Devil You Know (The Diavolo Crime Family 2)

1

Nic

My father used to say: a man doesn’t wait around for what he wants, he goes out, and he takes it. An ideology I live my life by. When I want power, I create it. When I want money, I get it. When I want revenge… nothing will stand in my way.

Doubt has no place in my life. So why is it creeping up my spine like a fucking disease today? Why is the idea of handing Celia over to the man who bought her turning my stomach?

There is an invisible rope wrapped around my neck, and with every inch I move further away from Celia, that rope tightens, strangling me. I step into a side hallway to collect my thoughts and catch my breath. The rope refuses to loosen, no matter how much I reason with myself.

Every second I waver is uncertain. And uncertainty gets you killed.

I square my shoulders and head off to find Soo. He’s handling the money; he can also handle Celia’s transfer. I’m not sure I could go through with it if I was the one that had to do it. Call me a coward, but I couldn’t follow through with this if I saw her face again.

Most of the bidders are still crowding around the main warehouse space. The heavy tang of cigar smoke coats the air so thick you can taste it. Tucked in the back of the room is a glass window. On the other side of that is the room where Soo waits and watches for someone to do something stupid. When I enter, he’s at his terminal, set against the wall to the right of the doorway, watching the cameras, monitoring every angle.

I step inside his sanctum and lean against his desk. “You handle the transfer?”

Soo nods. “I’ve just finalized payment. All that remains is the physical exchange.”

His long fingers stroke over the keyboard as he finishes typing the sales sheet, then he stands, walks across the room, and grabs a mound of silver chains from the floor. On one end is a spiked choke collar made for a dog. Acid rises up my throat, burning me from the inside out.

“What the fuck is that?”

Soo shrugs, shouldering the chains. They clank together, and the sound grates on my already frayed nerves. “The buyer requested her to wear these, and only these, when I hand her over to him.”

The sounds of the crowd narrow to the clink of those chains. Each individual link swaying over his arm.

I allow myself a flash of what they would look like draped over her naked skin, the collar around her slender neck, and white-hot rage pricks at me. The chains must weigh twenty pounds at least. Not only would they bruise her delicate skin, but they would be heavy and hard for her to manage.

Causing my princess discomfort isn’t something I shy from. But there’s a difference between cruelty and control. Dominance and depravity.

I’m selling her to some dickhole who will use her body until it breaks and then throw her away. I knew this… I knew that her fate was sealed. Fuck! I sealed it myself. I prepared myself for this, promising that I wouldn’t falter. But knowing something will happen and being in that moment are two different things.

I thought I could push my feelings aside for my revenge. I thought I could ignore my conscience and forget she ever existed. Instead, I feel like I’m being torn apart, my insides shredded into a million pieces. There is a gaping hole in my chest, bleeding me dry, and there’s only one way to stop the bleeding.

“Put the chains down, Soo. You won’t touch her with them.”

Soo drops the chains without a word. They hit the floor with a dull thud. He doesn’t get the chance to ask questions because I’m already marching to the office where we stashed her to wait.

Doubt has no place in my life. So, I’ll cut it out and take Celia home where she belongs, with me.

Once the decision is made in my mind, it lifts an invisible weight off my shoulders. I know I made the right choice, and if any man dares to touch her, I’ll rip off his hands and cut them into tiny pieces before feeding them to him bit by bit. Celia is mine, and I’m going to make it crystal fucking clear to her and everyone else from now on.

With each step I take, the clench of my jaw loosens, and the grinding of my teeth stops altogether. Her buyer better stay the fuck out of my way, or he’ll be the first one to die tonight.

My insides are a twisted mess by the time I reach the door to the office. I do my best to mask my features. I don’t want her to know that she’s gotten to me, not even a little bit.