The sound of Angelo's belt leaving its loops heralded the first vicious blow, which arrived on schedule with a harsh strike followed by her howl.
"I didn't do anything!" She kept protesting her innocence as he wielded the belt against her skin, putting his entire body into each and every vicious lash. The first time he'd spanked her, there was something like tenderness in it. This time there was not. There was nothing but the desire to punish her for sins she had not committed.
"Save your lies for someone who believes them," Angelo growled.
As if on cue, Bobby's fist pounded at the door.
"HEY! WHAT'S GOING ON IN THERE!?"
"BOBBY!" Gemma screamed for him. But he wasn't in the room, and he could not help.
Angelo was beating her. There could be no other description for the way he was whipping her. The harsh lashes were painful, but they were not bullets. Not yet, anyway.
"Tell me how you did it," he instructed.
"I didn't do it!" She wailed at the top of her lungs.
"Every time you deny the truth, you make it worse for yourself. I can hurt you far worse than you can imagine, girl. After what you have done to me, there is nothing I would not do to you."
He was terrifying, and the pain in her ass was growing by the second. He lashed her again. And again. He demanded she tell him the truth, then wouldn't listen when she told him that she was telling him the truth.
Every time the belt cracked against her ass, she was petrified that it was a gunshot she was hearing. Angelo had lost control. Or maybe he'd gained control. This was the monster she and Willow had done so much research about. This was the real face of Angelo Vitali. She couldn't see him being face down on the bed, but she could feel all the terrible, dangerous energy wrapped around her, focused entirely on her destruction.
He should have done this in the beginning. Somewhere in the background, Bobby was shouting something, but neither of them was listening. They were both caught up in the disciplinary drama, the innocent finally taken to task by the master.
Gemma’s flesh turned pink and then red and then welted. Angelo did not spare her any part of her. It landed on her ass, on her thighs, across her shoulders, even. But Angelo was a master of discipline and pain, and not a single blow landed across her lower back, ensuring no damage to her kidneys. He wanted her to hurt, but he didn't want to hurt her. Not yet.
SMACK! CRASH!
The first was the sound of the belt landing. The second was the sound of the door coming off its hinges as Bobby came barreling through it at high speed. Apparently, the boy had become desperate to save the lying damsel who had put them all in such grave danger.
"Leave her alone!" Bobby grabbed him by the arm, preventing another harsh lash from landing.
Angelo rounded on Bobby. The expression in his eyes was enough to make the younger man back away.
"I have allowed you to indulge yourself with this one, thinking she would be good practice for you, but she betrayed us, and she will pay."
"I didn't!" Gemma screamed the denial through her sobs.
"She didn't do it," Bobby said. "You're not fucking listening. I need to talk to you. Now."
"If this is your attempt to gain mercy for her…." Angelo snapped the belt between his hands and gave Bobby a you're next look.
"Willow and Digby are gone."
Angelo stopped dead and stared. "What?"
"They've escaped. Both of them. Gone."
"How? Digby was locked up, and Willow…."
"A team came in for them. Must have broken Digby out before I even noticed, and then they came up through the back and got to Willow. I saw them on their fucking way out."
Bobby was understandably shaken. If what he said was true, then the Vitali sanctum had been thoroughly violated by a team of operatives who had sneaked in under their very noses, taken their prey, and left almost without a trace.
"Why aren't we dead, then?"
"I don't know. I think it was timed to coincide with the raid on Mark and Tilly. Maybe they wanted the Spencers clear of this place before the shooting starts. Maybe they're sending a fucking missile. I don't know. What I do know is you don't have time to take this shit out on Gemma. We've got to get the fuck out of here."
Bobby wrapped Gemma in the comforter and carried her downstairs. There was always a vehicle waiting. Always. They got into it, Angelo driving, Bobby and Gemma in the rear.
"Second time in under a month," Bobby mused. "They're getting closer all the time. They could have gotten us if they wanted. Why didn't they kill us? Who the fuck is playing with us?"