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“The girl?” he adds, and before I can say anything, I feel the temperature in the car drop. Her fear is intoxicating. It’s like she left a trail of it wherever she ran, but only I could sense it.
“Yeah—she’s hot.” My smirk deepens, and I see her head whip toward me in the corner of my eye. “And she’s got a tight little pussy.”
“Fuck you!” she screams, and I choke on a laugh as I move the phone away from her.
“She’s got a mouth as dirty as she fucks, but here’s the deal…” I add, leaning away from her so she doesn’t kill us both. “I can’t kill her, or her father. As much as I promised this transaction, there are things you left out telling me too, like who I am, and the fact that I have the affiliations that I do. You promised our freedom for her, you didn’t say anything about Victor…”
“Where are you taking me?” Her fight dies out as she leans her head on the window. I watch as she follows the lights that pass us on the road, reading every sign we go by.
I bare my teeth, cranking my neck. “I’ll do the transaction because I promised, but you gotta leave Victor out of it. That’ll be too messy. It’s bad enough you’re taking Ruby.” She’s silent now, and just when I think he’s not going to respond, he clears his throat. “See you in the morning.”
Then the line goes dead. We have a four-hour drive ahead of us, and that’s a whole lot of time put between her and me… and what could happen between now and then. I need to figure out a way that I don’t blow this whole fucking shit up.
She wants me to be a lost little pet for her papa, but she doesn’t know that I’m the wolf who would find her.
It feels as though time has been suspended in the air for the past three hours. I haven’t spoken another word to Wicked, because as much as I want to know what the hell is happening, I’m smart enough to know not to waste my breath. If he wanted to tell me, he would have by now. Me acting a fool and demanding answers that I know I’m not going to get sounds exhausting. I thought I knew who he was, who Poppy was, but I’m beginning to feel like maybe I didn’t. That my papa let a snake into our home, and now we are going to pay for it for years to come.
I lean forward and push the power button on the radio. Goose bumps break over my skin and I run my hand up and down my bare arm.
Wicked reaches for the back seat, tossing a hoodie on my lap. “Put it on.” His voice is low but laced with a dark undertone that he has done well keeping away from me.
I push the material off my thighs. “I’m good. Thank you.”
“Principessa, when you’re in the presence of disrespect, you keep yours. Don’t let anyone take a stepping stone away from you. You earned that spot.”I close my eyes and inhale a shaky breath. All of Papa’s life lessons and stupid one-liners somehow make sense now. I always thought I would be protected. Untouchable. I thought I was unbreakable, but in the right hands, anyone can be fragile.
“Stop being a stubborn bitch, Ruby.” His voice is just below the song that’s playing low in the background.
I don’t know who sings it, and if I had my phone, I would for sure Shazam it right now.
“Hey!” He snaps his fingers in front of my face, but when I don’t give him the attention he so desperately wants, fingers wrap around my chin, forcing my eyes onto his.
I should look back to the road. To make sure we’re not about to crash, but I can’t find the will to care.
His eyes were the first thing I noticed about him. They were dark, void of anything light, but there was an animalistic kindness to him that I thought I always felt. In the shadow of his touches, his kisses, and then other things. He… I thought he was just like me.
I was wrong.
He’s just like the rest of them.
His fingers tighten around my chin. “Put the fucking hoodie on and go to fucking sleep.”
I shove my face out of his grip, and he drops his hand to the center, cursing before hitting the radio louder.
Good. If anything, since he’s kidnapping me, he can let me sit in peace. Leaning the chair back, I curl into a ball, facing the door and fisting my hands beneath my chin.
Every single man in my life has done what Wicked is doing now. I thought he would be different. He’s worse than all the rest of them because he makes you believe he’s not like that at all.Hides his evil behind a mask, and it’s not until it’s too late when you see him.
My eyes get heavier as I close them to the sound of the tires against the asphalt. I hope that wherever he takes me, they make it quick.
I knew why he was here, but yet I watched him anyway. He’d come to the house, do shit with Papa, and then come and see me in my bedroom. I would still be awake before he would leave because why wouldn’t I? He always brought me treats. Papa said to tell him what happened after every time. I was sure it was so he could steal my treats.
Tonight would be no different. I watched as he looked down at his gold watch around his wrist, before tapping Papa on the shoulder to bid him good night. I swooped up my teddy and quickly rushed into bed, slipping beneath my cotton sheets and sighing when I felt the cool material touch my hot skin. I was hot because I was excited.
Mama and Papa always fought after Antonio visited. I didn’t know why she didn’t understand… Antonio had the BEST treats I could have ever asked for. And he would watch me eat them, and even feed them to me.
I ducked farther beneath the sheet, squeezing my eyes closed and holding my breath when I heard the creak from my bedroom door. My bedroom was already dark, because I was always supposed to be asleep at this time. I wasn’t. It was eight p.m.! I wasn’t four years old anymore! I was five! Mama said I could stay up later now. She lied. She does that. She would say it was different if adults simply changed their mind, but to me, it kind of felt the same.
Something heavy sank into my mattress and I had to contain my excitement by holding in a deep breath. I knew he was there. Antonio! Papa’s oldest friend. I mean, I think. I had known him all of my life, so I was sure of it, and anyway, Maand Pa would never allow anyone dangerous around me. My big cousin Marcu made me sit down and watchGoodfellasone time, and thenScarfaceand thenTheGodfather. I think Papa was a little like Don Vito.
