by Jen Davis
With my gaze never leaving his, I shifted toward the end of the bed. I looked over at the table, stretching to get a good look at all the food. My mouth salivated, my stomach complained, and my throat burned.
Slowly, I sank to my knees in front of him, my gaze once again pinned on his. It was all there, the darkness, the need…the hunger. It was all in his eyes as he watched me kneel on the floor in submission. That was what he wanted, wasn’t it? For me to submit, to show him he had some twisted authority over me?
His body rippled with predatory greed as he eyed me with sexual belligerence, making me hyperaware of the control he had over me. The power he exuded, the confidence that clothed him just as perfectly as his Armani suit was toxic, my body feeling its poison as it infected me little by little.
I crawled, inching forward on my hands and knees, and he leaned down on his elbows, bringing our faces inches from one another.
“Now beg me.” His voice was low, his eyes hooded. If I didn’t know the kind of hatred this man had for me, I would have mistaken the look for desire. His body was rigid with undisguised lust, and it tainted the air around us with tension so strong, I felt its heat spread through me like wildfire.
Fighting the erotic pull that suddenly swirled in my gut, I bit into my lower lip…before I spat right into his face. Instantly, the tension shattered around us, replaced with the cold of hate and the hard edges of our mutual distaste.
He closed his eyes but didn’t move, my spit dripping off his cheek.
I got up from the floor and glared down at him. “You can take your food and go fuck yourself, Castello.”
It was probably not the wisest thing to do, to taunt and provoke my captor in such a way. But there was no way I would beg for him to feed me like a goddamn animal.
Adrenaline filled my belly, silencing the hunger pains. My heart was beating so fast I couldn’t concentrate on anything other than trying to assess what his next move would be.
He took the napkin and wiped his face clean before getting up from the chair, straightening his jacket with such confidence, like I didn’t just spit in his face, humiliating him.
Dark eyes met mine. “You might think you proved yourself by doing what you just did, that you showed courage. But you’re wrong.” He started to push the cart out the door before turning back to face me. “The only thing you did was prove you’re not playing with a full deck, little mouse.”
And then the door shut with a loud thud, and the lights went out, leaving me alone in the dark with just the echo of his words.
“Not playing with a full deck…” Someone who lacks intelligence.
Oh God. I just turned up the heat in the hell I was currently in.
Chapter 8
Castello
Staring at my reflection in the mirror, I couldn’t help but think of my brother. It was kind of impossible not to since it was his damn face staring back at me. I couldn’t stop wondering what his motive was for dating Tatum and not telling me about it—not telling anyone, for that matter. Was she just a fuck twice a week, someone to entertain between his sheets? Or did he actually have feelings for her?
Christ. If he had feelings for her, what the hell would he have said and done if he found out what I was doing to her, what kind of plans I had in store for her and her family?
“I’m sorry, brother,” I whispered as I hung my head, gripping the sides of the bathroom sink.
There was a knock on the door, and I turned my head toward it. “Yeah?”
“I’m all set up, Castello.”
“I’ll be right there.”
I gave my reflection one final glance before straightening and squaring my shoulders. I was doing what needed to be done, whether Carlo would have approved or not. Whether he loved her or not, her family killed him, and it was my duty to avenge his death.
Grabbing a towel on my way out of the bathroom, I tossed it around the back of my neck. When I walked into my bedroom, Joey was standing next to the table where he had all his magical art supplies, as he called them, laid out.
Joey was a local New Yorker, but the best at what he did. With piercings all over his face, tattoos covering almost every inch of his body, Joey showed an extreme commitment to his art.
He eyed me carefully. “You sure you wanna do this? I mean, don’t get me wrong, as it is now, it’s probably my best work yet. But are you sure you want to, you know…add to it?”
I pulled the chair closer, turning it around before taking a backward seat on it. With my back toward him I answered, “Just do it.”
“You sure? It’s kinda permanent, ya know?”
I gave him a sideways glance over my shoulder. “Would you just shut up and do it?”
“Motherfucker,” he muttered behind me before I heard him shuffling around with the tools he had on the table.
I made up my mind about this the day they lowered my brother and father into the ground. This was something I wanted to do for months, and no one would be able to persuade me otherwise.
Joey settled behind me. “There’s no going back when it’s done, my man. Once it’s on there, it’s on there…like, forever.”
My silence gave him his reply, and then the buzzing sound filled the room. With the first touch of the needle against my skin, I flinched, but after that…nothing. I was numb to pain, never allowing myself to acknowledge it. In fact, I embraced it, letting my body absorb every last bite, soaking in the tiniest sting on my flesh.
For two hours, Joey and I sat in silence, the only sound that of the machine forcing the ink under my skin. Joey knew I wasn’t the talking type. Discussing every day, mundane issues wasn’t something I took part in. As a matter of fact, talking would be too distracting, taking my focus away from the hundred thousand times that needle pierced my skin. I didn’t want to miss a fucking moment of it as I engraved my skin with my grief.
“And we’re done.”
Joey moved back, and I rolled my shoulders, easing my stiff muscles.
