CHAPTER XVII

At first, I thought he was talking to me as his eyes didn't leave my face when another man appeared and answered him. This one seemed Russian judging from his accent.

"You're right." The newcomer circled me and went up behind me so close I could smell the strong tobacco from him. I couldn't help but cower. Amusement sparked up in his cruel eyes. "Now, what brought the little princess over the wrong side of the city?"

“I don’t know what you’re talking about but you got the wrong girl. If you could just— ”

He blocked me easily. “Don’t even try lying, sweetheart. I know those blowj*b lips anywhere. ”

"Dibs on her t*ts."

Their disgusting stares sent shivers down my spine and rooted me to my spot. The feeling reminded me of the day I woke up in Dante's bed but this one shook me to the core. Malice oozed from them.

The Italian-looking one glanced behind him, suddenly looking concerned. When it looked like no one was going to intervene he smirked at his friend.

"I think she's all alone."

“Trust me, you’ll regret laying your hands on me,” I warned, trying to keep my voice from shaking but they just watched me with mirth as though I was a mouse cornered.

“There is that entitlement!”

“I’d like to wipe that off as I f*ck your mouth, princess. It'd be enough revenge for what your father had put us through. ”

His words pierced through my terrified state. Dante had said the same thing to me.

I met the gaze of the Italian one and spat at him. "Why don't you go and f*ck yourself instead."

My vision got cloudy and when I blinked, I was staring right at the red plastered wall. It just registered to me that he slapped me and the stinging pain slowly spread across one side of my face.

"You need to behave yourself, princess or there's more where it came from."

"Careful James, we still need to deliver her to him in one piece."

“Who are you talking about? Who sent you? ” I demanded through a haze of pain.

The one named James moved closer to me until his warm breath fanned across my face. “Oh right, word on the street that you had amnesia. Poor thing, ”he cooed and I wanted nothing more than to jam my foot up his crotch. “Don't worry, we'll let you meet the boss. But first, we get to have some fun with you. Misha, get the cloth. ”

Adrenaline sliced my nerves with fire and I shoved his chest off me but he expected it and gathered my incoming wrists in one hand, restraining them above my head. I attempted kicking at him but he expertly evaded it and placed his lower body between my legs so I could do nothing but wriggle against him. He laughed at my struggles and with his free hand, he reached under my dress. My face constricted in disgust and I fought even harder to get my hands free as his tongue darted out and licked my cheek. Horror gripped me and I screamed.

“Hel—”

He roughly pressed a hand over my mouth, the action banged my head against the wall and I felt myself get dizzy.

"Shut up bitch or I'll f*cking teach you a lesson right here."

I froze as a cold metal touched the skin over my collarbone. I tried to still my pounding heart as his hands continued their revolting exploration of my body. Every heave of my chest put it in contact against the sharp end of the blade which served as a reminder of my helplessness. I shut my eyes, despising my weakness.

A loud thump came from behind him. His roving hand paused before it could get under my underwear and my eyes fluttered open. Before he could turn his head to see what was going on, a gun clicked and aimed at his temple.

“How about I teach you one?”

Tears gathered on the corners of my eyes at the sound of his familiar voice but my relief was soon extinguished as James reminded me of the blade poised over my trembling chest. I could feel he was about to pierce it through my skin but the bullet left the gun faster than his hand could move. It took me a second to realize that he was already dead until the sickening warmth from his hands disappeared and his body hit the ground.

He still stared at me but this time, his leering eyes no longer haunted me as life left its depths.

“Take the Russian to Santi’s. Don't f*cking kill him. ”

Dante's deep voice sounded far away but I could feel his hands cupping my cheeks as I looked at the dead body in shock. He turned my head away from the scene and wiped my face with his shirt sleeves. It came out red.

The dead man's blood.

"Fiorellino."

Images upon images sliced through my head like lightning. Unfamiliar men, women, and children lay before me. All dead. Their black eyes stared blankly at me the same way as James was now. For some reason, guilt punched through my stomach. A shudder went out of me and I crumpled to the ground.

"Caterina."

For the first time, I could hear the serious concern in his voice but I couldn't seem to move my lips to answer him. I couldn't come out of whatever trance I was in. It's like these unfamiliar people were sucking me into their world. Taking everything of me out of the present.

"I'm sorry, baby."

Dante's concerned face materialized before me. We were in the car. He must have carried me here. He covered me with his jacket but I still felt cold as though my blood froze and I couldn't stop shivering. I kept seeing those lifeless eyes. I tried to shake them off but as I blinked my eyes open, they were still there.

"Talk to me."

Dante's face began to blur and something disturbing replaced it. His eyes, nose, and hair melted to that of a faceless man. The only thing on the blank canvass was a pair of chapped lips and as it curved into a vicious grin, I was fully thrust into an unforgiving world where my nightmares played out before me in repetition like some distorted movie. A tear rolled down my cheek.

Something inside me broke.