He shrugs like he doesn’t know just what it does to my body. My hands shake to wrap it around someone’s neck. My knuckle throbs painfully until I have to slam it down to the desk. The warning comes in pants. “Ares.”
He steps back with a scowl. I’ve ruined his big plans. And I’m terrified to know what those plans were. “Fine. She’s engaged to Vick, the older son of the Vale family. I had the plan to take her away from her fiancé on the day of the wedding. No one would have seen that coming.”
Engaged.
Fiancé.
Fuck. Mierda! She was making me insane again. The level headed Ace wasn’t for her. Oh no, she always has to bring out the Ace everyone fears. I inhale hard but the exhale comes as a violent shout.
“Fuckkk! Hermano, what...what did she do? What the fuck did you do!?”
What have you done, Raine...
CHAPTER 4
RAINE
“WHAT WAS THAT, RAINE!”
No matter how many times he screams, I can’t get the meaning of his words. What did he want to know anyway? Why I almost fainted? Or why I ran from the party like the devil was on my back?
“I told you to behave. I warned you!” He looks disastrous prior to just half an hour ago. “Yet you went ahead and embarrassed me in front of our people anyway. Our blood. How dare you!”
How dare I?
I want to laugh at his face. We all know how greedy the Vale family is. If not that, at least, Vick’s wild ways with multiple women should be enough for Papa to back out from this agreement. Yet, he can’t wait to hand me to a monster just to show that he can.
And he will. There’s nothing stopping Stefan Orlov if he puts his mind to it.
“I think she just felt overwhelmed-”
“Shut up, Nicholas!” For a second, Nick just freezes seeing our father’s clenched fist coming his way. It happens so quickly that by the time I can process anything, there’s already a bruise forming on his cheeks. “I told you to keep an eye out for Raine. Not flirting with those good for nothing girls.”
“I was doing my job.” He grits out, rubbing his cheeks with a scowl.
Papa scoffs, clearly done with Nick. But does he ever? “Not good enough to stop her from running.”
“I’ll do better,” Nick says nodding. He is clever enough to put on a toothy smile for his own benefit. But I see the crack. The anger he’s harboring lately for both of us. Where he wants to rebel against our father, I’m just someone he’ll rather erase from his life.
Blood be damned.
And, if I was in the right mind, I’d keep my mouth shut. Just like I’ve been doing for the past five years. But to be someone’s wife, none the less that Vick’s who can’t even hide the animal he really is...I can’t.
I don’t think I can ever be someone’s pawn again.
“I refuse to marry him.”
Startled, both turn to me. This will hurt me in the long run but I’m past caring. “I don’t care what you promised them. I won’t marry him.”
One look at my father and I know what a grave mistake it was. His eyes flare in open admission to hurt me, not that he ever took it physically but tonight? Tonight I’m staring at the Pathan everyone fears in Bratva, not the man I call Papa.
“I think I wasn’t clear enough when I told you to keep quiet.” A hard tug on my arm almost makes me lose my balance. Instantly, a chill creeps down my bone thinking about what he’s going to do. I have gone through this before, but nothing stops me from trying to escape anyway.
“No! Let me go-”
My gaze falls to Nick, who is standing at my doorstep with his hands in his pocket. He looks grim, a strange frown marring his face. Don’t make me go there! I want to yell. I want him to help me. But as always he has nothing to give me other than his betrayal.
“I can entertain the guests while you’re gone.” Calm. How can he sound so calm?
I can feel Papa’s shaky laugh. “Make your father proud. No one should leave without knowing that the wedding is happening in early November. I was looking forward to December but my little girl here forced my hand to hurry up.”
Early November?
Not enough time. Not even a month! My heart feels like jumping out at this moment. Is this what it feels to hit rock-bottom?
No. You’ve gotten through worse. My mind chimes in. You’ve won before. You’ve ruined a King and his Kingdom.
But the price I paid is turning out to be too much...even for my damaged soul.
As the stairs come closer to the end, my hands start to shake. I can only imagine how I look like as he drags me all the way to the basement.
“No! I-I can’t-”
“Yes!” There’s a hiss near my ears. Enough to make me stiffen in fear. “You will go back to that place. You’ll breathe in the same air of those dead bodies and learn. Only then I’ll allow you to leave.”
Before I can protest more, my knees scrape against the hard marble by the force he uses to shove me into the room. I think I even run to the door in hope of outrunning him but he locks the door in my face, severing any plan of my escape.
The first time I was thrown here, Papa was only happy to show what it looks like. One bedroom where I am currently in and a bathroom in a worse position than a cell. I don’t dwell on the fact that there might be bones somewhere near me like he said. I only force myself to climb into the rusty iron bed, taking in the scent of dread with a sigh.
Days passed in slow agony.
Nights blurred into nightmares.
I heard footsteps behind the door, always stopping short from opening the door. Sometimes it was Papa coming to remind me of my mistakes, other times it was Carter who’s only happy to know that I was at least breathing. Yet somewhere in my mind, he is always there.
“I didn’t do anything.” I hear myself say. My dream self is one step away from falling into his embrace, but he doesn’t look happy to see her. “Papa announced that so suddenly that I-”
“Why didn’t you look for me?”
Huh?
“You didn’t wait for me.” He looks torn. “You left me to die.”
“I did not! I waited for you instead. But you never came!” Good lord, my voice comes out loud, and high. But he doesn’t believe me. My vision blurs more. Why am I so upset?
“You let them take me away. Now you’re going to be his. How does it feel like to be passed around like a toy, Barbie?”
My voice cracks on a dangerous cry. “Ace!”
That damn name jolts me awake. My eyes rapidly try to find the culprit but he's nowhere to be found. Then I remember where I am. It’s still dark, silence covering up the sound of my chocked breaths. Though there’s another sound. Like someone is trying to open the latch-The door opens with such a loud screech that I have a hard time to hide the flinch. I expect to see Papa, maybe he needs me for the ring exchanging now. Or maybe it’s Vick finally coming here to claim me.
But I don’t expect Nick marching toward me with disheveled hair and a black eye to go with it. How long has it been that I was here? A week? Even more? But, it’s too soon according to Papa. And that makes me look at Nick in alarm.