“You wanna see it before I wrap it?”
“No.”
“You sure?”
“Yes, I’m fucking sure.”
My skin was warm with a prickly burn, which was soothed when Joey smoothed on the ointment before placing the plastic wrap on my scalded skin.
“Thanks, Joey.”
I got up, and just as I reached for my shirt, I heard the creak of my bedroom door opening. This could only mean one person since everyone else in this goddamn house had the decency to knock—except her.
“Madre,” I said without turning toward her.
“Castello, when will you stop desecrating your body with the ink of the devil?”
I pulled my shirt over my shoulders. “It’s my body, Mother.”
“That’s where you’re wrong, son. Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, and you’re ruining it.”
I sighed then nodded toward Joey, dismissing him. Within five minutes, he had his shit packed up and his tail out of my bedroom.
I turned to face her and stepped closer to give her a chaste kiss on the cheek. “You look good, Madre.”
“Thank you, Castello. My health has improved much, and that’s all thanks to you.”
I pulled on my suit jacket. “To me?”
“Yes. You are finally giving me, our family, what we need to heal. Soon that donna diavolo will pay for what she has done to us. She brought this pain upon us by seducing your brother, leading him down the path of temptation. And when Carlo finally realized how wicked she really is, she and her family decided he was no good for her, a low-life who deserved to be buried.”
I fastened the buttons of my jacket. “Madre, what do we really know about Carlo and Tatum? All we know is that the Linscotts had him murdered, but we do not know their motive behind it. I thought Tatum would fill the gaps for us, but according to her, she didn’t even know Carlo was dead.”
She scoffed. “Not only is she a whore, but a liar too.”
“We don’t know why the Linscot
ts had Carlo murdered.”
“Does it matter?” Her eyes flashed with anger. “They killed my son, your brother, and caused your father’s death as well. No matter what kind of motive they had, they deserve to be punished.”
I stared at my mother, her eyes shining with unshed tears, and my heart ached for her. I placed my hands on her shoulders. “Do not worry, Madre. I will do what needs to be done, and I will get to the truth.” I gave her another kiss on the cheek.
“The truth will make no difference now, Castello. What’s done is done. All that matters is that all of this will be over soon.”
“Yes, Madre, soon this will all be behind us.” I sighed, my mind not the least bit satisfied with not knowing what the hell really happened.
She stepped forward, straightening the handkerchief peeking out from my suit jacket. “I knew I could count on you, Castello. I knew you would be strong enough to do what needs to be done. All these years I tried to convince your father that you were the better son, the son who should follow in his footsteps rather than your brother.”
With that, I stepped back, out of her reach. “Madre, please.”
“It’s the truth, Castello. You were always the stronger one, the focused one. I don’t know why your father insisted on making Carlo his second. Look at what happened. He got himself killed, all because of some spoiled rich girl. You”—she came closer, placing her palm on my cheek—“you would never do something as foolish as that. I have faith in you, Castello, faith in your loyalty to our family.”
I placed my hand over hers and slowly pulled it away from my face. “I won’t fail you, Madre.”
“Oh, I have no doubt about that, my son.”
I squeezed her hand one final time and kissed her on the cheek before attempting to walk out of the room.
“Castello?”
I stopped. “Yes, Madre.”
“I trust everything is in place for tonight’s event.”
I turned to face her. “Everything is in place, yes.”
“Good. Everyone is anxious, and excited, to see you step into your father’s shoes. Tonight will be your chance to prove yourself to the rest.”
I nodded and turned before walking out of the room.
She was right. For the first time since taking my father’s place, I would be under the scrutinizing eyes of every Fattore man and their associates. Tonight would be the night I showed everyone I was worthy of being the family’s leader.
Tonight…her penance would begin.
***
I stared at the monitor. Tatum was sitting on the bed, huddled in her usual way. I took about ten minutes to go through the footage of what she had been up to the last few hours while I was gone. The entire time she sat in utter darkness, yet she didn’t seem rattled more than usual. Even on the footage taken earlier, all she did was sit on the bed…lie down…sit back up…lie back down.
No screaming, no swearing, no begging—nothing.
I pressed the button on the keyboard, and the lights inside the room went on. Quickly, she pushed herself back against the headboard, immediately glancing up toward the door like she was expecting me.
Well, then, let’s not disappoint.
I grabbed the bottle of water on the table, and with a push of a button, the door opened. There I was, staring at the woman still sitting on the bed, not even attempting to move.
“Hello, Tatum.”
She didn’t reply.
I stepped into the room. “Did you enjoy your time in the dark?”
Still no reply from her.
I snorted, finding her lack of response quite amusing.
I walked up and stopped about two feet away from where she sat. “Do you have no words, little mouse?”
Her blue eyes met mine. “No words I want to waste on you, no.”
I smiled. “At least I won’t have any trouble with you not knowing when to shut up.”
Her eyes narrowed, and I shot her a smug grin before tossing her the bottle of water.
She caught it before it connected with her face. “What is this?”
I cocked a brow. “What does it look like?”
“The last time something looked like water to me, it wasn’t.”
