Page 79 of Thorns of Silence

My eyelids opened and I had to blink several times to adjust to the darkness. I went to shift but my arms and legs rattled the chains. It was only then that the cold metal against my wrists and ankles registered.

“What the fuck,” I muttered as the bed springs protested beneath me.

A key turned in the metal lock, the sound piercing my skull. Silence followed, but it was soon broken by the sound of footsteps. I moved my eyes to the left, narrowly making out the outline of a dark shadow.

“Welcome to my empire, Mr. Leone.” I detected an accent. Spanish?

“Who the fuck are you?”

That had him cackling like I’d just uttered the joke of the century. He laughed and laughed, then abruptly stopped. None of this felt funny.

He reached into his pocket. “If you pull out your dick, we’re going to have a serious problem,” I spat, jerking against the chains even though I knew it was fruitless.

Thankfully, it was a cigar. He casually lit it, his eyes roaming over my shackled form. Then before I took my next breath, I felt the tip of it against my ribs.

My heart raced. My breath wheezed.

It wasn’t the end. It was only the beginning.

I bolted up in my bed, my entire body screaming in pain and drenched in sweat.Fuck. Expecting the nightmares to come didn’t ease the effects of them. They made me feel weak, and I fuckinghatedweakness.

My phone buzzed and I slid the message open without checking who it was. The familiar video started playing, showing my bastard father entering the Romero sisters’ apartment. Then Reina shooting him. Snippets of her with his body.

Thenpoof. The whole video vanished.

It was always the same.

My heart didn’t even flinch. The bastard should have died decades ago. Now I just had to ensure my switcheroo plan would work.

Looking out the window of my bedroom, I watched the sun creep up over the horizon.

Sleep wouldn’t be finding me again for another twenty-four hours, but at least there was something to look forward to.

I’d be seeing Phoenix Romero tonight.

* * *

Give me a beating. Give me torture. Spare me a fashion show.

The room buzzed with guests, music, and fashion designs. Reina was in her element in this goddamn place and all I wanted to do was torch it to the ground. If her beautiful sister wasn't in the building, I might have.

My Nix.

I wanted—needed—to keep my distance from her. I’d conquer her eventually, just like I would slay these demons that plagued me. The pull to her was too strong to keep my cold dead heart from beating around her. It was impossible not to watch her.

As it was, I picked an empty corner, leaned against the wall, and slid my hands into the pockets, watching my little obsession make her way down the runway in one of her sister’s designs.

It was clear Nix was making her fashion debut as a favor to her sister, I could tell by the way she rushed to the piano straight from the catwalk. She was much more at ease behind the scenes.Some things haven’t changed.

My brother had been brooding and glaring at me all evening, yet refused to make a move. I might have to kick him in the fucking ass to get him going. I didn’t buy the ring in my pocket for Reina; I bought it for her sister. Three years ago.

I stopped harassing the brunette, but I never stopped stalking her. It was better for the world and my mental health when I did. So, technically, I was doing everyone a favor.

Aren’t I a true saint,I snickered to myself.

As the small orchestra began their set, Reina made her way down the catwalk with a young boy, but she didn’t maintain my interest. Instead, my eyes kept darting to the back corner where her sister played the piano with an expression of pure bliss on her face.

That was her happy place. Music. The tunes she couldn’t hear but crafted beautifully with her graceful fingers. The bullet wound she gave me three years ago suddenly started to itch. She had marked me as hers. It was almost time I marked her as mine.