Jesus fucking Christ, this was not happening!
I was about to assault the goddamn pillar again when my phone buzzed in my pocket. Jerking it out and answering happened with one swift swoop of my hand.
“What?”
“We got another one.”
“Where?”
“We brought him to the warehouse.”
“I’ll be there in twenty.”
I hung up and rushed to my car. This was exactly what I needed to get rid of all the anger I was struggling to contain. Layla was wrong about me not being the man she fell in love with back then. But unfortunately, that guy died the day she left…and a monster was left in his place.
***
Layla
It killed me to witness what I was doing to Dante. Even though he kept a big part of him a secret from me back then, I never doubted his love for me. I knew deep down that I owned his heart—all of it. But my decision to leave wasn’t based on whether he loved me or not, or even about the secrets he kept from me. The decision I made was because of something much more important. It was more important than us both.
“It’s working,” Matteo gloated as he leaned back on the couch watching Antonio help his brother-in-law-to-be nurse his bruised face. “Whatever you did in that bathroom with Dante, it worked like a fucking charm.”
I rubbed my hand up and down my other arm, the insides of my veins starting to itch. “I did what you asked. So I’d like to go home now.”
“Oh, come now, Layla dearest. Let’s stay awhile. Have some fun.” His fingertips brushed over my shoulder, his touch turning my skin to ice. “After what we just saw, we have much to celebrate.”
I shrugged his hand away. “You gave me your word, Matteo.” My distaste for him echoed with every word I spoke.
“Settle down.” He moved to the edge of the seat. “You know I always make good on my word.”
I dug my nails into the skin of my arm. “Then I’d like to go home now.”
He took a sip of his drink. “I’m not ready to go yet.”
“Matteo.”
Abruptly, he grabbed my knee, his fingers digging painfully into my flesh. I cringed then felt him lean into me. “Do not make misuse of my tolerance, Layla. And I warn you not to test me.” He let go of my knee, his face close to my ear as he whispered, “All I need is one reason. One good goddamn reason to defy my father’s orders, and I’ll do it. I will spread your legs so fast you won’t even have a chance to beg me not to.”
A shiver traveled all the way down my spine. The mere thought of Matteo touching me in such a way made me sick to my stomach. I should have counted myself lucky that Stefano ordered his son not to lay a hand on me—well, not in a sexual way. But I knew Matteo wanted it. I could see it in his eyes as he stared at me like a depraved, hungry animal. If given half the chance, Matteo would have taken what he wanted from me, leaving behind nothing but an empty corpse.
He relaxed in his seat, and I let out a breath. My heart was beating so fast the sound echoed in my head. The fear I’d been walking around with for the last few months was starting to carve me open from the inside out.
I stared down at the vein in my arm. What they did to me, and what they were forcing me to do now was beyond cruel. Because of them, I had no choice. Because of them, I stood on the brink of losing everything. And once the day came when they had no more use for me, I knew in my heart I would never get back what they took from me. I had been sucked in too deep. It was like Dante said, once you were a part of this world, there was no getting out of it. But I had no choice, and I prayed to God that when the end came, everyone I cared about would know the truth…especially him. Dante. The man I ended up deceiving the most.
I stiffened when I felt Matteo’s fingertips against my back. “I was thinking, since you did so well tonight, I will reward you.”
I glanced over my shoulder at him. “Reward me?”
“Yes. Tomorrow I will let my driver take you to your sister’s house for a little visit.”
I turned in my seat as I felt the tiniest sliver of hope. “You would allow that?”
He shrugged. “Of course, you won’t be given free rein. You will be escorted with security, and you only have twenty minutes.”
Twenty minutes wasn’t long. But the last time he allowed a visitation, it was only for five. It wasn’t nearly enough time to explain everything to Kate. But it was enough to tell her what she needed to know in order to keep our secret safe.
“Thank you, Matteo.” My voice was soft, my confidence zero. Even though it was a kind gesture for him to give me twenty minutes with my sister, I wasn’t stupid. There was no way he would allow something like this without having an ulterior motive. And I was pretty sure I already knew what it was.