Page 39 of De Luca: The Sinister Game

“A bat. I need a bat.”

Drake arches an eyebrow. “We don’t have a bat. How about a hammer?”

I glare at him with the anger I’m feeling for Nicole. “I need a bat.”

A delicious smirk forms on his lips as he pulls out his cell phone. “Alright, Pretty Girl. We will get you a bat.”

I smile at Nicole, “While we wait, tell me why.”

She stares at me through her reddened eyes. “Why what?”

Crossing my arms over my chest, I shake my head. “Don’t play coy. Why do you hate me so much? Our entire lives, you’ve done everything you can to hurt me. I want to know why.”

Nicole releases a shaky breath, “I don’t know. Mom hated you, so I guess I did, too.”

I laugh bitterly, “Your mother kidnapped me. And it’s me you hated? Did you ever consider hating her? She’s the one who did this. If it weren’t for her, I wouldn’t have ever met you.”

When Nicole cries, I wonder if it’s an act or if it’s an honest emotion. With her, you never really know because she's always so manipulative. “I hated you because you were better than me at everything. You danced better. Played piano better. Got better grades. Every single thing. It drove me crazy, so when Mom suggested I take your ability to dance, I ran with it. I’m sorry. Please don’t let them hurt me.”

Moving closer to her, I forcefully grab her face and squeeze it, just like her mother did to do to me countless times. “I won’t let them hurt you. I promise.”

“Thank you,” she whispers, “Thank you.”

I laugh wickedly. Right now, I don't know who I am, but I know she drove me to this. “I will do it myself. For every tear I cried after you destroyed me time and time again, you’ll cry twice as much. The pain will be excruciating. Yet, while I did nothing to you, I never deserved what you did to me. You will. Remember that when you’re crying, ‘why me?’ you did this to yourself.

CHAPTER 28

DANTE

This is not how either of us expected her to handle this day. Both of us expected her to be emotional and more than a little broken to find out her truth. We wouldn’t have thought less of her for that type of reaction. I think most women would break down with the information Natalia has gotten today. Yet she’s not any woman. She’s ours. Even when we found out she was cutting herself, we still knew this strength and resilience were inside of her the entire time. Cutting didn’t make her weak. We don’t like it and won’t allow it, but we also don’t judge her for it. She did what she had to in order to survive. But it’s our job to help her find other ways to release that pain. We will never stop her from expressing herself, but only if she does it safely.

Our newest guy, Brandon, comes running in with a bat and tries to hand it to him, but I narrow my gaze at him. “Hand it to Natalia.”

He does not know who she is but obviously can figure out that it’s not the chained up woman. Brandon gives her the bat and flashes me a weary look and walks out of the room. He has worked for us for about four months, but nobody that works for us has ever seen a woman handing out punishments. They also don’t know what these people did to gain entry to our warehouse. They don’t need to know her story. Unless she tells it, no one outside of our family will ever know.

Natalia rubs the length of the bat as she smiles at Nicole. “This is probably gonna sting.”

I knew she had strength in her, but this crazy side surprises me. No, it delights me. Now there’s no doubt. She’s perfect for us.

Pretty little psycho.

Clearly she wants to do this, but I wonder if she’ll be able to swing the bat. Wanting to hurt someone and being able to actually do it are two very different things. Turning around, she glances back at us like she was making sure she wouldn’t accidentally hit us. She smiles slightly. “Stay back.”

Fuck. Natalia taking control like this is the hottest thing I’ve ever gotten to witness. She turns back to Nicole, who is trembling uncontrollably. Natalia pulls the bat back and swings it, hitting her left knee. I’m not sure which is louder, the crunching sound of bones or the blood-curdling screams Nicole yells out.

Our sweet girl pulls the bat back again before striking her other knee. But she doesn’t stop. All her anger has been bottled up for years. It’s as if someone unscrewed the cap and it’s all coming rushing out like lava in a volcano.

Natalia stands in front of Nicole who continues to cry and whimper endlessly, our girl looks like the sexiest executioner as she raises the bat over her head, my brother and I watch with our full attention as Natalia says what will be the last words Nicole ever hears, “Fuck you.”

The bat comes crashing down on her head. Blood and bits of her brain fly in different directions. Natalia drops the weapon at her feet and falls to the floor with a gut wrenching sob.

Drake says to me, “Get her showered and home. I’ll have Brandon grab some clothes for her. I’ll take care of the rest here and be there when I’m done.”

I walk over to her and bend down, lifting her into my arms. I tell her the plan, and she looks up at Drake. “You aren’t coming with us?”

He shakes his head. “Not right now, Pretty Girl. I’m going to take care of things here, but then I’ll be home. What you need right now is Dante. He will take care of you.”

There’s an unspoken understanding between us I hadn’t even realized existed until now. This is what Drake meant when he said I had her heart, although I don’t completely agree because she has feelings for him as well. Although I can now clearly see that we both offer her different things. I think she needs both of us. I carry her off to the shower and set her on the counter. She stares at me with concern, and when I ask what’s wrong, her response stuns me, nearly speechless.

---