Chapter 12

Maty

Time loses all meaning in the darkness of my prison. Minutes bleed into hours, hours into days, until I’m no longer sure how long I’ve been trapped in this nightmare. The only constants are the gnawing hunger in my belly, the parched desert of my throat, and the never-ending cycle of fear and despair.

Ghost hasn’t returned since that first awful confrontation, but his presence lingers like an evil specter. I flinch at every noise, every flicker of shadow, terrified that each moment will bring his revenge crashing down on me.

But in a twisted way, the waiting is almost worse. It gives me too much time to imagine all the horrors he has in store, each scenario more brutal than the last. Will he torture me first, drawing out my agony until I’m begging for death? Or will he simply put a bullet in my head?

And what about Alessio? Has Ghost already set his plan in motion, using me as bait to lure my love to his demise? The thought alone is enough to send me spiraling into panic.

I can’t let that happen. I can’t let my past destroy the one good thing in my life. Alessio is everything to me - my heart, my home, my salvation. And I’ll be damned if I let Ghost rip that away.

But what can I do, tied up and helpless in this godforsaken place? I’m no match for Ghost’s cruelty, his single-minded obsession with making me pay for sins I never meant to commit.

Desperation claws at my throat as I strain against my bonds for the thousandth time. But it’s no use. The ropes are too tight, the knots too well-secured. All I’m doing is rubbing my wrists and ankles raw, fresh blood trickling down my skin to join the rust-brown stains already marking the floor.

A sob wrenches itself from my chest, my head falling forward in defeat. I’m so tired, so broken down by thirst and hunger and terror. Maybe it would be better to just give up, to let go and drift away into oblivion…

No. No, I can’t think like that. I have to stay strong, stay focused. For Alessio, for our love. He’ll come for me, I know he will. He’ll move heaven and earth to bring me back to his side.

I just have to hold on a little longer. Just a little…

The screech of rusted metal jolts me from my feverish thoughts. My head snaps up, my heart pounding against my ribs like a wild thing as the door creaks open.

Ghost stands silhouetted in the entrance, a cruel smile playing on his lips. Two hulking shadows loom at his back, their features obscured by the harsh glare of the outer lights.

“Honey, I’m home,” he sing-songs, sauntering into the room like a predator. “Miss me?”

I set my jaw, fury and fear warring for dominance in my mind. I won’t cower, won’t give him the satisfaction of seeing me break.

“Fuck you,” I rasp, my voice rough and alien to my own ears.

His smile widens. In the stuttering light of the single bare bulb, his face is ghostly, all gleaming teeth and cavernous eyes.

“Still got that fire in you, I see. Good. It’ll make shutting it down even better.”

He crouches in front of me, his sour breath washing over my face as he tangles rough fingers in my hair. I try to jerk away, but he just tightens his grip, forcing me to meet his cold, dead gaze.

“I’ve been looking forward to this,” he murmurs, his free hand tracing the curve of my cheek with mock tenderness. “Ever since you left me to rot when you ran off with your fucking mobster.”

His thumb digs into the soft flesh beneath my eye, hard enough to bruise. I stifle a whimper, refusing to give him the response he craves.

“I didn’t…” I start, but he cuts me off with a sharp jerk of my hair.

“Shut the fuck up,” he hisses, spittle flecking his lips. “I don’t wanna hear any more of your fucking lies.”

He leans in closer, his voice dropping to a heinous whisper. “I’m gonna break you, little Maty. I’m gonna shatter your body and your mind until there’s nothing left.” His grin turns feral. “Then I’m gonna dangle your broken corpse in front of Alessio DeLuca and watch him crumble.”

Ice floods my veins, horror and revulsion twisting my gut. “No,” I choke out, renewing my struggles despite the bite of rope into my torn flesh. “No, Ghost, please…”

He laughs, releasing me with a shove that rocks me back in the chair. Rising to his feet, he cracks his neck, rolling his shoulders like a boxer before a fight.

“Begging already? Damn, this is gonna be easier than I thought.”

He nods to his minions. “Hold her steady, boys. Let’s get started.”

They move to flank me, meaty hands clamping down on my shoulders with bruising force. I thrash in their grip, bile rising in my throat as Ghost reaches into his waistband and withdraws a wicked-looking hunting knife.

The blade catches the light, glinting with deadly promise as he weaves it through his fingers. Each deft movement is calculated, meant to stoke my fear to an inferno.

It’s working. Oh god, it’s fucking working.

Sweat beads on my brow, my pulse a drum beat in my ears. I can’t breathe, can’t think. All I can do is watch in mute, paralyzed dread as he closes in, that merciless steel flashing closer and closer…

And then, from somewhere beyond the screaming panic of my mind, I hear it.

A dull, rhythmic thud, like distant thunder drawing near. It’s barely audible at first, easily dismissed as a trick of my broken mind.

But Ghost hears it too. I see it in the way his head cocks, his brow furrowing as his beady eyes flick to the door.

The thuds grow louder, more distinct, until they resolve into a sound I know deep in my soul.

Gunfire.

Ghost’s eyes widen, a vein pulsing at his temple. For a single, amazing second, I see fear chase surprise across his features.

