Page 174 of Brutal Knight

"El Caminante told me. How you were protected from Castro'stropas de choquein Cuba. First by Knight, then by him."

"You think Manuelprotectedme? How the hell canyoube so naive?"

"Keep your voice down," Antonio growled softly.

"You know what he's like," I continued, quieter now, the words like acid on my tongue as I thought of that time in my life. "You think I was better off with Manuel than living on the streets?" At this, Antonio didn't respond, and I continued. "And that wasafterI grew up. Did your parents sell your virginity to the highest bidder? Inject heroin in you when you fought them? Then every time afterwards to keep you compliant until you craved the drug yourself? You might've been a poor boy from the streets, dealt with some shit in your days, but you can't say that I wasprotected.Not even from the people who were supposed to love me."

He was silent for a long moment, so long that if I hadn’t still felt his weight on the bed, I would have thought that he'd slipped quietly from the room.

Then, finally, "You're right. I didn't know."

His voice sounded...strange. It sounded like regret, or guilt. Possibly even shame.

Something inside me softened. While I knew that my life had sucked, I had no idea what his life had been like. It could have been just as bad, or even worse. I had no right to judge him.

There was a reason he was where he was, I was certain.

And he could've treated me much worse.

I reached out my hand, squeezing his, whispering, "I'm sor--"

His hand jerked out of mine and I felt his weight lift from the bed. "Don't feel sorry for me, Tatiana. I've made my choices, and I'll live with the consequences." His voice was cold once more. Now that my eyes had adjusted to the darkness, I could see the stiffness of his back, the anger back on his face. "Get some sleep. You're going to need it."

And with that, he left me alone in the room, the lock of the door clicking behind him.

I sighed heavily, my mind racing, wishing I'd taken advantage of his momentary softness to ask him about Honey. She was my first priority.

I tried to relax, to get some sleep. I would need my strength for what came next. But rage boiled up inside me as I lay helpless on the bed, somehow aware that Manuel was watching me through the video feed. I could feeliton me, slicing through my skin, intensifying the nauseous anxiety in my gut.

Only one thing was certain at this point: I was going to kill that bastard. He'd dared tattoo me--like I was a goddamn animal that belonged to him.

No. I was donebelongingto anyone but myself.

I shifted my gaze towards the blinking light, staring straight into the lens, letting my anger rage. If he wanted to watch me, I'd watch him right back, thinking about all the things I was going to do to him.

As soon as I knew Honey was safe, I would make him suffer for every sin he had ever committed. Make sure he tasted every drop of the pain he had caused others, slowly and methodically, until justice was served.

When nothing happened, no guards came to drag me away to his torture chamber, I reached out my hand, stretching across the silken sheets, trying to get an idea of what my room was like.

When my fingers brushed over soft skin, I yelped and jerked back, falling off the bed with a thud.What the everloving hell?!

I jumped to my feet, my knees so weak that I had to clasp the dresser next to the bed to keep from falling again. All I could hear were my own panicked breaths and the sound of someone else shaking on the bed.

"Tatiana?" A whisper, so quiet I could barely hear it, but the sweet innocence pouring from that small voice was unmistakable.

"Honey?" I trembled as I called her name, reaching out blindly with my hands. She lunged forward, throwing her arms around my neck and I fell to my knees, holding her tight.

"I wasn't sure it was you," she cried out into my shoulder. "I was so scared."

I held her tight, feeling her heart pounding against mine. "I know, baby," I said, tears of relief burning the back of my eyes. "I'm so sorry."

"What took you so long?" she choked out. "You said you would always come for me."

"I'm here now." I stroked her hair, attempting to calm her.

"I waited for you. For so long."

"Are you okay? Did he hurt you?" I asked, already checking for any signs of harm, even before she could answer.

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