“Go ahead. Try it… if you want to becastrated.”
Motherfucker.My teeth were sharp and my temper…well, Bruno was lucky I was strung up to the ceiling because if I wasn’t, my uncle would come back to quite the mess. That tray of knives hadn’t gotten nearly enough use, in my opinion. Not that I was complaining.
“There’s a way to get to everyone,” he countered, mostlikely rethinking the current, attached condition of his dick. “You know who else talks a lot? That brother of yours.”
Everything inside me went still, panic blooming in the quiet.
He crouched in front of me, fingers gripping my chin hard enough to bruise. I forced myself to meet his eyes, this new, uncontrollable terror clawing up my spine.
“Pain isn’t your trigger. But I’ll just bet you have a soft spot for your brother. Twins, right? I heard they share some kind of special bond. And I’ll give you one guess on where your uncle disappeared to. Who he went to fetch.”
My previous fear paled in the face of what I felt now, thinking of Luca suffering at this sadist’s hands, at my brother strung up in my place, bleeding all over the floor.Protect him, my mother had begged, and now…now I was going to watch him scream, and this was all my fault.
“I don’t know anything,” I whispered. “You’re chasing ghosts here, Bruno.”
“I don’t think so.” He searched my face for a moment longer—then smiled.
“Until your brother arrives, I have an idea. I heard you don’t like the water so much. Let’s see how long you can hold your breath.”
No.No, no, no…
My breath hitched, “I’m telling you, I don’t know where the Basin is. If I did, I would have told you by now. Please… please don’t…” I started thrashing, chains rattling, metal biting deeper into my skin.
The door opened behind me, wheels grated against the floor, then stopped, water sloshing onto the floor.
Bruno stepped into my line of vision, grinning like a madman. “You should have told me everything. There was really no need for all of this. Now, let’s get you down.”
All of a sudden, the chains gave way, and I dropped. Unable to catch myself with my hands still tied behind my back, I slammed into the floor, bones bending the wrong way, muscles and tendons tearing.
His hand closed around my head, grasped my hair, and dragged me to my feet.
Then I was staring down at a deep metal tub of water, Bruno’s hand gripping the back of my head, forcing me down, the sloshing surface getting closer and closer. I shoved back against the force, chest heaving, breath coming too fast, too shallow. “Please… please… Bruno, don’t do this!”
“If you’re still feeling stubborn after this,” he said conversationally. “I’ll string Luca up in your place. Somehow, I doubt your brother has the same fortitude.”
“Touch Luca, andI will kill you.” My scream echoed around the concrete room, wild and unhinged. “I will rip your heart out of your chest and?—”
He shoved me under. The entire world turned suffocating, bubbles streaming up around my face as I continued to scream, fighting against an unstoppable force. One last sound left my lips, and water flooded my lungs.
Darkness hit me like a fist, swallowing me whole.
Then I was blinking, on my back, soaking wet, gasping for air.
“There she is. Let’s try that again.”
My heart stuttered.
“No,” I gagged, water exploding out of my mouth. “No, no, no… please…”
“You said it yourself, Giovanni does not tolerate failure, and I will not fail him. When he takes over, I’ll be at his side, and you will not stand in my way.”
My chest seized as he hauled me up with one hand, grabbed a handful of hair, and plunged my headunderwater. This time, I managed to fill my lungs with air first, which only prolonged the inevitable. My bare feet slid and slipped on the floor, my collarbone bruising from being pressed to the rim of the metal tub.
Like before, darkness swept in.
But this time…
Twin veils fluttered in the wind, parting like doors, welcoming me inside.
