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My warden knew it.
He swallowed and set the apple aside with a sneer. “Bitter. Tastes like betrayal.” Then he slung an arm over the back of the chaise. “Let’s go, we haven’t got all night. Take off your childish clothes and put on the dress.”
I shook my head and crossed my arms. “Leave. Just leave ... and I will.”
He smirked. “What’s the matter, fiancée? You were a fucking bitch in heat just last week. I think you would have humped my leg if I’d offered it to you. I’m curious—what’s changed? Do I need to get you a drink? Is that it? Shall I pour you a glass of whiskey? Is that how Tiernan got you out of your panties? Liquor you up so he could fuck you into a pretty little mess until you were begging him to stop?”
Bile burned my throat.
Dead is dead. There’s no flavor to choose from, no version that goes down smoother than the other. But the means by which you get there can be harrowing when you’re dealing with a monster.
My anger was so consuming that I passed into a feeling of numbness. I reached a level of detachment that I’d always relied on drugs and alcohol to help me accomplish, yet Raphael had managed to do it with just his voice.
I fucking loathed him.
I whipped off my leggings and tossed my sweater on the bed without dropping his leer. The ringing in my ears increased and I fought back the tears I refused to shed. Knowing he wouldn’t be satisfied until he’d stripped me bare by all measures, I unhooked the clasp of my bra and let it fall to the floor. His gaze devoured me like a lion watching an injured gazelle limping to its fate. I slid my panties down my trembling legs and kicked them off. His eyes fell briefly between my thighs before he got to his feet, clearing his throat.
“Get ready. We leave in thirty,” he informed me, moving toward the door. As he passed where I stood glued to the carpet, he paused. “You should shower. You smell like sin.”
“I hate you,” I spat.
The corner of his mouth tipped up just slightly. “I believe you do, but if you don’t already, by the time this night is over, you certainly will.”
The black sheath dress with the plunging neckline barely reached midthigh, but at least it was long-sleeved, and the new knee-high boots that had been set out with the dress helped keep me covered for the most part. When I told Raphael that I didn’t find the outfit he’d selected appropriate for the fiancée of a Mob boss, he replied that the dress and boots were appropriate for me.
He’d called me a whore without calling me a whore.
The fur coat Raphael insisted I wear was as heavy as it was gaudy, and the diamonds and emeralds dripping from my ears and neck felt like one hell of an overstatement.
“Where are Liam and Grifin?” I asked, impassive, as I gazed out the passenger-side window of his car.
“Waiting for us.” His response held a tinge of hostility. “Lucifer is also waiting,” he added.
Raphael continued to stare straight ahead with his gaze trained on the road. The tension in the car tightened with every tire rotation.
“You didn’t behave while I was away, Willa. I asked you to stay away from my brother.”
I bit the inside of my cheek to cut off the spasms of fear trying to erupt from my throat.
Lucifer was far too intelligent to get caught; he would have manipulated the camera feeds or destroyed any video evidence that Raphael would find incriminating.
I pressed my hand against the bulge in my coat pocket. It was a bold move to bring the cell phone.
My eyes darted to the speedometer.
“Oh, Willa. Come now. You’re smarter than this—aye?” He reached over and pinched my cheek a little too hard. “My little mafioso mastermind.”
I swatted him away, and he chuckled in a way that chilled my bones, threatening to shatter them into millions of fractals.
My fingers instinctively felt for the door handle.
“If by some miracle you survive the tuck and roll—you’ll be gang-raped by street thugs before I get a chance to parallel park in order to retrieve your pale Irish ass. You’re in Southie now, darling. I suggest you sit tight and ride out this fucking night. You got me?”
I whipped my head violently to face Raphael just as he stopped at a red light. “How didn’t I behave exactly?”
The doors unlocked.
“Now’s your chance. Go. Run, Willa, run.” He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel while a look of boredom played on his face. “Change of heart? Don’t blame you, really. The gangs in this area can be—”
