by Jen Davis
My heart stopped beating, my lungs no longer retracting, inhaling air. My skin, my bones, everything went cold, shivers running rampant through my body.
He leaned closer, his warm breath coating my ice-cold skin. “What do you think I’m capable of doing with you in seventy-two hours, Tatum?”
It wasn’t a question. The promise, the threat, the satisfaction was hidden behind every softly spoken word. I felt it spread through every bone of my body, my soul trembling as my mind refused to even think about what he was going to do to me.
Abruptly, he stepped back. “Now,” he started and walked to the other side of the room, “let’s start with a few basic rules. This”—he waved around the room—“is your new home. Live it, breathe it, get used to it. The sooner the better.”
I crossed my arms in front of my chest, like I was trying to protect myself. “How long do you plan on keeping me here?”
A wicked grin crossed his face. “Oh, Miss Linscott, I can assure you that you’ll be staying here until they carry you out…in a body bag.”
Chapter 5
Castello
Watching the fear spread across her face, her eyes widening as she tried to process what I just revealed, was one of those moments I would wrap with a bow of gold and safely place it in a drawer at the back of my mind, cherishing it forever. This would be one of many moments still to come that I would remember in ten, or twenty, or thirty years’ time, thinking of how fucking great it felt to exact my revenge. People said revenge didn’t cure, that justice wasn’t able to heal, but I begged to differ. It had only been a day, and I could already feel my blackened soul starting to rise out of the ashes as I witnessed the dread of the unknown wrack through Tatum Linscott’s body.
Donna diavolo.
The devil woman who stood before me now would burn in hell once I was done with her—if there would be anything left to burn. She and every goddamn Linscott would suffer my wrath, and none of them would come out of this unharmed or unscathed. They would all pay. They killed—no, murdered my brother in cold blood because they thought they were better than us, that their little innocent princess needed a better man to warm her bed and spread her legs. She might not have pulled the trigger, but by inviting my brother to her bed, she lured him to his death.
I stepped back and leaned against the wall across from her. “What’s wrong, little mouse, cat caught your tongue?”
Bittersweet tears rolled down her cheeks—bitter for her, but so goddamn sweet for me.
“Why are you doing this?” Her voice trembled, and the sound made my soul come alive.
I shrugged. “I told you, you killed my brother.”
“I didn’t kill him!” she shouted between sobs before wiping the tears harshly off her face with the back of her hand. “I told you I didn’t kill him. I didn’t even fucking know he was dead. I thought he left me. All this time, I truly believed he left me.”
“Let me warn you again, Miss Linscott, your lies will only make this harder.”
“I’m not lying!” She fell to her knees, wailing like a banshee about to meet her own death. It was fucking music to my ears. “I’m not lying. You have to believe me.”
I crossed my arms, completely unaffected by her display of despair.
“Now, now, Miss Linscott. Don’t waste your energy on trying to keep up this charade. You’re going to need that energy for what I have in store for you.”
“You got it all wrong,” she continued as she rocked back and forth, clutching her stomach with her arms. “I loved him, and—”
“Shut the fuck up!” I pushed off the wall and stormed toward her. She scurried back on her hands and knees until her back hit the wall. Hearing her say she actually loved my brother fed the monster inside me, letting it growl and claw and slam against the gates I so desperately tried to keep it caged behind.
I glared at her. “You Linscotts know nothing of love, of loyalty. All you know is how to steal and lie and take what doesn’t belong to you.”
“That’s not true,” she hissed.
“You think daddy dearest makes his millions trading oil in the legitimate way? Think again, naïve little girl. No one gets the amount of power and wealth your dad has by following the rules.”
“You would know, I suppose.”
“Watch your mouth, little mouse. Or it might be your finger I’ll be sending to your dad next.” Straightening the lapels of my suit jacket, I pinioned her with my stare. “If you would like to survive for as long as possible, I suggest you never say those words again.”
Tatum lifted her chin, focusing her gaze on me. “What words? That I loved your brother?”
I stiffened, my blood scalding my veins. I was too busy trying to get my anger under control for me to even think about what to say to her, because if I let go, if I let my rage free, she wouldn’t live to see another day.
She got up from the floor, her eyes no longer sad as she looked back at me. “I don’t know who the hell you think you are, but you cannot stop me from saying I cared for your brother…because it’s the truth.”
“The truth?” I stepped closer and noticed she didn’t step back like before. “Tell me, Miss Linscott, if you’re so convinced about what the truth is, why do you think my brother would have lied to you about who he was?”
She glanced down at the floor, then back up at me, and I could see the ripples of doubt swirling around in the ocean of her eyes, but there was something else that wasn’t there two seconds a go—a fire, a burning determination.
“I don’t know…I don’t know why he would have lied to me.” She stepped closer with what seemed like newfound courage, and my stomach twisted as a bout of desire shot up my spine. What the fuck?
“But now that I’ve met his twin brother, I’m thinking that he was protecting me.”
I too took another step closer, bringing our faces a breath from each other. “Protecting you from what?”
She lifted her chin, her gaze etched on mine. “From you.”
