James pulls against his chains, knowing damn well how this is going to end. He raises his head with a sickening smirk on his lips as he looks directly in my eyes. “I came for the bitch,” he spits, choosing to go out in typical douchebag style. “She took what was mine.”
Roman fixes him with a hard stare. “Come on, now. You know the rules. If you lose your bitch, that’s on you. Mine isn’t for sale.”
Fury tears through James and he pulls hard on the chains, tearing at his skin until it bleeds. “I didn’t fucking lose her. That bitch stole her.”
“That bitch,” Roman says, spitting the word. “Saved her in that fucking tomb when you left her to die. So as far as I’m concerned, you forfeited. Your little piece of ass was open for the taking, and you better fucking believe that we took her.”
James laughs. “You think I give a shit about her?” he spits. “No. I want what I’m owed.”
“Oh, you don’t need to worry about that. You will have plenty of time with her, though I can’t guarantee that you’re going to enjoy it,” Roman teases, slicing his devilish gaze back to me, his eyes sparkling with the endless things I could do to him. Only, something in James’ words feels like lead spreading through my veins.
“Owed?” I question. “No one owes you shit. I saved her and that’s the end of it.”
James scoffs, yanking against his chains and splitting his skin. “Not according to Daddy DeAngelis,” he says as though that’s supposed to scare me. “I paid a pretty penny for you, and I won’t stop until I get what’s mine.”
I laugh, understanding dawning on me as the boys watch on through narrowed, confused eyes. “You’re the buyer those guards were preparing me for?” I ask with amusement, my lips twisting into a wicked grin. “I should have just stayed put. I could have killed you back then and had a nice ride for the journey home.”
Marcus steps forward, his dark gaze sweeping to me. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
“Your father sold Ariana,” I remind them. “It’s only natural for him to have done the same with me. And apparently this asshole was his new buyer they were preparing me for. Though, I’m a bit disappointed. I would have preferred a guy with a bigger dick.”
“Release me,” James roars. “I’ll show you just how fucking big my dick really is. What I did to Jasmine would be like child’s play compared to how I’ll destroy you.”
Roman laughs, slipping his hands into his pockets as Levi crosses his big arms over his chest, his eyes narrowed on James. “How did you know where to find us?” he questions, the little pieces of the puzzle simply not fitting together. Something is missing, a key piece of information and the boys won’t stop until they get what they want.
James scoffs. “Followed her foul stench.”
Roman’s fist promptly lunges out, cracking against James’ cheek and splitting his skin with the forceful impact. Marcus laughs as my eyes go wide, watching the way James’ body flies back; only the way he hangs from the chains in the ceiling has him coming straight back for more.
Roman reaches up and grips the chains at his wrist, pulling him into his face. “You were asked a question,” he spits, absolutely hating having to deal with rich bastards who think they’re above the law. “How did you find us?”
It’s one thing having to deal with men like Roman and his brothers, men who are mentally deranged after a lifetime of abuse, men who are just as wicked as they are, but then there are men like James who are doing it all for show. They want to appear bad, broken, and psychotic. They want to be the big bad wolf, when in reality, they’re little Miss Piggies who’ll shit their pants at the first sign of real danger. Hell, I bet he felt like the fucking man when he was beating on Jasmine, raping her day and night, but I wonder just how big he feels now.
The two men hold each other’s stares, but it won’t take long before James caves. I’ve been on the receiving end of one of Roman’s stares and it’s brutal. Hell, he didn’t even give me the full effect. He held back just to spare me. I think it’s got something to do with that scar. It makes him look as though he’ll tear your face right off your body with nothing but his teeth. Though, I wouldn’t dare put the idea in his head because he seems like the kind of savage who’d follow through.
They hold each other’s stare for a moment longer before James breaks under the pressure and is forced to glance away, but as a grin rips across his face, it’s clear that he thinks he has one last card to play. “Your father,” he spits. “Giovanni gave you up like a fucking dried out whore.”
Levi snickers beside me as Roman just shakes his head. “Fucking hell,” he says. “Even in hiding he still finds time to fuck with losers like you.”
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”
Roman laughs. “If my father sent you here, then he sent you here to die. He was through with you and whatever … business arrangement you had.”
James shakes his head, a smug look crossing his lips. “You’ve got no fucking clue, do you?”
Roman steps in close, his gaze shifting up and down before coming back to James, his stare like two deadly lasers penetrating deep inside his victim. “I couldn’t give a shit what kind of deal you have with my father, because when your head is rolling around in that wheelbarrow over there,” Roman says, pointing toward the very wheelbarrow the boys will use to discard his body, “your deal will be null and void. But there’s no need to worry, he’ll be joining you in hell the second his bitch ass steps out of hiding. Then the two of you can fuck around in hell and make all the goddamn deals you want.”
“Fuck you,” James roars, spitting a mouthful of blood all over Roman’s face.
I suck in a breath, my back stiffening as I watch the show and I find myself gripping Levi’s arm, certain that Roman is about to lose his shit and end this in one foul swoop, but to my surprise, he calmly takes a step back and wipes a hand down his face. “I really wish you hadn’t done that,” Roman says. “You see, we promised Shayne that she would get to end your life for Jasmine’s sake, but now, I fear that you’re going to force me to break my promise. You’re lucky that I’m a man of my word, because I can guarantee that anything she has in mind is going to be a breath of fresh air compared to what I would have done to you.”
I laugh, that sick little devil rearing its ugly head inside of me. “I don’t know about that,” I mutter, my plan making me all giddy, though I know it shouldn’t. I should be fearing for my soul, but my excitement is too much. After what he did to Jasmine, he deserves the very worst, and I am going to take great pleasure in getting to be the one who gets to do it.
At that, Roman turns back to me. “Are you ready?”
I hesitate a moment, not wanting to seem too eager, after all, I’m supposed to be the innocent one of the group. What would they think of me if they knew just how sinister, sick, and twisted my thoughts have been? “You don’t want to find out what this deal was first?” I ask, certain that selling me to him wasn’t the deal they’re referring to.
Roman shakes his head and the giddiness burns like an inferno inside me. He pulls his shirt over his head, exposing his sculpted torso below and my mouth waters as my thighs clench. He’s fucking gorgeous. “No point,” he murmurs, completely oblivious to the turmoil he’s rained down over my body and mind. “Whatever deal they had won’t matter after this. Though, he’s obviously the guy my father was nervous about us meeting during the tomb party. So at least some questions have been answered.”