by Penelope Sky
My heart dropped when I realized my tracker wouldn’t work. Crow wouldn’t be able to find me after all. Shit. “It’s not very cozy. I would think a man as distinguished as yourself would have better quarters than this.” I had no idea where my courage came from because I was utterly terrified. Crow put me back together when Bones ripped me apart. Would he be able to fix me again or would I be ruined for good?
“I miss that smartass mouth of yours. It’s refreshing.” He slowly approached me, his hands by his sides but his face full of eagerness.
I tensed as he came closer, repulsed Satan himself. “I didn’t miss you.”
“Well, I’ll make you miss me.” When he reached me, he grabbed me by the wrists and held me firmly in place. “Shall we get down to it?”
I twisted out of his grasp then kneed him in the groin.
Bones stepped out of the way like he’d been prepared for me to strike. He grabbed my hair by the scalp then shoved me to the bed. My stomach hit the mattress and he used his weight to pin me down.
The panic rose in my throat and I had the urge to cry. I was terrified of the things he was about to do to me. I thought I could handle it but maybe I couldn’t. I’d endured months of his torture and I couldn’t endure another moment. “Let me go!” I tried to fight him but he was heavier than an ox.
He stripped my jeans away while he keeping me pinned then moved for my panties.
“Fuck you!” I tried to buck him off but I couldn’t.
“The harder you fight, the more I want it.” He shoved my face into the mattress to where I nearly suffocated. During that time he removed his own clothes until he was purely naked. “You have no idea how excited I am to fuck you.” He rubbed his cock between my cheeks, already marking me.
I couldn’t take it.
He fisted me by the hair and pulled so hard the strands nearly came out. “I want to look at you. And I want you to look at me.” He turned me around pinned my back to the mattress. Then he separated my thighs with his until he was positioned over me. His eyes landed on the stitches just above my shoulder. “What happened there, Slave? Was your husband as good to you as I am?”
The use of the word slave set me off like TNT. I shoved my fingers into the stitches that Lars sowed just the night before. Blood squirted everywhere and there was a good change I would bleed out and die. Lars warned me that was a serious possibility.
“What the hell are you doing? I’m supposed to be the one who hurts you.” He grabbed my wrist and tried to stop my but my other hand slipped inside the wound and pulled out the tiny blade I had inserted there. It cut my skin on the way out and hurt more than it did when I initially put it in.
But it was totally worth it.
Bones didn’t react because he was in total shock.
I finally got the blade by the hilt, and with all the energy I could muster I stabbed the knife directly into his chest and into his heart. I pushed with what little strength I had and made sure I didn’t miss my mark.
Blood oozed everywhere.
“You fucking…” He felt his chest but missed the knife. Blood squirted from his mouth and dripped down his chin. He coughed and spewed blood all over me.
I yanked the knife out and he bled even more. Like a gaping hole, everything rushed out. The life left him quicker and quicker. Right before my eyes he was dying, and all I cared about was making it as painful as possible.
I grabbed him by the back of the neck and aimed the knife again. “That one was for me. But this one is for Vanessa.” I stabbed the knife right in his eye and straight into his brain. This time I didn’t pull the knife out. I shoved his corpse onto the floor and watched it twitch until it lied still forever. The blood continued to ooze until it finally stopped.
I stared at him, trying to memorize this moment forever. I would use it to combat my nightmares and remind myself that he was gone forever. He couldn’t hurt me again, and he couldn’t hurt anyone else.
Now I had to get out of there.
***
My clothes were soaked with blood and I was a dead giveaway for a fugitive. I cracked the door open and saw two guards on either side of it. They clearly didn’t think all the noise they heard was unusual, just some perverted shit Bones was into it.
They both stared down the hallway, so I snatched one pistol from a holster before the guard had time to react.
When he realized the weight was missing, he turned around and looked at me. “What the—”
I shot him right in the head and did the same to the other before he could react. Both were dead and on the floor, pouring blood everywhere. Each one wore a bullet proof vest, so I took one and placed it on myself. I was going to have to fight my way out of here so I may as well get some protection. I took the extra gun and shoved it into the back of my jeans.
And then I jogged down the hallway.
I didn’t know anything about underground bases, but I knew the only way out was up. I had to get to the surface and move quickly before they sounded the alarm. All I had to do was find some stairs or an elevator and take it to the top floor.
I moved all the way to the end of the hallway and found a corridor that moved left and right. There were no directions posted so I went left and hoped for the best. My gun was drawn and I was ready to pull the trigger the second someone gave me a reason to.
The alarm sounded and commotion rang at the end of the hallway. Someone must have spotted the missing guards and knew I was missing. “Fuck.” I had to get out of there as quickly as possible so I started to run.
I ran as fast as I could and rounded the corner. I moved down another hallway lined with doors, and once I reached the end I saw a shadow of a man on the wall. He held a rifle to his chest and he was moving slowly around the corner, coming right my way.
I pressed my back against the wall and pointed my gun. The second he emerged I would take him out and move onto the next one.
