“Amara, just calm down. I didn’t do anything wrong. I promised to protect you, and none of that has changed, all right?” He sounds convinced, but I’m not. I know better. Reality rubbed away the naïve girl I was before.
“None of it changed, huh? This wasn’t a part of the plan. Why didn’t you tell us then? Does Enzo know where I am?” I ask, even though I already know the answer.
“No. He will soon though. I’m assuming my cell should be ringing shortly.” Eli speaks nonchalantly as if I’m not being held captive by a deranged lunatic.
“Maybe you should’ve let him know about your changes before you just up and kidnapped me.” I’m exhausted. I want nothing more than for all of this to be over. I know I have to be strong, but I want to cave badly, I want to be weak… to curl up in a fetal position and cry.
“Shhh…” he says, gripping my chin hard. He tilts my face up and inspects me before running his thumb over my lip. Tears push behind my eyes, but I refuse to let them fall.
Heavy footfalls fill the room, and when I look past Eli, Mack comes into view. Eli shoots me a warning glare. A look that says you say a fucking word, and it’s your death.
“Was she smarting off to you, too?” Mack asks with a sick smile on his face. “Because we can put her mouth to better use.”
“If you come near my mouth with your dick, I’ll chew it off.” I’m not sure I’m gonna make it through the next twenty-four hours without barfing numerous times. The man makes me sick.
“Yes. She’s defiant, isn’t she?” Eli’s voice turns cruel, and it’s as if a different person is standing in front of me.
“Very much. Lorenzo likes them sassy,” Mack says, licking his lips as if he can’t wait to take a bite out of me. “I like them sassy too but for a different reason. It’s more fun to break them like that. Fuck and beat the sass right out of them.”
“Enzo is gonna break along with her when he watches us destroy her. Speaking of, he should realize she’s missing real soon, if he hasn’t already. Prepare for him to come with guns blazing.” He laughs at his own joke, and Mack follows suit with happiness filling his facial features. What a sick bastard.
“It’s just you and me. The other men will be sticking around the outside to protect the building. We’ll know he’s here before he even steps foot on the premises.” Mack seems awfully sure of his plan. To me, it’s too early to be boasting.
“A little full of yourself, aren’t you?” I bait him. Eli’s simple glare turns into a full-on angry stare. Right, no, I don’t care if my mouth gets me hurt. I won’t go down without a fight.
“Bragging isn’t my specialty, princess…” The words roll off his tongue with ease. “But this time around, I am sure. I’ve planned this for years, sweetheart. I won’t fail, and you shall find out real soon when Lorenzo the King is brought to his knees to watch you bleed out.”
“You’re a fucking monster. A fucked up, psychotic asshole hell-bent on getting revenge, for what? Because you couldn’t have me? Because you weren’t born into the family? Tell me, Mack, what is it that pushed you over the edge? Did he fuck som—” My words are cut off as his hand comes down across my cheek. A burning sensation radiates through my face and down my cheek. My mind reels, as everything begins to spin again. I shouldn’t have said those things. I should’ve kept my mouth shut because now all I will be facing is death—the dark, ripping your fucking heart out kind of death.
“Take her to the room. I don’t care what the fuck you do with her as long as you make it hurt. Rough her up, fuck her, do whatever you want with her.” I can barely hear Mack’s voice over the pounding in my ears. Squinting my eyes, I stare off into the distance and watch him walk away. His footsteps echo off the walls and in every part of my mind.
Eli starts to undo my restraints, and when I’m free, my body sags to the cold concrete floor. My mind tells me to fight Eli, to try to get away, but my body is telling me to close my eyes and go to sleep.
“You’re a real pain in the ass, you know that?” I only grunt in response, but in my mind, I’m telling him to fuck off. “I told you to keep your mouth shut. I told you to stay quiet, Amara. You didn’t.”
He slides his arm underneath my body and lifts me up. He throws me over his shoulder roughly, knocking out the air from my lungs. Jerk.
He carries me through the building, which I think is some kind of abandoned factory from what I can make out. Eli walks down a staircase, bouncing me on his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.
“Can’t you slow down,” I groan. “I’m gonna throw up.”
I’m rewarded with a sharp slap on my ass. “Throw up on me, and I’ll spank you.”
“You know Enzo would kill you, right?”
“I don’t know, he didn’t kill me after I watched you fucking, and you seem to enjoy an audience very much. Maybe you can give me a private show now?”
“Fuck you,” I spit, making him chuckle.
We enter a room, and Eli locks the door behind us before dropping me unceremoniously onto a mattress.
“Ow!” I yelp, bouncing across the old mattress. I groan, rubbing my sore limbs, and sucking in a deep breath. The room smells like dust and mold. When I look around to take the space in, I realize it looks like it too.
“You know he is going to expect me to do way worse to you, right?”
I look up at him. His body is three times the size of mine, and with him looming over me, that fact becomes more apparent.
“Are you going to?” I ask, still unsure where to stand with Eli.
“Depends.” He raises an eyebrow. “I don’t particularly want to hurt you, but I’ll do whatever is necessary to get us out of here alive, and if that means roughing you up a bit, then I’ll take it.”
I swallow hard. “My cheek hurts like a bitch already, my wrists ache, and I have a killer headache. I don’t know how much more roughing up I can handle.” At least he said, getting us out of here alive.
“You’ll be fine. You just have to listen to me better. Now take your shirt off and undo your pants.”
“What?” My eyes go wide, and I instinctively scoot away from him.
“If Mack comes to check on us, it needs to look like I’m doing something to you,” he explains, easing my fear a little. “Actually, it might be better if I rip your shirt off.”
Before I can respond, he lunges for me. I shriek as he pushes me into the mattress and starts tearing my shirt away. I hit him, pounding my fist against his chest as hard as I can.
“Stop!” I yell.
“That’s right. Scream for me,” Eli urges as he grabs my already sore wrists and squeezes. I cry out in pain, and my high-pitched scream echoes through the room.
As soon as I get one of my arms free, I sink my nails into his face, scratching his cheek as deep as I can.
One second his body presses mine into the thin mattress, the next, his weight is lifted off me. My chest heaves, and my heart races as I scurry to sit up.
Eli scoots away, smirking at me. I want nothing more than to wipe that smirk off his face, but my body is petrified and utterly confused.