Page 14 of Brutal Devil

The reminder has me moving, my fingers traveling along the edges of the window, searching for any hint of a latch, a way for me to open it. There’s nothing. The windows are sealed. No way to prop them open, no screens.

Damn it.

My head falls forward, dropping on the cool pane of glass.

“Nice try.”

The voice is soft and smoky and it’s disembodied, but it’shis. Priest’s.

I jerk my head away from the window, swiveling around to find the source.

“You didn’t think I’d lock you in a room where you could escape through a window, did you,topolina?”

He’s darkly amused.

And he’s watching me on a fucking camera that I haven’t found yet.

“I’m not a little mouse,” I snarl, feeling feral. “If anything, I’m a fucking lioness, waiting to pounce on you and rip out your jugular.”

He laughs, his chuckle low and pleasant.

This dickhead takes me hostage, locks me in a room, spies on me, and thinks it’s funny. But then, he also kills people for a living. So, yeah. I guess two plus two equals four.

“I hope you don’t ever sleep,” I tell him cheerfully. “Because the second you close your eyes, I’m going to kill you.”

“Oh,bella.” He tsks, his voice patronizing. “You couldn’t kill me if you tried.”

I’m still trying to find the camera when I finally realize it’s hidden high in a corner and out of reach, nestled into the detailed crown molding.

“Give me half a chance, and I will,” I tell him, staring straight at the camera.

There’s only silence on the other end.

“Andriani,” I try again.

Nothing.

“Answer me, you bastard,” I cry out in frustration. “You can’t just leave me here like this, locked in a room. I’ve got no food, no water. You took my phone. This is torture. Is that what you’re planning on doing, starving me into marrying you? Can’t pick up a woman the normal way, so you have to abduct one and torture her into saying yes, is that it, you fucking lunatic?”

More quiet stillness descends. Nothing but my pounding heart. Not even the muffled sounds of traffic below. We’re far above the city, overlooking it like mythical gods, and just as we can’t hear them, they can’t hear us. Specifically, me. I’m trapped here, some kind of modern-day Persephone, only the underworld he’s dragged me to is a penthouse in the sky.

Hands clenched into fists at my sides, I glare at the camera. He’s either watching me but no longer speaking, or he’s abandoned me. There’s nothing in this sparse room to throw. Nothing but a king-size bed, two pillows, and a comforter. There’s not even a nightstand. So, I decide to make a missile of my own.

I take off one of my heeled sandals and launch it at the camera. “Take that, you fucker.”

If he thinks I’m going to accept this forced marriage without one hell of a fight, he has no idea who he’s just abducted.

Game on.

Priest

Whistling because I’m in a good fucking mood now that I have Luna Revello where she belongs, I return to the control room inmy penthouse where Rocco’s monitoring the cameras. I throw an apple in the air, catch it, and take a bite, feeling like I just took that bite out of the whole damned world.

“How’s my lovely wife-to-be?” I ask him, chewing the apple slowly, relishing the crunch.

It’s crisp, juicy, and tart, just the way I like.

“Pissed,” Rocco deadpans. “You’re lucky you had the boys take all the shit out of the room before you locked her in it.”