He finally turned the corner and pointed his rifle right at my face.
But I recognized his eyes. I’d stared into them countless times. I saw them in my dreams and the moment right before I fell asleep. My whole life was in those eyes, the other half of my soul. “Crow?”
He immediately lowered his weapon and sprinted to me. “Fuck, Button.” He crashed into me and wrapped his arm around my waist so tightly he nearly snapped me in half. “Are you okay?” He looked down at my blood-soaked clothes. “Are you hurt?”
“No. I killed Bones.”
Crow stared at me in shock, the first time he ever gave me that expression.
“Let’s keep moving.” I still had a wound under my shirt and I was losing blood. The only reason why I didn’t tell him was because I was afraid of his reaction. He would panic and carry me out of there over his shoulder.
“Stay behind me.” He moved back the way he came, leading us to the exit. As we moved further we noticed the stacks of dead bodies Crow had left behind. His other men were in the hallway and sweeping the place. Eventually, we ran into Cane.
“You found her!” Cane dropped his gun and hugged me. “Fuck, I’m glad you’re alright.”
“Yeah…” I felt the strength leaving my body as more blood drained away. I could barely keep my eyes open anymore. Slowly, my knees gave way and I started to sink into the ground. Their voices came out as whispers on my ears.
“What the hell is wrong with her?” Cane asked.
Crow ripped open my shirt to reveal my wound. “Fuck. We’ve got get her out of here. Cane, cover me.”
“Alright.”
That was the last thing I remember before everything went black.
***
The last image I saw was black but now all I saw was white. Piercing white light burned through my eyelids. It was powerful and warm, and I immediately recognized it from waking up to it every morning.
I opened my eyes and saw the Tuscan sun. It shined through the window and directly onto my face. It was morning, just after sunrise, and it was the beginning of a bea
utiful day. The birds chirped outside and I could hear them sing. It was so peaceful I did wonder how I even got there.
I turned my head and noticed Crow sitting at my beside. He was in an armchair, and his hand was loosely held in mine. His eyes were on the book he was reading, and that’s when I recognized his low voice. He read the story in Italian, reading to me while I was asleep.
I didn’t interrupt him because I enjoyed listening to it. The only time I heard him speak his native tongue was when he argued with Cane or he spoke to one of his men. Other than that, he always spoke in English.
He finished the chapter he turned the page then snuck a glance at me. He turned back to the page automatically but stilled when he realized what he saw. “Button.” He shut the book and dropped it on the nightstand. “How do you feel?” He scooted the chair closer to my bedside and brought my hand to his lips. His chin was scruffy from not shaving for days, and the bags under his eyes told me he hadn’t slept.
“I feel…really good.” I was back at home with my husband. Everything that happened was just a distant nightmare. I knew Bones was dead because I would never forget the way I shoved that dagger into his heart. “How long have I been sleeping for?”
“Two days.”
“Oh…”
“You lost a lot of blood. I called a physician and they treated you here.”
That’s when I noticed the IV hooked into my arm and the distant beeping sound of the monitor. My blood pressure was taken and the cuff link tightened on my arm.
“I knew you would feel better waking up in your bed with the open window.” He kissed my head again then rested his forehead against my knuckles like he was saying a prayer. That’s when I noticed my wedding ring had been returned to my hand. “I was so worried…”
“I’m fine. I lost a little blood is all.”
“You nearly died, Button. You should have told me you were wounded.”
“I thought I could make it.” Sometimes I thought I was stronger than I really was.
He stared into my eyes like a man torn in anger and infatuation. “I’m pissed at you for leaving. That’s something I’ll never be able to forgive you for. But I’m so grateful you’re okay that it doesn’t matter.”
“I’m sorry I hurt you. But I don’t regret what I did.” I would do it again a thousand times.
“You got lucky.”
“No, I didn’t.”
He held my gaze while he waited for an explanation.
I cut myself and inserted a smile knife underneath my collarbone.” I pulled down my shirt so I could see the new stitches. “I knew they would frisk me but not pay attention to the wound. So when Bones had me alone I dug my fingers inside and pulled the knife out. Then I killed him.” I said everything without emotion because I didn’t feel any remorse. Everything I did made me sound crazy, but I never felt more sane. I did what I had to do to protect myself and my family. And now were free.
He shook his head. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“You never would have let me gone through with it.”
“And rightfully so. This could have gone quite differently.”
“I was prepared for that possibility. But I had to save your brother. He’s my brother too.”
He sighed, his eyes softening.
“Marriage is about selflessness. I know you need your brother. I couldn’t let you lose him.”
He continued to stare at me, his eyes a mystery.
“Everything worked out in our favor. So let’s just leave the past in the past and be happy.”
He clenched his jaw then stared at our joined hands before he returned his look to mine. “I have to ask you something. Whatever your answer is, it doesn’t change us. But I need to know…”
I knew exactly what he was asking me. “He didn’t rape me. Well, he tried but didn’t succeed. I killed him before he could.”
Crow stared into my eyes until he saw the truth in my look.
