Page 15 of Bound in Sacrifice

That’s all he can say as he joins ranks with Luca, and they continue to stare at me in shock.

“You don’t think her father has already gone to the police about this?” Cohen asks after a minute.

“No, actually, I don’t. He’s an imbécile who only cares about himself. I would bet the deed to La Tour that he went straight to a bar and drank until he passed out.”

“So, what are you going to do?”

“I’m not sure yet. I’m still trying to figure that out. I’ll tell you one thing though, after Viv I never thought I would think twice about another woman. I couldn’t imagine having,craving, another full-time sub ever again; until I laid eyes on her.”

“Holy shit,” Luca gasps.

“You’re serious?” Cohen questions, at the same time.

I remain silent, but I move my gaze back and forth between them. I respond by cocking my eyebrow, confirming what I just told them to be true. You would have thought these motherfuckers were celebrating me losing my virginity all over again, with the way they break out into cheers.

“Fuck off, both of you,” I shout over their hooting and hollering.

“Sorry, man. But, seriously,” Luca says as they both quiet down, “We never thought this day would happen either. You need this, and if this chick can give it to you, no pun intended, then we’re on your side,mon pote!”

“We’re not 12 anymore, don’t call me ‘buddy’,” I roll my eyes at him.

“Yeah Luca, take it down a notch or three,” Cohen snaps at him before turning his attention back on me. “We’re happy for you, Adam.”

These two have been with me through everything since we were kids. I’m not a sentimental person, but I love them like the brothers that they’ve grown to be. When my parents abandoned me, they brought me into their families. When Viv was murdered, they never gave up on me. Not even when I begged them to. Not even when I was the world’s biggest dickhead, and I would pick fights with them, giving them every reason to kick my ass to the curb and turn their backs on me.

After our little pow-wow, Cohen leaves to go back to the club floor to assist the Moniteurs de Dungeon in overseeing tonight’s crowd, and I send Luca home to be with his sub. I need to be getting home soon too, but there’s something I need to do first. I pull up the security feeds on my computer and shuffle through them until I find the one I’m looking for.

“Rosabelle,” I say her name out loud for the first time.

There is no one around for me to hide from, least of all her. Her name is as beautiful as she is and I like the way it sounds as it rolls off my tongue. I can see her still form on the bed. Is she sleeping? Probably, since it’s nearly two in the morning. Is she crying? Is she heartbroken? Am I the cause of her pain, or is her father?

After a short while of monitoring her from afar on the footage, I decide that I need a closer look and I make my way down to the dungeons. I settle myself on the stone seat just outside of her cell. I’ve been watching her carefully for the past ten minutes, matching my breathing to hers. When sleeping she looks as innocent as I’m certain she is. Not as feisty as when she’s awake. In her sleep she doesn’t have anyone to take care of, nothing to prove. I know all too well how it feels when you’re forced to parent a parent. I know what it’s like to want nothing from them but their loving care, only to get shit on and forgotten.

Before I realize what I’m doing, I’m inside of her cell. The floral scent that wafts from her as I creep closer toward her bed, titillates my senses. It turns me on and petrifies me at the same time. Can I bring her into my life like I want to? Can I come to care for someone again, and take the risk that they’ll be torn from my life in a split second? I don’t think I can do it.

Remembering back to the last day I spent with Viv, I recall the feeling of her hair in my hands and her neck beneath my lips. We’d been together for years and she made me believe that I was a good person. She made me want to be the person that she saw deep inside me. It should have been me they murdered that night, not her.

Neverher.

She was too pure, a fucking saint to be able to tolerate a fuck-up, dirtbag like me. I had a ring burning a hole in my pocket and I was going to give it to her at dinner that night. The dinner that we never made it to. All it took was one shot, a professional hit, for my entire world to sink back into nothingness.

Bang.

A chill runs up my spine and I shake my head to clear the unwanted trip down memory lane from my head. I hear my prisoner shiver at the same time as if she were sharing the moment with me. For an instant, I’d forgotten that she was here.

I shouldn’t bring her into the mess that is my life because it could easily cost her her own. But being the kind of bastard that I am, I’m not going to change my course. I reach down and pull the blanket over her, so it covers her shoulders. Unconsciously, her hands find the hem of the blanket and she balls the fabric together in her fists and pulls it up to rest just beneath her chin.

My attention is stolen by the gleam of a ruby, shining from her right-hand ring finger. It’s exquisite, just like her. The bright red stone rises from the center, with dark green emeralds set into the band. They encircle the gem, twisting around it like vines to create the shape of a rose. The gold band has seen better days, the metal is tarnished and looks thoughit hasn’t been polished in years.

Gently, I peel her fingers from the blanket and pry open her hand. She doesn’t stir. The ring doesn’t fit snug around her finger, and it's easy for me to remove it.

It looks expensive and I wonder how she came by it, not that she isn’t worthy of such decadence. Why didn’t she offer it as part of the money that was owed by her father? It must be worth more to her than her freedom. I slip the delicate piece of jewelry into my pocket and exit her cell.

Chapter Eight

Rosabelle

“Good morning, Rosabelle!” I’m shocked awake by an extremely bubbly, very unwelcome voice in my room.

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