His dark gray eyes bore into hers. His teeth were clenched and she could tell that this wasn’t the same man who had swept her off her feet and that she considered sleeping with tonight.
“I learned things there. While I was tortured and beaten, I learned a lot. Like how to get a confession out of someone. How to make someone assist me when I need them. I can be very persuasive.” He gripped her arm tightly and squeezed. She gasped, lifting her shoulder a little higher in hopes of easing the pain.
“You are going to help me. Your debt is not paid.”
“I owe two thousand dollars to Margliado. I was promised no interest. I don’t want anything to do with this place, Sergio, or anything else. I just want to be free.”
“Ahh, but you’re too valuable to be let free. You’re mine now, Adelina. You are going to help me with a few things that have become quite important to me and my sanity.”
She shook her head.
He grabbed her hard on her waist and gave her body a shake. “You are going to listen to me or the first people to die will be Kaitlin and Bryer.”
“No. Oh, God, no. What do you
mean? Why are you doing this?” she asked as the tears hit her eyes.
“You are going to help me take The Phantom away from Jett and Flynn Greyson. You are going to sabotage their business so that when the health department comes in, they will find the place unsuitable for business. You are going to screw up their orders, cancel deliveries, and set them up for destruction. Ultimately, you are going to help me eliminate them.”
She shook her head. “No, I’m not. Who the hell are you?”
He grabbed her by her throat and yanked her forward. His evil eyes bore into hers. This was not the same man who courted her and made her imagine a committed relationship with a man who really cared. She was never so wrong about a person’s character.
He tightened his hold, and she instinctively grabbed onto his wrist. She was standing on her tiptoes. He towered over her. The strength in his hand was enough to crush her windpipe.
“You are going to help me and do everything I say, or the first to die will be Bryer and Kaitlin. Test me, Adelina, and see what happens.”
The tears stung her eyes, as he slowly took the pressure off his hold on her. She coughed as he stepped away.
The anger hit her belly, and combined with the fear she reacted. Badly.
“Fuck you, you lying bastard. I hate you.”
The hit to her gut was completely unexpected. He hadn’t smacked her or grabbed her hair. No. The bastard punched her in the gut. She nearly fell to the floor.
“Okay. I see that some of what I learned in Columbia might be needed right now.” She didn’t know what he meant. She wiped the tears from her eyes and tried to breathe. The pain in her stomach wasn’t nearly as bad as the fear she felt from Raymond’s words. What was he going to do? He mentioned being tortured.
He pulled off his dress jacket, and then undid his tie.
“Turn around and face the desk.” He ordered her. She shook her head as she gripped the wood. Adelina glanced toward the door. She could try to run, but then what? There were more than a dozen men out there ready to pounce or at minimum cop a feel. He walked toward the closet, opened the door. He pulled something from it just as she took a step toward the doorway.
“Don’t. The punishment will be worse.”
“Punishment?” She whispered as he slapped the long flat, wooden stick against his hand. It made a high-pitched snap and she thought it sounded like a whip.
“What are you going to do with that?”
“Improvise. Unfortunately, I don’t have my usual tools with me. This will have to do.”
She shook her head.
“You’re sick. I’m not going to let you hit me with that thing.”
He went to swing at her and she ducked but then he grabbed a hold of her, turned her body around, and pressed her over the desk. Her ribs hit the hard surface making her scream.
She tried to fight his hands as they tore the sweater from her body and then he yanked the zipper of her dress down.
“You fucking bastard. You’re going to rape me? How could you do this?”