7. Damian

7

This girl is a goddamn succubus.

The rage I felt when I looked at Alexis's face in the photograph was indescribable. My jaw was clenched so tightly, it felt like my teeth would shatter. Words failed me in that moment, and coherent thoughts and the ability to articulate went out the window. It was an anger so intense and overwhelming, it transcended the ability to describe it with language.

She fucking lied to me. I asked her if she knew about The Brotherhood, and she looked me in the face and lied.

Edo could tell how angry I was because he immediately took over the conversation with Uncle Vinny and Mario, leaving me to stew. She fucking played me. And you don't fuck with Damian Iacopelli and get away with it.

On our way back to the mansion, I ordered Edo and Nat to stay the fuck away from Alexis's room as I was going to personally deal with her.

She wasn't going to get away with lying to me. I can't believe I fell for that innocent doe-eyed look of hers as she insisted she had no idea who The Brotherhood was.

Mario Rafa doesn't ask for help if the person he's looking for isn't important. So there's either two possibilities. Either Alexis is a colossal idiot or she's lying to me.

And it's more likely that she's lying to me.

Well, she's going to fucking learn you don't lie to me. I'm the Don of the Iacopellis for a reason, and I am going to get my answers or she'll be ‘sleeping with the fishes', or whatever the fuck that saying is from terrible Mob movies.

And then I opened her door and saw the room in disarray and Alexis half-hanging out the window, her eyes wide like a deer in headlights. Red-hot fury ignited in my chest as realization sank in. She was trying to fucking escape. And she used fucking bed sheets to do so.

That solidified it for me. She definitely isn't an idiot. She's just a liar.

My rage overtook me in that moment as I snatched her away from the window and pinned her against the wall. But when she looked up at me, those hazel eyes flecked with gold wide and innocent, her full lips parted as she caught her breath, I suddenly became hyper aware of how close our bodies were. How the swell of her body felt against mine. The subtle smell of her perfume wafting to my nose. Those pouty lips just inches from mine, begging to be kissed.

That justifiable fury which burned bright just moments ago began to rapidly dissolve until it was nothing but simmering embers. Fury was replaced with an intense need to touch her that left my mouth dry and my heart pounding.

Why did I come in here again? I'm supposed to be pissed at her, but I'm not. Instead, I want to take her to bed and fuck her until she's screaming my name.

I have to pull myself away and make a show of taking off my suit jacket and tie in order to clear my head. I can feel her gaze on me, watching as I unbutton the top button of my shirt. I make a show of looking at her, how that ridiculously short dress is barely containing her breasts as they heave and how the swell of her ass looks as the dress rides up.

She's like an open book, and I can see every emotion play across her face. I smirk as I see her bite her lip, fighting back a moan. Ah, so she's turned on. This I can work with. Desire is the best truth serum outside of alcohol.

Her skin is impossibly smooth as I lean in, my jaw rubbing against her neck, and it takes everything in me to not trail hot kisses down it. My cock twitches, but I have to ignore my baser instincts if I want to get the answers I deserve.

"You haven't been honest with me, Alexis Hartley," I hiss. "Why the fuck does The Brotherhood want you so badly?"

It's like a bucket of cold water has been poured over her as she gasps, eyes impossibly wide.

"H–How did you learn my last name?" she whispers, pupils darting in every direction.

A satisfied grin stretches across my face as I pull out the manila envelope and toss it at Alexis. "Open it," I say lightly.

She obeys and tears it open, the contract fluttering to the ground. She scans the photos and her body stiffens. She looks up at me fearfully.

"I—where did you get these?" she demands, waving a photo of herself at me. "Who took these?" Her voice is getting louder as hysteria starts to take over.

"No. You don't get to ask the fucking questions here, Alexis Hartley," I snarl. "Why does The Brotherhood want you so bad?"

"I don't know!" Alexis shouts, bringing her hands to her face in frustration. "I'd never heard of them before until today when Mark—" She stops short, looking horrified at the partial revelation she's let slip.

My grin turns vicious. "Mark Abernathy, right?"

She stills, her face paling. "How do you know who Mark is?"

I gesture to the contract lying on the floor and tsk unsympathetically. "So defensive over someone who tried to sell you to The Brotherhood." I bark out a laugh. "Did you really think I wouldn't find any of this out, Alexis? Did you really think I am that much of an idiot?"

Alexis shakes her head frantically, wrapping her arms around herself as she tucks her chin into her chest. "No."

