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Chapter Twenty-Three

COLETTE

The sound of a low male voice wakes me up. I’m not sure who it is, but I don’t feel frightened in any way. I still don’t move. It takes me a moment to figure out my surroundings. I’m on a sofa in the hotel, still surrounded by carts of food.

“I love you, too, bye,” the voice murmurs.

Pushing myself up to sitting, I look around, and that’s when I see him. Theron is leaning against the kitchen bar. His gaze flicks up to meet mine, and his lips curve into a grin.

“You’re awake,” he mutters.

“I am,” I exhale.

He chuckles, pushing against the counter before he moves toward me. “You still hungry?” he asks.

Rolling my eyes to the ceiling, I can’t help but laugh. I ate a ton. It almost feels like a dream, but my stomach feeling like it’s about to explode is no dream. I don’t think I can eat for a whole week. I ate everything in advance.

“Don’t make me sick,” I say with a laugh. I open my mouth to ask him where Merrick is, but he begins to speak, somewhat answering my question.

“Merrick and the others had to go do a few things. You’re stuck with me as your babysitter until they get back.”

Sinking my teeth into my bottom lip, I jerk my chin in a single nod. I want to ask when we’re leaving. I want to get out of the city as soon as humanly possible. Like right now. I don’t say that, though. Instead, I bring my feet up to the sofa cushion before I wrap my arms around my shins.

“It’s all good, Colette. We’ll be out of here first thing in the morning. Lucille is anxious to meet you. She’s the only woman in the cockhouse, so she’s excited to welcome another woman.”

I open my mouth to tell him that I’m excited to see her as well. The last time I did was on their wedding day, and I wasn’t able to really speak to her, so I’m excited to have someone whom I can get to know. Although, I’ve never really had a friend before, so I’m not sure how good I’ll be at being one to someone.

There is a knock on the door, and I close my mouth, turning to look behind me at the suite door. There is only one door in and out of here, aside from the sliding glass door that leads to the balcony.

I clench my teeth together, my jaw tensing as I wait for the person on the other side of the door to be revealed. Theron doesn’t act the least bit concerned with someone knocking on the door. Meanwhile, I feel like I’m going to throw up every ounce of the gigantic meal I consumed a few hours ago.

The door opens, and I suck in my breath at the eyes that connect with mine. Opening my mouth, I start to warn Theron, but it’s too late. His body is practically thrown to the side, almost as if he’s nothing but a rag doll.

Scrambling to my feet, I take a couple of steps backward but become frozen solid by the angry gaze that meets mine. I’m not sure what to say, and I definitely don’t know what to do. It is very clear to me that he doesn’t want me for my body. This moment is about control, ego, and pride—nothing more.

Do I attempt to claim innocence in this in an effort to save myself?

Or do I admit my own fault to seem trustworthy?

He shakes his head once, and that’s when I know that it doesn’t matter what I try to say. He doesn’t have a single ounce of desire to hear it. He stalks toward me, and I wonder if I can make it to the sliding glass balcony door and jump off before he can catch me because I am not going to be taken alive. Not by this man and whatever sick games he has in store for me.

I refuse.

Now that I’m free, I’m going to stay that way—or die trying.

MERRICK

I’m not surprised to see there are about a dozen cars lining the street where Adriano Bellucci lives. I know they are all at his house, too, which is why all four of us are armed with three guns each and two knives.

Because fuck him if he thinks that he’s going to get the drop on any of us. He can get fucked. The five of us unfold from the car and walk toward the front of the limestone building. I know that he sees us before I extend my arm and touch the doorbell.

It opens, and the guy who had been in charge of guarding Colette answers. “Marcello,” I state.

He jerks back slightly, no doubt surprised that I know his name. But I’ve been watching him for weeks, especially when my woman was taken and shipped off to some unknown location. He was one of the people I kept tabs on to see if he was going to go to her. He didn’t.

“I’m here to see Adriano.”

He jerks his chin, never speaking, which is fine with me, then turns and walks toward a living area. We follow behind him in silence.

“Wait here,” Marcello mutters before he leaves the room, and within seconds, there are three men standing against the walls, their eyes on us, somewhat surrounding us.

It’s almost comical because I know the men who are in my circle can take these fucks down in a heartbeat, and nobody would be able to stop us. That’s not the purpose of our visit today because if it were, it would have already been finished.

