“I’ll take him to another cell. Then I’ll have a word with Serafina.”
“Are we going to deal with him together?”
I regarded the blond man on the ground. “Yes. If he’s anything like Serafina, he’ll be fun to break.”
SERAFINA
The lights came back on. My eyes burned from the onslaught of brightness. I was still kneeling on the bathroom floor when Remo’s voice rang out.
“Go into the basement and help Nino torture the Outfit asshole.”
I could feel the color draining from my face. I’d heard the shooting, had prayed that the Outfit would win …
I forced myself to stand when the lock turned.
Remo came in covered in blood, and I started trembling, terrified my greatest horrors had come true.
For a couple of heartbeats, Remo regarded me. “Your brother tried to save you.”
Terror gripped me like a vise. I could not breathe. I didn’t want to believe it. “You’re lying,” I gasped out, voice broken and hollow.
A dark smile curled his lips. “He’s a brave one.”
I rushed toward Remo, clutched his bloody shirt.
Remo’s dark eyes held mine. The predatory gleam in them made my heart thud even faster.
“No,” I said again. “Samuel isn’t here. He wouldn’t risk it. Dante wouldn’t allow it.”
“I think your twin would gladly put his life down for you, Angel. I doubt he came on your uncle’s orders. That means no reinforcement.”
I swallowed. Oh Samuel. My protector. How could you be so stupid?
If Samuel was dead, I couldn’t go on living, not with the knowledge that he’d died to save me. Tears burned a hot trail down my cheeks. “If you … if you …” I couldn’t even say it. “Then kill me now.”
“He’s not dead yet,” Remo murmured, dark eyes scanning my face. “We’ll see how long he lasts, though.”
Samuel wasn’t dead. Not yet.
My eyes widened. “Let me see him.”
Remo touched my throat, coming closer. “Why? So you can say goodbye?”
I bit my lip. “To see the truth.”
Remo smiled. “I’m not lying.” He grabbed my wrist and dragged me out of my room. He led me down into the basement, and holding me by the arm so I couldn’t storm inside, he opened one of the cells. Inside lay Samuel, covered in blood and not moving except for the shallow rise and fall of his chest. His blond hair was matted with blood. My chest constricted so tightly I was sure to pass out any second.
“What did you do?”
“Not much yet,” he said as he closed the door. “Hit him over the head. Once he wakes, Nino and I will tend to him.” I knew what that meant.
A terrifying, agonized scream echoed through the basement. I flinched violently.
“That’s Nino’s doing. He’s talking to the other survivor.”
Soon those would be Samuel’s cries. Soon he’d be submitted to the horrors he’d wanted to save me from. Horrors I’d been spared. Bile traveled up my throat.
My twin would suffer and die for me.
I grasped Remo’s arm, my eyes begging with him, even though I knew he didn’t have a heart I could soften. “Please don’t. Torture me instead.”
Remo smiled darkly, cupping my face. “I don’t want to torture you. And I told you I won’t ever cut you again, Angel.”
Of course. I knew what he wanted, what he’d wanted from the start, and today he’d get it. Swallowing my pride because it wasn’t worth Samuel’s life, I lowered myself to my knees right in front of Remo. I tilted my face up, tears stinging in my eyes. “I’m on my knees. I’m begging you to spare him. Whatever you want, it’s yours, Remo. Take it. Take everything.”
His dark eyes flashed with an emotion I couldn’t read. “You didn’t beg for your own life. You didn’t offer me your body to avoid pain, but you do for your brother?”
“I do. I’d do anything for him,” I whispered. “I’m offering you everything. You can have it all. I’m giving it to you freely, willingly, if you spare my brother.”
Remo grasped my arm and hoisted me to my feet. Without another word, he dragged me upstairs and into his bedroom. He released me and closed the door. His breathing was harsh.
My fingers shook as I reached for my dress and pulled it over my head. Remo’s eyes scorched my skin as I reached for my bra and unhooked it, letting it drop to the floor. With a hard swallow, I pushed my panties down my hips until they joined my bra on the floor.
“It’s yours,” I said quietly. All I could think about was Samuel down in that basement, lying in his own blood and the torture that awaited him at the hands of Remo and Nino. I had heard the rumors of what they’d done to Kiara’s uncle.
Not taking his eyes off my face, Remo advanced on me. His hands touched my waist and I trembled. “So strong,” Remo murmured. “So very difficult to break.”