AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I bent over and retched. My partially digested supper hit the carpet, and a new wave of nausea moved through me.
I struggled to my feet and dragged my sleeve across my mouth. A visual sweep of my bedroom reminded me that I was still weaponless and at the mercy of whichever man was monitoring the surveillance cameras tonight.
Cameras.
I raced to the dresser. I smacked the picture frame I’d positioned in front of the camera, sending it crashing to the floor. If whoever was watching missed Raphael’s psychotic break, maybe they’d notice my empty bedroom.
Heavy footsteps approached. Raphael was coming back for me. I tightened my ponytail with trembling hands and thanked God I’d been sleeping in my runners ever since Lucifer had told me to be vigilant.
Help was coming. It had to be. I just needed to buy time.
Stall.
Raphael reappeared in the doorway. His eyes were wild with fury. He flexed both hands. “Willa,” he growled. “You never fucking listen.” His lips curled back in a snarl, and he stalked toward me. I backpedaled, and my foot landed on something that wasn’t made of Berber.
Crack.
My gaze fell to the item pinned beneath my heel. The picture of Gulliver and me at our first foxhunt. A jagged line severed the image right down the middle. My body flinched in anticipation, and my eyes flicked upward, colliding with Raphael’s.
He looked insane. Inhuman.
And he was going to kill me if I didn’t kill him first.
I dropped to my knees, but he was bigger. Faster. He tackled me the rest of the way to the floor and kicked the broken frame away. My bones protested under his crushing weight. His steel grip latched onto my face, and searing pain radiated through my jaw.
Hatred leaked from his eyes. “Were you going to stab me with a piece of broken glass?”
“No,” I spat through his viselike hold. “I was going to slit your throat with it.” The words came out before I could call them back.
Raphael’s eyes filled with incredulity. Silence reigned supreme, and then a strange sound erupted from him. It was too maniacal to qualify as laughter.
He flipped me onto my stomach. “You can be a real cunt sometimes.”
The muscles in my back spasmed as he wrenched my arms behind me. I kicked my legs and threw back my head, meeting nothing but air. The familiar sensation of smooth, cold steel tightened around my wrists as handcuffs clicked into place.
I squeezed my eyes closed as my chest heaved and recited the Lord’s Prayer. Soon, I’d slip into a state of dissociation. Whiskey, Xanax, or both would get me there faster, but white-hot terror worked just as well, and Raphael had dished it out like I was starving for it.
He lifted me over his shoulder and carried me from my bedroom and down the stairs. I choked on the fumes wafting off his suit coat. By the time we entered the study, my sweater and leggings had absorbed enough moisture from Raphael’s clothing that a chill took over my body.
He tossed me on the couch. I bounced once before settling into the soft leather. I stretched my jaw, feeling the dull ache of bruises taking shape. Tension in my shoulders and upper back replaced the numbness I’d been relying on. I gave myself a pep talk. Raphael may have succeeded in binding me, but I still had fight left. I tucked my butt over my shackles and slipped my legs through my arms until I succeeded in getting my hands in front of me. I jumped to my feet.
“For Chrissakes,” Raphael muttered.
I meant to shoot him a seething glare, but my eyes landed on someone else.
We weren’t alone.
The bald man in a pinstripe suit stood beside Raphael’s desk and adjusted his glasses. The stranger was probably in his mid- to late-fifties and looked about as eager to be here as I did.
“This my attorney, Silas Benowitz.” Raphael’s sudden composure and return to formalities rocked me back on my heels.
Benowitz offered me a tight smile. “It’s a pleasure to—”
“Silas has drawn up a contract,” Raphael continued. He circled behind his desk and took a seat. “We need to expedite our marital arrangement for the sake of the syndicate. Aiden has given his approval for us to proceed with a contract marriage. A ceremony is no longer necessary.”
I stared at the documents on Raphael’s desk. If he was telling the truth, those harmless-looking pieces of paper would legally bind me to him.
Everything inside me stilled, except the single thought that broke through.
