Lie (Betrothed 8)

He opened the blonde’s cage and stepped inside. “No talking, bitch.” He stepped closer, making her shrink back in fear. She whimpered instantly, tears streaming down her cheeks like this wasn’t the first time she’d been punished. She even closed her eyes and dropped her chin to the floor.

He kneeled down and grabbed the back of her hair before he yanked her hard. “Bitch, you know the rules.” He pulled his fist back and prepared to punch her in the face.

I couldn’t let that happen. “It was me.”

He lowered his arm and turned his gaze on me. He couldn’t even look at me without feeling the rage in his blood. His eyes burned like he wanted nothing more than to punish me after what I’d done.

“I was the one talking…not her.” There was probably a stupid mistake to stick my neck out like this, but I couldn’t let this woman be punished for something that wasn’t her fault. She tried to keep me quiet.

He released the blonde and rose to his feet. “I was wondering when you’d wake up, sweetheart.” The nickname should be endearing, from a father to a daughter, or to a woman from a loving man. When he said it, it was terrifying, disgusting. He left her cage and moved into mine.

I pulled my knees to my chest and covered my tits with my arms, but I also didn’t see the point because he’d obviously already seen me naked. I didn’t feel any different, feel any aches, so I didn’t think they’d had their way with me already…at least I hoped not. These guys seemed like the types that wanted to take their victims awake so they could watch them suffer.

His boots tapped against the concrete as he approached me, walking with a slow gait, like he wanted to draw this out and take his time. There was such arrogance in his countenance, but he enjoyed every second of my suffering.

He kneeled down and faced me head on.

I did my best not to shake, but the shivers were uncontrollable. Bumps were all over my arms, not because I was cold, but because I was absolutely terrified. I always held my head high and I wasn’t afraid to stand up to a bully, but this was a whole different situation.

This was hell.

He reached out and grabbed me by the neck, squeezing my windpipe so I struggled to breathe. “I’m gonna make you pay for what you did to Ivanov.”

I struggled to breathe and tried to kick him off, but he was too strong. I grabbed his hands and tried to pull them off my neck.

He squeezed harder and slammed my head against the wall. “Who the fuck do you think you are? You dress like a whore, then expect to fuck like a whore. Fight like a man, expect to be beaten like a man.” Then he punched me hard in the face.

Then again.

And again.

Five

Heath

The guys opened the doors to the back of the armored truck, and I threw my bag of cash inside. It fell on top of the other black duffel bags, shifting slightly as all the bills fell to the right. It eventually toppled over and rolled to the bottom of the pile. “Next.” I headed to the passenger door while the guys locked up the back and moved to their seats.

Steel was behind the wheel. “Where to next?”

I pulled out my phone and looked through the list. “Popov.” He was one of the members of an underground Russian trafficking group. They took girls and sold them to other countries, mainly Russia. Sometimes they sold them locally. Apparently, Russians liked Italian women.

Steel pulled onto the road and drove a few miles to the location, the laundromat with a basement underneath. The laundry place was only open until five, and after dark, it was used to bring girls in and out of the basement.

The biggest part of my job was going around and collecting money, exactly like the tax man. I had a lot of men on my roster, so I spent most of my time collecting cash, always prepared for resistance even though that almost never happened. Damien was one of the few who was dumb enough to try to get out of it.

It was the one positive thing that came out of Catalina’s decision, that I could continue my murderous crusade against him. Rejection stung, especially when I continued to think about her, but I tried to see the good in it, to appreciate the fact that my situation was no longer complicated now that she was gone.

Even though she was still on my mind…a lot.

I hoped she would miss me chasing her and eventually want to chase me, but that never happened. She got what she wanted, and she was too stubborn to change her mind. No matter how much she liked my dick, her ego was far too big to go back on her word now.