tank top, turning so I could see the deep scars on her back. A roadmap of her pain. Some were still healing.
I tightened my jaw. “I’ll see to it that those wounds are treated, and you have proper supplies. For what it’s worth, I’m sorry for this shit. In a different world, you’d be with Stefan, and no one would’ve hurt either of you.”
“Too bad we live in this world, huh?” She gave me a sad smile.
“Too bad,” I answered back, stepping out of the room and locking her in.
I thought of the nightmare that awaited me and Bianca tomorrow night at our reception because I knew there would be one. My father would see to it. Tomorrow may very well be the day I put a bullet between my old man’s eyes.
“Way too fucking bad,” I muttered.