I continued to stare at her, and when she bit her bottom lip, my gaze dropped to her mouth. Whether it was her show of boldness or the fact that she thought she needed protection from me, but right at that moment my cock swelled, pressing hard against the zipper of my pants. How I would have loved to tie her to that fucking bed and show her exactly how much protection she needed from me. The Linscott blood in her was too weak to handle the darkness I would unleash on her body. The pain and the pleasure would crack her wide open. God, what I wouldn’t do to be able to show her exactly what and who I was, to see her weak body come undone under my power. But unfortunately, that wasn’t part of the plan, and I needed to goddamn focus on what I came here to do.
“Well, then,” I locked my gaze on hers, “I’d say my brother was one smart man.”
“He was,” she replied, still not backing down an inch. “He was smart enough to not want to tell anyone about his supposed twin brother. Why do you think that is, Castello? What reason would your brother have to try to exclude you from his world?” She cocked her head. “To hide you from me?”
I couldn’t answer that. Her courage, the way she used her truth, twisting it so it was a slap in my face, was one fucking smart move. She was trying to rattle me, to fuck with my head, but there was no way I would allow that. I’d been preparing for this war with her for so long, my mind was a fucking fortress.
Deciding there was still more than enough time to go to battle, I stepped back. “Are you hungry, donna?”
She didn’t answer, but the way she licked her lips told me she was.
“Bring it in,” I ordered over my shoulder, and Vico appeared in the door with a tray.
Tatum’s glare moved from me to Vico, and instantly the fire she had in her eyes a second ago was gone, replaced with fear. She was afraid of him, and I didn’t blame her. My little brother did look like one mean motherfucker with his broad shoulders and long black hair tied at the back of his neck. I’d bet seeing me and my brother standing next t
o each other tripled the amount of fear that possessed her.
Vico placed the tray on the bed and stepped in beside me. The way he stared at Tatum like she was the prey didn’t go unnoticed by me. I could just imagine what kind of savage thoughts were going through his mind right now.
“Tatum, this is my little brother, Vico. Vico, this is our guest, Miss Linscott.”
Vico held out his hand, but Tatum stepped back, pressing her back against the wall.
Vico snorted. “Don’t be afraid, Miss Linscott. I won’t hurt you…much.”
I kept my gaze locked on her, watching her chest rise and fall. “Don’t be rude. Shake his hand, Tatum.”
She didn’t move.
“I said don’t be rude.” I raised my voice, causing her to flinch, but she still didn’t attempt to take Vico’s hand.
Without warning, Vico launched himself forward, grabbing Tatum around the throat, bringing his face a few inches from hers. “I knew you were a cunt without a spine.” He tightened his grip, and she groaned, closing her eyes as more tears slipped down her face. “Tonight, when you go on your knees and pray, you better thank God that Castello has been put in charge of you. If it was me, you would have been battered and bruised within an inch of your life by now.” He leaned closer to her ear, letting his cheek touch hers. “And you would have been utterly used”—he licked up the side of her face—“and completely fucked.”
Tatum sobbed, and Vico pressed her head harder against the wall. If I was a good man, I would have stopped him. I would have torn him away from her and probably knocked his teeth out, but I was not a good man. In fact, I loved seeing the fear in her eyes, witnessing as it ate away at her soul.
I straightened my jacket. “Vico, that’s enough. You’re going to make the poor woman piss herself.”
Vico let go of her throat and stepped back, and we both watched as Tatum fell to her knees coughing and gagging while she continued to cry. The sight was beautiful.
I turned to Vico. “Leave.”
“What?” He shot me a questioning look.
“I said leave.”
“Are you fucking kidding me? I was just starting to enjoy it.”
“I don’t give a fuck. I said leave. Now.”
Vico glowered at me, silently cursing my existence. “You will not have all the fun with this one, brother.”
“This is not about fun, brother. If you think fun is part of the fucking plan, think again.” I could no longer hide my annoyance. “Now leave before I make you.”
He straightened his shoulders, and I got his message loud and clear. He would not let this slide, but he didn’t have a choice…for now. I was the Boss, I held the power, and he fucking knew that.
“Fine.” He walked toward the door before turning and glancing at Tatum still crying on the floor. “But before this is all over, I want my piece of her.” He looked at me. “Promise me, brother, you will let me exact my own revenge before this is done. He was my brother too.”
I didn’t respond, but I knew Vico would want his own payment before this was over. My little brother was wired that way, selfish and needing to feel like he had power too.
“Promise me,” he repeated, and I nodded.
“I promise. You will get your revenge.”
He lowered his head in respect. “Thank you, brother.” And then he walked out, leaving me alone with the poor, sobbing girl.
“For God’s sake, get up, Tatum.”
She didn’t.
I crouched down, grabbed her arm, and pulled her to her feet. “I said get up!”
“Please don’t do this.” Her eyes were bloodshot from all the crying, her hair sticking to her damn face.
“It’s already done, little mouse. Your fate has been decided. You sealed it the day you pushed your filthy claws into my brother.”