“He got me naked and held me down. But that was the worst of it.” At the time it was terrifying and I could barely keep my focus. But he didn’t need to know those details.
“How did you sow your own wound?”
I would never throw Lars under the bus. I made him help me against his will, and if I told Crow the truth he would kick Lars out onto the street. “I did it.”
He raised an eyebrow in incredulity. “You did it?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“It’s called a mirror.” I would lie through my teeth if I had to. Lars did me a favor and I wouldn’t repay him by getting him fired.
Fortunately, Crow backed off. “I didn’t know you knew how to do that. Might come in handy.”
“Yeah…” Now I’d have to ask Lars to teach me.
He stroked the hair from my face and gave me a long look. “You’re incredible, you know that?” Compliments were few and far between when it came to Crow Barsetti, so I treasured it at face value.
“What do you mean?”
“You were brave when others wouldn’t be. You were fearless when you shoved that knife inside your body. And you were courageous when you ripped it from your body and stabbed that asshole in the heart. Button…you’re far braver than me and every man put together.”
I ran my hand up and down his arm. “Not braver than you. If you hadn’t come for me I would have died.”
“No.” He leaned in and kissed me on the forehead. “Button, you would have found a way.”
***
I sat on the balcony with Crow beside me. A book was in my lap but I stopped reading it a long time ago. Instead, I chose to cherish the view right outside the bedroom window. Crow sat beside me and worked on paperwork for the winery. He hadn’t gone back to work since I’d been home. My strength had returned but he continued to treat me like I was fragile.
A knock sounded on our bedroom door. “Crow, when the hell can I see her?” Cane’s angry voice stretched across our bedroom and landed on our ears on the patio.
He set the folder on the table before he rose with a sigh. “Pain in the ass…”
I smiled and waited for Crow to retrieve Cane.
Crow opened the bedroom door. “I’ll invite you over when she’s ready to see people.”
“It’s been five days,” he snapped. “Legally, she’s my sister and I have every right to see her as much as you do.”
I could picture the angry look on Crow’s face.
“Now if you’ll excuse me…” Cane maneuvered around his brother then joined me on the patio. He pulled up a chair beside me and gave me a look I’d never seen before. True joy was in his eyes, the first time he ever viewed me in that respect. “You look great, Pearl. More beautiful than ever.”
Crow growled from behind my chair.
“What?” Cane asked. “I can’t call my own sister beautiful? She knows how I mean it.”
“Just ignore him,” I said. “You know how he gets.”
Now Crow growled at me.
Cane pulled me in for a gentle hug and rubbed my back. It was a tender embrace, far better than anything he’d ever given me before. Who knew we could come back from that horrible afternoon when he beat me an inch from my life. Now there was nothing but love between us. “Thank you so much, Pearl. If it weren’t for you, I’d be buried in a hole somewhere.”
“We would never let that happen, Cane.”
“No, really.” He pulled away and looked me in the eye. “You were so brave. After what I did to you no one would have blamed you if you did nothing.”
“Cane…it’s water under the bridge.”
“Not to most people. I know that was only possible because you love my brother so much…even though I’m still not entirely sure why.”
“You wanna die, asshole?” Crow barked.
Cane ignored him. “I can’t thank you enough. I want you to know I’m your man for life. Anything you need at all, I’m here. You want ice cream in the middle of the night when you’re pregnant, I’ll take care
of it. You want me to beat the shit out of Crow when he’s an ass, I’m your man. Anything at all, I’ve got your back. Alright?”
I smiled. “Got it.”
“There’s no one better to hold the Barsetti name. I’m honored to have you as a sister.”
“Cane, I’m honored too.”
He hugged me again before he pulled away. “Is there anything I can do for you now?”
“No. I think my husband has it covered.”
“Yes,” Crow said with a threat in his voice. “Her husband.”
Cane stood and rolled his eyes. “Dude, I don’t want your woman. If I did, I would have taken her already. So just chill.”
Crow didn’t crack a smile.
“Okay…maybe I wanted her a year ago,” Cane admitted. “But I don’t see her like that…for the most part.”
Crow’s darkness only grew.
“Alright.” Crow clapped his hands. “I’m officially not welcome. I’ll see you around, Pearl.”
“See you then.” I waved as he walked out.
Crow made sure he was out of the bedroom before he locked the door and returned to his seat beside me.
I examined the harshness of his face before I spoke. “You aren’t honestly mad at him, right?”
His jaw remained clenched, and that answered my question. “He’s flirting with you. I don’t appreciate it.”
“Maybe that’s just his way of being nice.”
“Well, I’d rather him not be nice to you.”
“Crow, get over it. You need to stop being jealous and possessive all the time—at least when it comes to your brother.”
“You don’t know what kind of shit he said about you before we got together.”
“it doesn’t matter. It was a long time ago.”
He looked over the balcony and to the vineyards beyond. “Not long enough.” After everything that happened Crow was more protective of me than he ever was. His hold on me was strong like steel and nothing could shake it.
“Well, I like him and would like to spend more time with him.”