“Take off your fucking clothes,” he sneered, reaching for the waistband of his pants. “I want to see what eight million looks like.”
“No,” I said bravely.
The back of his hand slapped me across the face. Hard. The coppery taste of blood filled my mouth. He laughed and flexed his hand. “That wasn’t a request, you fucking cunt.”
I didn’t have much of a choice. Fighting back tears, I slid the thin straps off my shoulders and let the whisper of fabric slide down my body, not bothering to cover up any of my parts. I didn’t want to give him any more excuses to hurt me.
“Oh very good, I can see why he was infatuated with you.” He raped me with his eyes. I felt dirty and wanted to cower away from his gaze.
“On your knees. And open your mouth,” he said after a moment, grabbing himself through the front of his pants. “Like a good little whore.”
“You put that thing in my mouth and I’ll bite it off.” I shot back behind gritted teeth.
“What did you say?”
“I’ll bite your fucking dick off.”
He moved faster than I had anticipated, and pain bloomed in my stomach as his fist collided with my solar plexus. I fell to my knees. Nausea climbed my throat, and for a moment, I saw stars. The pain was overwhelming. He grabbed a fistful of my hair and yanked me up to meet his eyes. I saw the gleam of satisfaction in them.
“Open your fucking mouth,” he said.
I spat in his face instead.
“You fucking cunt.” He snarled.
Without warning, fingers wrapped around my throat and began to tighten. I clawed at his face, at his wrists, at whatever I could reach. But he refused to let go. I kicked out uselessly and only found empty air.
As my world started turning black, real fear shot through me. This wasn’t a fight I was going to win. Tears threatened, and I forced them back, hating that I felt this way.
I was giving up. I had no options, no way out of this.
Nobody was coming to save me.
Chapter 59
Lucas
The auctioneer was the first person that crossed my path. “Don Valentino,” she said smoothly, no hint of concern in her eyes. “I’m afraid you made no purchases this evening, so I can’t let you go any further.”
Rocco murmured something like a curse behind me.
“I’m afraid,” I seethed, “that you will let me pass, or you will find yourself out of a job, madam.”
She clearly was made of sterner stuff than most, likely because she dealt with assholes like me for a living. She didn’t flinch at my harsh tone.
“You know the rules, Don Valentino. I can’t change them, not even for you. Besides, you put the girl up. She’s no longer yours.”
Wrong answer.
Leda was mine; she was going to be mine for the rest of my miserable fucking life. I had made a mistake, a shitty one, but I was in the business of fixing my mistakes.
I grabbed the auctioneer by the neck and shoved her hard into the wall. The first flicker of fear crossed over her face as the façade of invincibility shattered before her eyes.
“What are you doing?” Rocco asked in a low voice. He knew the ramifications of what I was about to do and the shitstorm we would have to deal with later.
“Where is she?” I asked, keeping firm pressure on her neck. “Where did you put her?”
The auctioneer licked her lips, her eyes taking on a maniacal look. “What are you willing to do, Don Valentino?” she rasped. “Are you going to kill me? If you do, you will never find her.”