Page 173 of Brutal Knight

"'I'm not your bunny."

"Would you preferla princesa?" he mocked. "Already demanding a seat on your throne?"

"Yes. Now give me the key to the room so I can leave my kingdom behind. On fire."

"Not yet," he bopped my nose playfully. "Not until El Caminante says you're ready."

"I'm ready right now," I growled out, snapping at him with my teeth. I wanted to bite his goddamn finger off. "Believe me."

He only laughed, the two men chuckling as well, which only made me angrier.

"And when did you become his little bitch, Antonio? Did he cut off your balls when you came to work for him?"

Antonio stilled. His gaze narrowed in on me, his lips pursed, his jaw working. The men behind him shifted uncomfortably at the sudden charge of tension in the room.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" he barked out at them, jerking his head towards the door. "Get the fuck out of here. Go do your jobs."

They straightened, cursing under their breath as they made their way towards the door. "Remember." Fire-beard turned in the doorway, his voice a warning, "No one touches her but El Caminante."

In the sliver of light from the doorway, Antonio's face hardened into a mask of pure rage and a cold shiver worked its way down my spine. Every muscle in his body was clenched tight, threatening to unleash his fury at any moment. I'd never seen him so angry. "You think I would be dumb enough to fuckingtouchher?"

"Fine! Cabrón," fire-beard hissed before slamming the door behind them, leaving us in darkness.

"Don't fucking slam--" Antonio didn't finish but instead turned towards me, though now, I could barely see the outline of his form.

My fingers and toes tingled and I balled my fingers into a fist, holding my breath. Waiting to see what he would do. "Are you going to hurt me?"

"What?"

"Our history together isn't exactly the best," I bit out sarcastically. Even though Antonio had always,somewhat, protected me, I didn't trust him. "You've kidnapped me once before, and now you're helpinghimhold me hostage."

It took him a moment to answer, and there was a large sigh first before there was a dipping weight of the mattress next to me. "First, there are cameras in the room," he said slowly, his voice low and heavy with warning. "I'm sure he's watching us right now. So don't get any ideas about trying to escape."

The air in the room thickened with tension as I searched the darkness, my gaze eventually falling on the telltale red blinking light of a camera, positioned right across my bed. Manuel had clearly wanted me to know I was being watched. "The prick wants to watch me sleep or something?"

"Maybe. Probably." A movement I couldn't make out shook the bed. "Not that I would blame him. You've probably figured out a way to look like you're sleeping while slithering out of the room like a snake."

"Maybe I have."

He didn't respond, only to shake his head at me.

"Why do you work for him anyhow?" I had to ask.

"I don't work for him. I'mfamiliaMendoza. And what the boss says, goes." He seemed to shrug in the darkness. "So here I am."

"You need a new family. Your current one sucks."

He didn't answer right away, his head bowed towards the floor. Then, words murmured so low, I could barely hear them. "I wasn't always like this, you know. But life doesn't always give you a choice about what kind of person you want to be."

"Bullshit."

His head snapped upwards. "You have no fucking idea what life can be like."

I laughed, the sound cold. "You have no fucking idea what's happened to me."

"I know more than you probably think."

"Oh yeah? And how would you know shit?"

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