Adriano takes his sweet-ass time as he moves into the room, flanked by Marcello and another one of his men. Tilting my head to the side, I watch my ex- and future father-in-law stop a few feet in front of me.

“I should have known you were behind my daughter going missing,” he sneers. I open my mouth to speak but promptly snap it shut when he continues. “Thank fuck you found her in time.”

Well.

That was not expected.

At all.

I stare at him, a bit shocked and a lot dumbfounded. I’m not quite sure how to respond now. I thought this was going to be a battle, both mentally and physically, so hearing him thank me is a bit unsettling.

I’m not sure what to do. I stand in the middle of the room like an asshole, just waiting for the but , waiting for him to tell me what the fuck he’s talking about. Thankfully, he continues and doesn’t make me ask.

Adriano walks over to the small bar in the corner of the room and pours himself a vodka. He turns to me, lifting the glass in the air as if to ask if I want one. I’m already half-loaded on whiskey, so I decline.

Then he walks over to a sofa and jerks his chin toward the one across from him before he sinks down onto the cushion. “Have a seat,” he roughly grunts.

Walking over to the couch, I take a seat, but the others don’t. They stay standing and on high alert.

“Malcolm came to me when I put Colette on the market. I wanted someone to marry her who could help me break into politics. A tit-for-tat situation. I knew I forced your hand with her, so I figured you didn’t give a shit.”

I can’t even get mad at his assumption because I didn’t think I gave a shit, either, until I realized that I did. Then she was gone. “Malcolm sent a couple people over in an attempt to comply with our contract, and technically, they did, but it was not what I wanted.”

Ahh, there it is. The swindler got swindled. “He also, in an attempt to show me just how big his balls are, put Colette up for auction.”

I’m sure that I’m supposed to be outraged, but I’m trying to figure out how the two men are different. Adriano put her up for auction as well. But I don’t say that. He’s giving me information, and there is no bloodshed so far, so I’m working with him until I won’t be any longer.

“He sold her wedding night for a million dollars. A chance for someone to fuck her after the wedding and before the groom had a turn.”

Everything around me goes black, and then, almost instantly, red fills my vision. The rage that I feel is virtually unable to be contained. I want to paint this whole fucking room bright red with the blood of every one of Bellucci’s men standing here. I’m holding on to a very bare thread, and my hands itch to grab the guns in my shoulder holster.

“You were going to let that happen?” I ask, gnashing my teeth together.

It’s not really a question because I already know the answer. I knew it before I asked it. She was taken away, and he just fucking let it happen, even knowing what this asshole wanted. What he was going to do to her and what he was capable of doing to her. Colette was and is pure. There is nothing evil inside of her, nothing warranting this level of neglect and downright abuse.

Leaning forward, I growl my next words. “What the fuck were you promised that you thought this was a worthy trade?”

“Everything,” he simply states. “I wanted more than just my foot in the door. I wanted a seat at the table, guaranteed. I wanted the government and their fucking groups off my back and to do my business in peace. All that fucker wanted was my daughter. Seemed like a good trade.”

“Until?” Grayson growls before I can.

“Until he wanted Colette to lure boys to him. I didn’t ask why, but I didn’t like that shit at all.”

“The head of the children’s protection agency,” I murmur. “What the fuck did she want?”

Adriano shakes his head, closing his eyes slowly before he reopens them, and his gaze connects to mine.

“She wanted to see Colette and said she would be good to lure boys. The rest of the meeting was about the position they wanted me to start off in. It wasn’t what I had discussed with Malcolm, which is why I was glad when Colette ended up going missing yesterday.”

I almost laugh. For the man who pretends to be pissed off that his daughter was bid on for her body and supposedly was going to be forced to do something with boys, that wasn’t what pissed him off or what was the final straw. It was the fact that he didn’t get what he wanted.

“What is his name?” I ask.

“Who? Malcolm?”

Arching a brow, I ball my hands into fists as I try my fucking hardest not to kill him. It’s becoming more difficult as I sit here and stare at him with each passing moment. I’m ready to end them all and figure it out later.

“Malcolm Ravet.”

I can feel the blood draining from my face. The silence is deafening, and I can’t hear anything. The world spins in circles around me, and the edges of my vision begin to darken as I think about that monster.

The devil himself.

Ravet.