AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I force myself to stop thinking negatively. They have to be here.
The bedroom door is locked, and I growl in frustration. It’s not a heavy door, though. The fact that this was a new purchase means he still has the defaults, with a thin frame and a lock that looks like it can be turned with a fingernail in the slot. I unlock it, flinging the door open and standing aside to ward off any gunfire Pavone might risk.
When nothing happens, I risk looking inside—but it’s empty. No Pavone, no Lucia. Fuck. If this is the wrong place after all…
Then I hear it: a muffled shout, and a few very loud stomps against the floor.
Without thinking, I run down the stairs, gun out, and see Pavone dragging a gagged Lucia toward the garage exit.
Lucia notices me and starts making more noise, struggling even harder against Pavone. She catches his face with her elbow and manages to escape a few steps.
Pavone’s expression morphs into pure fury when he spots me.
“Fucking cunt,” Pavone growls, but I won’t let him get his hands on Lucia again.
I grab her arm and pull her hard, sending her sprawling behind me. I remember too late she’s wearing heels and a poofy dress, and I hope I didn’t break her ankle. But it’s better this way because it puts me in between her and Pavone.
I instantly feel better knowing she’s safe, even though this situation is still precarious. Pavone has his own gun out now, and it’s pointed in my direction. He doesn’t pull the trigger, and neither do I, as we stare each other down.
Both of us know that a gunshot will be noticed in a place like this, but we also both know one of us isn’t getting out of this alive. One way or another, this is over. It’s just a matter of how—and when.
“What’s a faggot like you care about some cunt anyway?” Pavone asks with a sneer. “Or did Corvi promise to let you suck his cock if you got her back?”
I start laughing. “Yeah, I guess I’ll suck Victor’s cock when this is over. Gotta give Lucia a nice show. But I think I need some foreplay before that. Something nice and… bloody. What do you think, Lucia? Should we gut Pavone and feed him his own entrails?”
She’s managed to get up behind me, though out of the corner of my eye, I can see where she’s resting heavily against the wall. She doesn’t answer right away, and I remember she was gagged. I don’t dare try to turn around and look at her, and a moment later, she says hoarsely, “I think that’s too kind.”
“You fucking bitch,” Pavone cusses at her. “I was going to give you a life of luxury, and this is how you fucking repay me?” He’s putting up a strong face, but I noticed the way he paled at my suggestion.
He knows he can’t beat me in a fair fight.
I grin at him. “Don’t fucking talk to her. You don’t deserve to breathe the same air as Lucia. Incidentally…”
The thing with guns is they’re much more effective at a distance. We’re too close to each other, and it’s less than a second before I’m in Pavone’s space, my hand around his throat. He gasps and tries to direct the gun at me, but I knee his stomach and he drops it. His struggles against my hold are pathetic. Pavone isn’t a weak man, but he’s in his fifties, and he doesn’t spend nearly as much time training as he should.
“Princess, is there anywhere in this house where we could have some real fun?” I ask, not glancing back at her. “Somewhere the neighbors won’t hear the screams?”
“There’s a basement he was going to leave me in,” she remarks. “I don’t know how soundproof it is, but I do happen to have a gag right here.”
“Nah, no gags. I want to hear him when he screams,” I tell her.
“Then don’t be surprised if the police end up on the doorstep,” she says, deadpan.
I shrug. The basement should be fine. I pull Pavone with me, dragging him to the stairs leading downstairs. Lucia follows, her white dress pristine.
It won’t be pristine for long.
I take a lot of satisfaction over hearing Pavone groan as his legs thump against the stairs. I’d throw him down, but I don’t want to risk him getting up and fighting me.
I might need to let him get some air, though. His face is turning a very interesting shade of red as he struggles to breathe.
The basement opens to one long room tiled in bright white. Not ideal, but tile is easy enough to clean. The grout will be a problem, but a fuck ton of bleach will probably handle it.
I’m much more interested in the bars attached to the far wall, and the manacles already hanging from them.
“Nice of you to prep the room for me,” I tell Pavone. “Lucia, can you help me get his hands chained up?
“I’d be delighted to,” she says, leading the way.