“Please—”
I grabbed her other arm, tightened my grip, and pulled her against my chest. “If you knew how much I enjoyed it when a woman begged, you wouldn’t be saying please so much, little mouse.”
She pulled her face away from mine as far as she could, whimpering while tears still stained her cheeks.
“Now, eat.” I shoved her toward the bed where the tray stood with a loaf of stale bread and a glass of water. This wasn’t a fucking five-star hotel, especially for her. All she deserved was scraps and old food the pigs wouldn’t even fucking eat.
Tatum fell beside the bed, wiping her eyes with the backs of her hands. Vico was right; she had no goddamn spine. I thought I saw a glimmer of some fight in her earlier, but I was wrong. She was nothing more than a spineless, lying slut who needed to be taught a lesson before her final payment.
“Eat your food. You’ll need your strength for what’s ahead.”
She got up on her knees, leaning with her side against the bed. “What are you going to do to me?”
“That’s for me to know and for you to find out, little mouse. Now, I said eat.”
She glanced at the tray and immediately went for the glass of water. But as she took that first gulp, she spat it out in a spray of disgust. I smiled, knowing all too well what Vico had done.
“What’s the matter? You don’t like it?”
The glass fell from her hand, the liquid spilling on the floor. “It’s water and vinegar.” She wiped her mouth.
“I know. And you just spilled it, wasting the only form of hydration you had.”
“Castello, please—”
“Let’s get one thing straight.” I crouched down right in front of her, bringing me at eye level to her. “You will not address me by my name, do you understand me? You’ll address me as ‘sir,’ and nothing else. You are nothing here, no one. As of now, you are stripped of all your basic human rights, and you belong to me. You are my puppet, and I will do with you as I please.” I got up and straightened. “If I return, you better have finished that goddamn loaf of bread, or there will be hell to pay.”
Tatum glanced at the bread before looking at me. For a brief second, I saw a flash of the fight she had earlier before Vico came in. It burned with anger behind her blue irises, and at that moment I realized I was going to enjoy every goddamn minute of breaking her.
Chapter 6
Tatum
My throat was dry, and even though I felt sick to my stomach, my body craved food. There was no telling how long I’d been here, when I last had something to eat or drink. But when Vico placed the tray with bread and what I now knew was water and vinegar on the bed, eating or drinking was the last thing on my mind. The second I laid eyes on Vico, my skull prickled with warning. Castello had darkness burning in his eyes, but Vico? There was something sinister stirring in him, and it made my skin crawl.
Oh God.
What the hell is happening?
What am I going to do? How am I going to survive this—whatever this is?
Wiping away the remnants of tears off my cheeks, I stared at the stale loaf of bread. What I really wanted was water, but when I tasted that God-awful vinegar, the gulp I took burned down my throat. Unfortunately, that small taste of water had only intensified my thirst, and now I was even willing to see how much of the disgusting water-vinegar mix my body would tolerate before I would throw up.
I glanced down at the liquid I had spilled all over the floor. Without thinking, I crouched forward, pressed my dirty hair back, and started licking the vinegar-water off the floor like a fucking dog. I couldn’t stop myself. It was like all natural instincts had set in, and if licking water off the floor was what I needed to do to give my body what it needed, then so be it.
The taste was disgusting. The sharp tang of the vinegar stung the inside of my mouth, all the way down my throat. But I didn’t care. I tried to concentrate on the little taste of water I did manage to get every now and then.
After licking up every drop I could find, I sat back, leaning against the bed, and stared at the roof. The psycho was probably watching, loving the sight of me crawling on the floor like a fucking pet. This was
exactly what he wanted to see, me on my knees.
While biting the inside of my mouth, I thought about the look in Castello’s eyes when he stared at me, how the hate pulsed with thick, hot rage behind his dark irises. He thought I killed his brother, but that was not true. He wanted revenge against me for something I didn’t do. How the fuck was I supposed to get out of this, survive, when this man had nothing but resolve written all over his face?
I could feel more tears threatening to show how weak I felt at that moment, but I bit on my tongue, pushing them back. Enough tears had been expelled from my body and soul ever since the day I thought Carlo had left me. With every tear my body shed after Carlo was gone, I hated him more and more. His absence in my life made me weak, made me want to crawl back into that hole I had been in for years, after I finally managed the strength to get out of it. I had promised myself that I would never allow anything to force me back into that dark place where pain was my friend. But when Carlo disappeared, I couldn’t take it. It was a different kind of pain than what I was used to. It wasn’t the kind of pain I liked, which was why I took to drinking. Alcohol was the only way to numb the craving, to control the urge to let the pain seep out of my veins.
I never wanted to be that person again, that person who was too weak to handle the pain, who needed it expelled from their body to get some relief.
Being weak was not who I was.
I eyed the bread, remembering his warning of what would happen if I didn’t eat it. Part of me knew I needed to eat to regain my strength, but another part of me refused. He wanted me strong so I would be able to endure whatever it was he had planned. Castello wanted me to eat, which was incentive enough for me not to. How stupid would I be if I obeyed everything he said, enabling him on this twisted vendetta of his against me?