“What the fuck…?” he starts, but before he can finish the thought, the door explodes in a hail of splintered wood and shrieking metal.

I flinch back, throwing up my bound hands in instinctive defense. Through the ringing in my ears and the smoke filling the air, I see dark figures pouring into the room, the strobing beams of flashlights cutting harshly through the chaos.

Ghost and his men are shouting, scrabbling for weapons. The flashlights swivel, pinning them in stark relief as a voice booms out, deep and commanding and achingly, impossibly familiar.

“Drop it, you son of a bitch.”

Then all hell breaks loose.

* * *

Alessio

The first man goes down before he can even bring his gun up, his throat shredded by a burst of close-range fire. He hits the ground gurgling, blood frothing at his slack lips as he twitches and stills.

I don’t waste time watching him die. I’m already moving, my own gun barking with those of my men. We cut through Ghost’s meager defenses like a sharpened knife through rotted meat, the air thick with the scent of powder and the copper tang of fresh spilled blood.

I vaguely register the graze of a lucky round scoring across my bicep, the wet heat of my own blood soaking through the shredded fabric of my shirt. But there’s no pain, the wound is barely an afterthought.

Maty. Have to get to Maty.

I glimpse her through the smoke and chaos, tied to a chair in the center of the room. Her clothes filthy and torn, but her eyes…god, her eyes. They blaze with defiant fire even now, refusing to bow under the crushing weight of all she’s endured.

Pride surges through me, fierce and hot. That’s my fucking girl. My fucking steel-spined, unbreakable queen. I’m gonna burn this place to the ground and pull her from the ashes, take her home and spend the rest of my life worshiping my love.

But first…

I advance, a feral snarl pulling at my lips as I spy him through the haze. Ghost. The sadistic fuck who dared to lay hands on what’s mine.

He’s pressed back against the far wall, all his bravado gone in the face of our assault. His eyes are wide, the whites showing as they dart frantically between me and the door, searching for an out he won’t find.

Because this only ends one way. With his blood on my hands and his brains decorating the floor.

“Look at me, you fucking coward,” I growl, stalking forward with murderous intent. “Fucking look at me!”

His gaze snaps to mine, naked terror shining in his eyes. He scrabbles for his dropped knife, fingers clumsy with panic.

I kick it away with a flick of my boot. It skitters into the darkness, the skritch of metal on concrete drowned out by his pathetic whimpers.

“No,” he begs, throwing up his hands in a futile gesture. “No, wait… please…”

But I’m done waiting. Done listening to his poison, his twisted justifications for the nightmare he’s put my woman through.

I descend on him in a rush, one hand clamping around his scrawny throat as I slam him back against the wall hard enough to bounce his skull off the brick. I feel the crunch of cartilage, the desperate flutter of his pulse against my palm as he claws at my wrist.

“You dared,” I seethe, leaning in until we’re nose to nose. “You dared touch her, fucking hurt her. Use her in your sick little games.”

I punctuate each word with a punishing squeeze, relishing his choked gargles and the way his eyes bulge in their sockets.

“Did you really think I’d fucking let that slide?” I hiss, my lips peeling back from my teeth. “Did you think for one second I wouldn’t fucking hunt you down, wouldn’t spend the rest of my life peeling the flesh from your miserable fucking bones for what you’ve done?”

He’s fading now, the struggles weakening as his brain starves for oxygen. But I’m not ready for this to end, not yet. I want him conscious. I want him to feel every second of the agony I’m gonna inflict.

I relax my grip just slightly, letting him suck in a thin, whistling breath. His eyelids flutter, a thin string of saliva swinging from his gaping mouth.

He stares at me for a long, airless moment, his eyes clouding with some unnameable emotion. Then, to my shock, his ravaged lips pull up into a ghastly semblance of a smile.

A bark of demented laughter, tainted with the gurgle of blood. “She was mine first, DeLuca. And she betrayed us.”

I rear back, revulsion twisting in my gut.

“You sick son of bitch,” I spit, rage spiking through me in a white-hot flood. “She trusted you. Cared for you. And you dare blame her when you were the one stupid enough to get caught?”

My hand tightens once more, cutting off his retort. I’m done talking to this piece of shit. Maty was never his, never anyone’s but her own. Until she gave her heart to me.

And I’ll spend the rest of my life earning that gift. Being the man she deserves.

Starting now.

“She’s not a traitor,” I grind out, my face mere inches from his. “It’s not her fucking fault you and your little friends were of no use to me. And she sure as shit isn’t yours.”

I lean in closer, dropping my voice to a lethal whisper. “She. Is. Mine.”

Three words, an implacable oath. A promise that will outlast kingdoms and empires, that will linger long after Ghost is rotting in an unmarked grave and forgotten.

He blinks up at me, the gleam in his eyes dimming as the inexorable tide of death rises to claim him. His lips work soundlessly, a thousand hateful words compressed in a single, futile exhale.

“See you in hell, DeLuca,” he finally croaks, with a ghastly rattle that might have once been a laugh. “Maybe…I’ll get another shot…when you join me there…”

I bare my teeth in an evil grin, tightening my fingers until I can feel the delicate bones of his windpipe collapse under the pressure.

