Page 7 of Brutal Devil

I shake my head, a chill going down my spine. “No.”

“Yes,” my father says, and I can hear the resignation in his voice.

He’s made his decision. He’s sacrificing me, my future, my happiness. All for the sake of his greedy empire.

“You’re marrying Matteo Andriani,” he adds, spelling it out in case I’m not sharp enough to connect the dots.

“I’m not marrying him.” I shoot to my feet, and so do all the Andrianis, in unison.

Their weapons are drawn. I’m staring down the barrels of half a dozen guns. And I know without a doubt they won’t hesitate to put a bullet in me.

Death is a way of life in this world. You obey, or you die.

“The contract is signed,” Priest tells me coolly. “You need to accept it.”

Unlike the others, he hasn’t retrieved his Glock. It’s still there, tucked back into his concealed holster. I can grab it, maybe get off a shot…

“I wouldn’t if I were you,” he says softly, like he can read my mind.

Fuck.

This is bad. This is worse than bad. It’s worse than death. I walked into this room thinking I was about to die, and now I wish I had. It would be far preferable to a lifetime of hell as this monster’s wife.

“I won’t marry you,” I tell him resolutely. “You’re going to have to kill me.”

“You are, and I won’t.” Priest stays calm.

But his eyes are cold and dead. Entirely devoid of emotion.

Merciless.

“Bella, listen to me,” my father implores, drawing my attention back to him. “This is for the best. You’ll see. I’m only doing this to protect you, to make sure you’re safe.”

“I’m finishing my MFA,” I bite out. “This is my last year.”

So close to freedom, only to have it ripped away. I shouldn’t have come back here. I never should have answered my father’s summons. I should have run away instead. Cancer, he’d claimed. The prognosis wasn’t good.

Jesus, did he lie? Is any of it true? Or is the cancer the reason for this arranged-marriage bullshit? But if so, why drag the Andrianis into this? He could pass his empire on to someone in the family.

“I indulged you,” my father says. “I shouldn’t have.”

No, no, no.

I feel like a wild animal that’s been trapped in a cage. I can’t get out, and I’m terrified, my fate painfully clear.

“I told you I wanted out of this life,” I remind him. “You agreed.”

My father shrugs. “I lied.”

Just another in a mountain of them. I shouldn’t be shocked. I shouldn’t have been stupid enough to believe him in the first place. But I am. And I did.

Four years of college. More than a year of postgraduate work, a poetry collection I’m three-quarters of the way finished writing. And it means nothing to him, just like I do. My only value to my father has always been as a bargaining chip.A woman’s worth is between her legs.I’ve heard him say it. I know he believes it.

And now? He’s selling me to secure his own future.

I lunge at him. I don’t even know why. It’s dangerous with all these guns pointed at me, all these killers surrounding us. I’m a loose cannon in a room of vipers I can’t trust. I throw myself at my father, pounding his chest.

“Fuck you!” My voice is hoarse with emotion, with betrayal. I want to hurt him. I want to hurt myself. “Fuck you, you heartless son of a bitch! You sold me to them like I’m a fucking cow.”