Page 24 of Alessio DeLuca

Chapter 11

Maty

I wake up with a pounding headache, my mouth dry and gritty like I’ve swallowed a handful of sand. For a long, disoriented moment, I don’t know where I am, or why my body feels like one giant bruise.

Then it all comes rushing back - Ghost in my apartment, the cold fury in his eyes, the sharp pain of his blow before everything went black…

My eyes fly open, my heart kicking into panicked overdrive. I’m in some kind of abandoned warehouse, judging by the high, rusted ceilings and the smell of old metal and mildew. A single bare lightbulb swings overhead, casting shadows on the cracked concrete floor.

I try to move, only to realize I’m tied to a chair, thick ropes biting into my skin. A whimper escapes my throat before I can stop it, terror clawing its way up my aching spine.

“Well, well, well. Sleeping Beauty finally wakes.”

I jerk my head up at the sound of Ghost’s mocking voice. He’s lounging against the far wall, watching me with a predatory glint in his eye.

“Ghost,” I manage through my parched throat. “Please. You don’t have to do this.”

He laughs, a grating sound that sends chills down my arms. “Oh, but I really do, kiddo. You see, you and I have some unfinished business to attend to.”

He pushes off the wall and stalks closer, his movements fluid and menacing. I shrink back instinctively, my breath coming in short, sharp pants.

“I’ve spent the last five years dreaming of this moment,” he says softly, almost tenderly. “Dreaming of the day I would make you pay for what you did to me. To all of us.”

“I didn’t do anything,” I plead, tears burning behind my eyes. “Ghost, I swear, I never meant for anyone to get hurt. I thought… I thought you were all dead. I thought I was the only one who made it out alive.”

“LIAR!” he roars, slamming his hands down on the arms of the chair. I flinch violently, a sob catching in my throat. “You left us to rot! You saved your own skin and didn’t give a shit about the rest of us!”

I’m openly crying now, hot tears streaking down my cheeks. “That’s not true,” I whisper brokenly. “You were my friends.”

For a split second, I see a flicker of something raw and wounded in his eyes, a glimpse of the man I briefly knew. But then it’s gone, replaced by cold, hard rage.

“Well, you have a funny way of showing it, kid.”

He straightens abruptly and steps back, running a hand over his close-cropped hair. When he looks at me again, his face is a mask of cruel anticipation.

“But don’t worry. You’ll have plenty of time to make it up to me. To all of us.” His smile is a slash of white in the gloom. “By the time I’m done with you, you’ll be begging for my forgiveness. Begging for death.”

A sob hitches in my chest. “Please, Ghost. Please don’t do this. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry for everything. But this… this isn’t you. You’re not a monster.”

“You have no idea what I am!” he snarls, his composure cracking. “You and your fucking mafia boyfriend made me into this! Took everything from me and left me to fucking die!”

He’s panting now, eyes wild and feverish in the harsh light. I’ve never seen him like this, unhinged, consumed by hatred. It terrifies me to my very core.

“What are you gonna do to me?” I ask, my voice barely above a whisper.

He smiles again, a slow, sinister curving of his lips. “You’ll find out soon enough.”

He crouches down, bringing his face level with mine. I can feel his nasty breath on my skin and I gag, turning my head away.

But he grabs my chin in a punishing grip, forcing me to meet his burning gaze.

“But first,” he murmurs, his voice soft and intimate like a lover’s caress, “I’m gonna break you. I’m gonna shatter your mind and soul into so many pieces, you won’t even remember your own name. And then?”

He leans in even closer, his lips brushing my skin. “Then I’ll put you back together again. Mold you into the perfect weapon to destroy Alessio DeLuca and everything he holds dear.”

Icy horror slides like a knife between my ribs. “No,” I choke out, renewing my desperate struggles against my bonds. “No, Ghost, you can’t, please…”

But he’s already pulling away, his laughter echoing off the walls as he walks to the door.

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