“Check the seal of the bottle. It hasn’t been opened yet. You can drink it.” I made sure I chose my words right. She needed to stay hydrated, and if I had to let it sound like I was commanding her to drink the damn water, she wouldn’t. And besides, there was still plenty of time for me to get her begging on her knees like a worthless piece of flesh.
Hesitantly, she started to twist open the cap. She first smelled the water before taking a tiny sip. The second she tasted that it was clean water, she gulped down the entire bottle like a sheep deprived of water for weeks.
Water escaped her mouth as she struggled to swallow it all, yet she refused to drink any slower. Tiny droplets moved down the sides of her mouth, over her jaw, trickling down her neck. I licked my lips. The fair, soft skin hidden beneath the dirty strands of hair hanging over her shoulders somehow enticed me, and I couldn’t miss the movement of her throat as she swallowed.
When she was done, she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand before placing the empty bottle on the bed.
“If you expect a thank you, you’re not going to get one.” Her gaze remained fixed on mine, and I saw the resolve swirl around in a whirlpool of hate and disdain. I loved it.
Placing my hands in my pants pockets, I continued to stare back at her. “I wouldn’t expect any good manners from a girl like you.”
“Woman.”
“Excuse me?”
She carefully got off the bed and faced me. “I’m a woman, not a girl.”
“Yet like a petulant child, you refuse to eat.”
“I’m not refusing to eat. I’m refusing to obey. There’s a difference.”
He shrugged. “It won’t be long before you learn.”
“Learn what?”
I stepped forward, bringing us a few inches from one another. “That he who pays the piper calls the tune, Miss Linscott. Here, I am the boss, and you will learn to obey me.” I took another step closer, looking down into the depths of her sad yet fiery eyes. “And believe me when I say I look forward to helping you learn that very costly lesson.”
Staring at her, witnessing the fear mixed with the faintest glimmer of fight in her sapphire blue eyes, was downright toxic. The darkness curdling inside me reached out to her fear, to her fight, wanting to taste it. I’d always been drawn to the darkness of night, wanting to see how far I could push until evil would completely consume me. Little did I know it would take the death of my twin to finally let the shadows have my soul.
I slanted my head, studying the woman standing so close to me. I could see why Carlo might have pursued her, why he would want to fuck her. Even with her dirty hair, tear-stained face, and bloodshot, tired eyes, she still looked enticing.
Maybe that was it. Maybe it was the brokenness depicted on her face that made her seem so tempting…for me. I just couldn’t fathom why he would have wanted to be romantically involved with her. If Carlo had wanted her purely to fuck, I’d understand that. I wouldn’t deny the fact that she was a beautiful woman. But Carlo? Tatum didn’t seem like the kind of woman he would find alluring or even interesting. He and I, we were a lot alike, but when it came to women, we were like night and day. Carlo being day, me being night. He preferred the sophisticated, well-mannered women he could wear as trophies at his side. I, on the other hand, liked the more complex kind of woman—the broken ones, hiding behind impenetrable thick skin, too afraid to embrace the darkness they craved. Fucking them into the twisted world they yearned for was euphoric. Right now, I wasn’t exactly sure which kind of woman Tatum Linscott really was, but I sure as shit was going to have fun finding out.
I leaned closer, my cheek touching hers ever so slightly, and I felt her stiffen as I inhaled deeply before I moved my lips to her ear. “You stink.”
She turned her face to
ward me, bringing her heart-shaped lips inches from mine. “Fuck you.”
I smiled, her sudden daring bravery intriguing me. “I think it’s time for you to clean up.”
I grabbed her chin in my hand, and she flinched as I gripped tight. “I can’t have you looking like a used-up whore and smelling like a pig when I present you to the rest of my family.”
Her eyes widened, the courage portrayed mere seconds ago gone. “What do you mean, present me to the rest of your family?”
I let go of her chin with a jerk and stepped back. “Perhaps present is the wrong word. Let me rephrase…I need you cleaned up before I put you on display for the rest of my family to see.”
“What are you going to do to me?” Her voice lacked the fear it had earlier. It was like she had somehow scraped together every bit of courage she had left to try to hide the terror she was feeling inside her gut.
I stepped back. “First, you need to clean up.” I walked out of the room, not the least bit worried she would try to make a run for it. Besides, there was another security door between the monitor room and the outside hall, and the only person who knew the security code was me. The only way Vico got access was when I let him in.
I grabbed the silver bucket of water and the bar of soap I had placed on the floor earlier before walking back in.
She spotted the bucket. “What is that?”
I placed it down in front of her and dumped the bar of soap into the water. “This is your new Jacuzzi, Miss Linscott.”
She looked up at me. “That’s a bucket of water. How the hell am I supposed to clean up with one bucket of water?”
I shrugged. “You’ll be amazed at what we can do when we realize we have no choice but to use what is given to us.” I grabbed the chair and placed it right in front of the bucket before taking my seat.
Her big, blue eyes widened. “What? You intend to watch me?”
“Of course.”
“I’m not going to wash myself in front of you.”
“I’m afraid you have no choice, Miss Linscott.”