Page 79 of Weaponized

I feel the bile rise in my throat. I won’t be able to fight him off, tied and injured. I’m struggling to breathe as it is. My throat is raw from being choked and blood is running down it from when he struck me.

“Then, when I’ve had my fill, I’m going to do to you what they did to my cousin, Tiny.”

Tiny was his cousin?

“Yeah, I know all about how you arranged that. Sold him out. Told Victor a bunch of shit that led right to his door. Do you know what they did to him? Do you, bitch!?” He is screaming now. Sweating. Veins popping.

I sob. Everything hurts. I feel my eyelids droop and I’m certain I have a concussion.

“No, no, no. You don’t get to pass out on me. Uh uh. You’re gonna feel every second of our time together, so wake the fuck up!” He slaps me. Once. Twice. The taste of copper explodes in my mouth.

“Ah, there we go. Focus those pretty blue eyes on me, bella.” He bends back to the floor, picks me up, and throws me over his shoulder. “Ah, you like this pose, don’t you?” He carries me back to the couch and throws me, so I hit my head against its arm again as I fall.

“Had to make things more comfortable for what I have planned.”

“Please,” I whisper. I hate that I’m begging him, but, oh, he loves it.

“That’s it, bella. Beg me for it. Show me how much you want it.” He grabs my sweater and tries to wrestle it over my head. The issue is, with my arms bound the way they are, it doesn’t work for him. The cashmere gets stuck on my head, covers my face, and he is getting pissed.

“Ah, no. You’re going to watch everything I do to you.” He lets the fabric drop back in place, but reaches his hand inside and grabs my breast. Hard. “You like it rough, bella?” He laughs maniacally. “I sure hope so.” He reaches for my nipple and pulls so that it feels like he’s trying to detach it from my body. I scream.

“That’s it, you beautiful bitch. Scream for me.” His hands go to my leggings and he fumbles with the waist. I start to thrash. I bring my head up to crack into his, and he shouts.

“Fucking slut!” He punches me in the face again and I spit blood in his eyes. I raise my knee to hit his groin, hoping if I injure him there, I can at least prevent what he has planned. He grunts with the force, and his forehead hits mine again as he nearly folds in half on top of me. I struggle under him as the dizziness sets in. I’m not sure how long I can keep this up before I lose consciousness. I just know I’m not going down without a fight.

Luca

It’s an invasion of her privacy. I know it. But I can’t stop. My brother and Anthony have gone to meet Gráinne and her brother. My dad has left to go “take care of a few things.” And after an hour of fruitlessly searching for Gianni, despite my father specifically asking me not to, I am watching my girl play on repeat on the screen.

I keep replaying her laughing. Her throwing her arms around me when I walk through her door. It’s bittersweet torture because I vividly remember what the video doesn’t show. The softness of her skin. The scent of her hair. The warmth of her embrace. I rewind it and watch again. I’m not proud right now. I’m pretty fucking pathetic to be honest.

I press pause when Anthony and Matteo enter the room. Matt looks over my shoulder and sighs. “We’re gonna have to delete it all, Luca. We can’t keep this.”

I nod absently. “How is she?” I sound as broken as I feel.

A look passes between them. “Her brother did most of the talking,” Matteo finally says. It’s not an answer to my question.

“But, how did she seem?” Yeah. I know. I’m pitiful. Desperate for any tidbit of news.

“She seemed like you do,” Anthony answers quietly. “Sad.”

“Rowan wants us to bring over the computer, so they can ensure we delete all of the video,” Matteo informs me. “Wants to see it done. See that there is no copy history.”

“He wants us to come to his place?” I ask, wondering if I’ll see her there.

“Uh, no, not all of us.” My brother looks uncomfortable. “Anthony and I will go over later. I have to call and set it up.”

Right. Of course he doesn’t want me in his house. I sink back into my seat. It’s not like I’d know what to say to her anyway. Where would I even begin?

“He also wants Gianni,” Anthony says. “But, we can’t do that. I mean, I get it. I really do. But, he’s one of us.”

I growl. He recorded her. Us. Set her up. Tried to hit her. Grabbed her.

“Look,” Anthony pleads. “He fucked up. He’s obviously out of his mind—needs help. We need to—”

“I don’t want to turn him over to Rowan,” I snarl. Anthony looks relieved until I continue, “I want to deal with him. Personally.” I close the laptop and stand.

“It’s irrelevant if we don’t know where he is,” Matteo says, frustrated. “Ant and I drove around for the past couple hours looking for him.”

---