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I’d only just managed to get my legs to support me when the doors slid open, and my knees gave out.
Andrés wasn’t waiting for me. Cristian was.
Chapter 25
“Samantha,” his accented voice caressed my name. “I thought you were gone.” His sharp smile flashed in the dim light of the spare bulb overhead. I recognized this as the same room where he’d brought me when he’d initially captured me. The day he’d given me to Andrés.
I didn’t respond. What was I going to say? The phantom chill of his knife on my skin made me tremble as fear pulsed inside me.
Andrés will come, I told myself. He’ll find me. He always did. He’d come charging in and kill everyone who threatened me.
Wouldn’t he?
Did that vicious protective streak extend to his brother? I wasn’t certain Andrés would be able to challenge him.
He will. For me, he will.
I hoped I wasn’t lying to myself. My own fear of Cristian was enough to blow all the wits right out of my mind. I couldn’t imagine the clawing, instinctive panic Andrés must lock inside every time he faced his brother.
The men holding me upright dragged me forward. I tried to dig in my heels, but my feet stumbled uselessly as they closed the distance between me and Cristian. His black eyes—so like Andrés’—studied my face, searching.
“You came back,” he said, his head canting to the side as his eyes narrowed at me. “Why? My men say you were armed. Were you going to kill Andrés?”
“No!” The word popped out before I could hold it back.
“Then why return, when my brother set you free?”
“I…” I swallowed hard and braced myself for the lie, drawing on a defiant mask. “I came to kill you. I was trying to find you. I was going to deal with him after.” I couldn’t tell him about my feelings for Andrés. If I did, he might hurt him again.
Andrés had warned me about Cristian, even in our early days together. The sadistic bastard liked to force you to watch while he hurt the person you loved most. When Andrés had first told me about his brother’s sick proclivities, I’d feared for Dex’s safety. Now, I feared for Andrés. I had to make Cristian believe I saw And
rés as my cruel captor, and that I was coming for revenge on the Moreno brothers.
Cristian laughed, the sound rich with genuine delight. “You do want to kill him? He’ll be so devastated. He does tend to get a soft spot for his pets. You, especially. I thought he was actually going to try to attack me when I told him I’d ordered Lauren to dose you with Bliss. He didn’t like the idea of other men fucking you.”
I remained silent, willing my brain to start figuring a way out of this.
“How about we make a deal?” Cristian continued before I could gather my thoughts. “I can’t let you kill Andrés. He’s the only family I have left, and he’s very good at running my business. But I’ll let you cut him up a little. I was about to do the same, myself. He really shouldn’t have let you go back to the feds. That puts my entire organization at risk.”
My stomach turned. I couldn’t hurt Andrés. But if Cristian was offering to hand me a knife…
No. That would be suicidal. There were still two armed guards in the room with us. If I tried to stab their boss, they’d shoot me.
“Take off the cuffs,” he ordered his men, but he didn’t take his eyes off me. “I’m going to need to make this look right to keep Andrés in line. I’m sure you understand.”
The handcuffs fell from my wrists, but I didn’t have a chance to think about defending myself. Cristian’s fist slammed into my jaw. Pain cracked through my skull, and I tasted blood in my mouth as my cheek cut against my teeth. The basement flickered out of existence.
When I started to come back around, I became aware of the familiar feel of leather cuffs around my wrists. My arms were being pulled above my head, and my weight started to fall on my wrists. I scrambled to get my feet under me, but the tension on my arms increased, forcing me up onto my toes.
I blinked hard, fear helping clear away the throbbing pain in my skull. It receded to a dull ache as adrenaline kicked in.
Cristian came into focus, his handsome face filling my vision. He touched his long fingers to my injured jaw, and I hissed as pain spiked.
“This will do,” he said, studying me as though I were an object instead of a person. Worse than that: a tool he was going to use to hurt Andrés. “I had this set up for my little brother,” he explained, gesturing at the restraints that stretched my body taut. “He screamed so much the last time I did this to him. I didn’t think he’d ever want to repeat the experience, but then he let you go. Imagine how upset he’ll be when he sees you here instead, after he tried to save you from me.” He grinned. “He’ll be absolutely destroyed once you start to work on him. Don’t worry. I’ll let you down so you can get your revenge, once I have him where I want him. Then, the offer to work for me still stands.” He gabbed my jaw hard, making me cry out. “If you refuse, I’ll find another use for you. Did you enjoy your time in my brothel?”
“I’ll work for you,” I forced out, struggling to speak when pain lanced through my jaw. I’d say anything to buy some time.
I’ll get us out of this, I promised myself. I will.