“Not fucking likely,” I growl. “Not fucking planning on dying any time soon, motherfucker.”

A final brutal squeeze, the snap of bones. And with that, I twist my wrist in a single savage jerk, feeling the satisfying pop as his neck breaks like a dry twig in my fist.

His body goes slack, his head lolling at an obscene angle as the last spark of awareness gutters out in his glazing eyes. I stare down at him for a long moment, letting the reality of his death sink in.

It’s over. He’s fucking gone. Nothing more than cooling meat, far less than he deserves.

But I can’t focus on that now. Can’t let myself get lost in the vortex of fury and hatred that still claws at my insides, demanding more blood to quench its thirst.

Because there’s only one thing that matters. Only one person who can pull me back from the abyss, this swirling darkness.

Maty. My heart, my home. The very best part of my battered soul.

I drop Ghost’s corpse without a second glance, already turning on my heel. My men have secured the rest of the building by now, the sporadic gunfire tapering into eerie silence as I stride back to the center of the room.

Maty hangs limply in her bonds, her head drooping to her chest. For a single, heart-stopping moment, I fear the worst. But then I see the tremulous rise and fall of her shoulders, hear the thin wheeze of air through her cracked lips.

Alive. Beaten down and pushed to the brink, but alive.

I fall to my knees before her, heedless of the blood and filth smeared across the floor. With shaking fingers, I reach out to cup her bruised cheek, my heart clenching as she flinches instinctively from my touch.

“Maty,” I croon gently. “Baby, it’s me. It’s Lessio. I’m here now. I’ve got you.”

Her breath hitches, her lashes fluttering as she struggles to lift her head. When her gaze finally meets mine, it’s glazed with pain and confusion, disbelief warring with hope.

“Alessio?” she croaks out, her voice raw. “Is it…are you really…?”

“It’s me, sweetheart,” I assure her, blinking back the hot prickle of tears. “I’m here. I’ve got you.”

A tremulous smile touches the corners of her mouth, a glimpse of that feisty spirit shining through. “What…what took you so long?”

A wet, broken laugh punches out of me, my very soul aching with relief. Even now, even after everything, she’s still my Maty. My fearless, unbreakable girl.

I lean forward, pressing my forehead to hers as I breathe in the scent of her, the very essence that means home.

“Traffic was a bitch,” I manage. “But I promised I’d always come for you, right?”

She makes a small, broken sound, somewhere between a laugh and a sob. “Damn straight,”

* * *

Maty

“Maybe try to be a little faster, yeah?” I finish, my words barely audible over the chattering of my teeth.

Alessio makes a sound that’s half-laugh, half-sob, his fingers gentle as they skim over my face, my hair. “I’ll keep that in mind,” he murmurs, pressing a fervent kiss to my brow. “But for now, let’s focus on getting you out of here and checked by a doctor.”

I nod, too exhausted and overwhelmed to protest as he starts working on my bonds with careful movements. The ropes fall away, the sudden rush of blood to my limbs drawing a pained hiss from my cracked lips.

Alessio pauses, his eyes dark with concern. “Easy, baby,” he soothes, rubbing gentle circles into the intact parts of my skin. “I know it hurts. But I’m gonna make it all better, I swear.”

Tears sting my eyes, gratitude and love swelling in my chest until I feel like I might burst with it. “I know you will,” I whisper, leaning into his solid strength. “I trust you, Less’.”

His breath catches, his gaze boring into mine with an intensity that steals the air from my lungs. “I love you,” he rasps out, his words raw and fierce. “I thought I might lose you…”

I silence him with a trembling finger to his lips, my heart too full for words. “I love you too,” I breathe, the truth of it ringing through my core. “I think I have from the moment you first smiled at me, all those years ago.”

This. This is what I fought for, what I survived for. This man, this love, this promise of a future I once thought out of reach.

And now that I have it, have him? I’m never letting go.

* * *

Alessio

I cradle Maty in my arms as I carry her out of that godforsaken warehouse. She’s alive. Battered and drained, but alive.

And she fucking loves me. Loves me, despite the darkness in my soul, the blood on my hands. Despite everything I am and everything I’ve done.

It’s a gift I know I don’t deserve, could never hope to earn. But it’s one I will spend the rest of my life cherishing, protecting with every beat of my black heart.

I step out into the cool dawn air, the first pale rays of sunlight breaking over the horizon. Maty stirs against my chest, her face turning instinctively towards the warmth.

“Is it over?” she murmurs, her lashes fluttering open to reveal those gorgeous dark eyes I adore. “Is he…is he really gone?”

“He’s gone,” I confirm, tightening my hold on her. “He can’t hurt you anymore, baby. No one can. I won’t allow it.”

She nods, a shudder rippling through her curvy frame. “I knew you’d come for me,” she whispers, her lips curving in a trembling smile. “I never doubted it.”

Emotion clogs my throat, hot and thick.

She reaches up to cup my cheek, her touch infinitely tender.

I turn my head to press a kiss to her palm. “You and me, baby. Always.”