Stealing Beauty (Stolen 1)

“Then I’ll take what I want.”

I laughed in his face. “You won’t fuck me. You can’t get hard right now. You always were impotent.”

His hands wrapped around my throat, squeezing hard enough to cut off my air supply.

“I should kill you for that,” he raged. He yanked me toward him before shoving me back against the wall. My head hit the plaster with a sickening crack. “But you don’t get to die. I’ll never let you go.”

My arms dropped to my sides, all the strength leaving my body. Deprived of oxygen, my mind began to float. Everything turned hazy, surreal.

The gunshots sounded distant, but the feral roar echoed through my mind.

Hugo’s hands fell away from my throat, and I dropped to the hardwood floor. My eyes watered as I gulped in air, and dark shapes blurred before me. The dull smack of flesh hitting flesh threaded through my awareness.

A shadow approached me. I blinked hard.

When my vision focused, I found Adrián’s pale green eyes burning down into me. He reached for me with bloody hands.

“Adrián.” I tried to say his name, but it choked in my abused throat.

He shushed me, lifting me up into his arms to cradle me against his strong chest. He held me tightly against him, his grip almost crushing. I pressed my cheek to his shoulder, trying to get impossibly closer to him.

The man I loved had saved me from my tormentor. Adrián had come back for me, and I knew he always would.Chapter 21AdriánHugo’s blood coated my hands, my forearms. My shirt was wet with crimson, cooling and setting into the crisp white fabric.

I’d have to save it as a vindictive reminder of this evening.

I hadn’t killed Hugo when I’d ripped him off Valentina. Caesar had fallen into line, letting me into his home and lending me the support of his men. Except, he had allowed me to kill Tobias for his treachery.

Hugo didn’t get such a quick death.

I’d had him taken to the shed on my estate, where I carried out my darkest deeds. Usually, I left the space to Mateo to conduct interrogations. But tonight, I’d savored every moment of torture.

I’d started with Hugo’s fingers, cutting off each one for daring to touch Valentina. It had been a difficult decision to take his eyes next. Those eyes had coveted her, and I had to pluck them out. But I’d wanted him to witness when I gelded him. I settled for taking one eye, letting him watch as I burned it out of its socket. After a while, his screams began to bore me. I felt the need to return to Valentina like an itch beneath my skin.

It was only then that I’d cut off his cock, leaving him to bleed out. I didn’t bother to wait and watch the light leave his one remaining eye. He didn’t deserve company as he passed. Hugo died alone and mutilated, sobbing and desperate for the end.

As I stalked across the grounds of my estate, making my way back to the house, I called my father.

“Adrián. You’re alive,” he said when he answered.

“And Hugo is dead,” I replied calmly. “Caesar is loyal to me. My alliance with Stefano Duarte stands. And Valentina is mine.” I paused, letting my final declaration ring with command.

A moment of silence passed. “You want a war, then?” Vicente asked, deadly calm.

“Only if you challenge me,” I replied coldly. “We go back to business as usual. Colombia is yours. America is mine. And Valentina stays here with me.”

He sighed, exasperated. “If I’d known that girl was going to cause so much trouble, I never would have accepted her as payment for Cristian Moreno’s debt.”

“Do we have an agreement?” I pressed, ignoring his lamentation. He knew I had the upper hand now, and he had no choice but to comply with my demands. If we went to war, he would lose.

“Fine,” Vicente snapped. “We have a deal.”

I ended the call without bothering with a banal nicety. There was no need to pander to my father anymore. Now that he didn’t have Valentina in his clutches, he didn’t have any hold over me. He was lucky I let him live, but I knew business would run more smoothly if I didn’t eliminate him. Especially if I was going to have to assist Stefano in his conflict with Pedro Ronaldo. I’d need peace within my own organization if I was going to lend my support in his war against the rival Mexican cartel.

I entered the house, my shoes leaving blood smeared on the marble beneath my feet. I didn’t care. All I could think about was cleaning up and getting back to Valentina. After seeing Hugo’s hands on her, I needed to brand her with my touch. I had to bury myself inside her and mark her with my cum.