I roughly tip her chin up with my finger so she's forced to look into my eyes. The huge bruise on her cheek reminds me of my earlier question.

"Who hurt you, Alexis? Was it Mark?"

Alexis squeezes her eyes shut but quickly nods.

I stamp down the anger rising in my chest. We're finally getting somewhere, and I'm not about to let this moment slide.

"Tell me everything that happened before Edo and I found you on the street," I growl. "And leave nothing out. I will find out if you do, and I don't think you'll like what happens if I find out you lied."

She flinches at that statement but takes a steadying breath. Suddenly, it's like a dam has been unleashed and she tells me everything. From her mother's death to being placed with the Carters to meeting Mark. When she tells me how Mark hit her while her foster parents and foster sister did nothing and how they all conspired to sell her to The Brotherhood, I have to clench my fists in order to not hunt them down and take them out myself.

"So I escaped from the basement," she whispers. "And I was so, so close to freedom when that guy attacked me. That's when you found me."

Her story is horrifying, but it still doesn't answer the question as to why she's so important to Mario Rafa. She only shrugs helplessly when I ask her.

"I don't know how many times I have to tell you that I don't know," she says tiredly. "This is the first time I've ever heard the name Mario Rafa."

For whatever reason, I believe her. Nat would kill me for that, but there's a resigned hopelessness to Alexis right now that can't be faked.

It's not exactly a secret that The Brotherhood dabbles in human trafficking, but this is the first time I'm actually interacting with a potential victim. My stomach twists as I wonder how many other Alexises have been sold to unsavory customers.

Uncle Vinny would tell me to turn Alexis over now so we can get our cut, but I don't want to. Whoever The Brotherhood sells Alexis to will do their best to permanently remove that fire from her. I don't buy for one second that Alexis is naturally meek and mild. She's quick to anger, as demonstrated by her slapping me when I accused her of being a prostitute, and she's cunning and intelligent, as evidenced by the fucking rope ladder she created.

No, this timidity is a survival technique. Bland people fly under the radar much easier than passionate ones.

"What are you going to do with me?" Alexis asks, her voice trembling. "Please don't send me to The Brotherhood or the Carters. I'll do anything."

I really don't know what I'm going to do. While I don't want her to be sold, I also know keeping her here is dangerous. If Mario gets wind that his missing person has been hiding out here, he'll declare a war to get her.

And we can't afford a war, not when Invicta would probably join up with The Brotherhood to ensure our destruction.

"I don't know," I admit, frowning as I watch her face fall and as she shrinks into herself. Why does my honesty make me feel like a piece of shit?

My phone suddenly rings, a welcome distraction from some potential unpleasant introspection. I swiftly bring my phone to my ear, turning my back on Alexis so I can't see her crestfallen and scared expression.

"Damian," I say shortly.

"Boss!" A frantic voice bellows, and I have to pull my phone back so my eardrum isn't blown out. "Boss! Invicta is here and shootin' up the place!"

I can hear a round of gunfire in the distance, and the man yells before the line goes dead.

"FUCK!" I shout, causing Alexis to jump in fright, but I don't care right now.

I need to get to my warehouse now and end this fight before the police get wind of this. The last thing I need is for the pigs to find our drugs.

The door bursts open, and Edo and Nat appear, their faces white and their cell phones in their hands. They must have also gotten phone calls as well.

"Edo, let's go," I order, grabbing the guns that Edo tosses at me. "Nat, you stay here and keep an eye on Alexis."

"What?" Nat hisses, dropping her phone to curl her hands into fists. "I'm not a fucking babysitter, Damian! I'm your underboss. Are you having me watch her because I'm a female?"

Is my sister really accusing me of misogyny? Fucking seriously?

I gesture toward Alexis who is cowering at the wall. "She just tried to fucking escape using a goddamn rope ladder. You're the only one who could potentially stop her if she decides to be stupid enough to try again."

Nat looks unconvinced, but I really don't care. I have more important things to worry about.

I jerk my head toward Edo. "Bring the men and get the car ready. We have no time to lose."

I step through the door of my warehouse, my bodyguards and Edo flanking me with drawn guns. My eyes narrow as I survey the dim interior.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Edo murmurs, his eyes scanning the perimeter. "It's too quiet."

I can't help but agree. Where are my men? Shouldn't there be dead bodies littered on the floor?

Suddenly, the rat-tat-tat of machine gun fire erupts from the catwalk above. My men drop in a hail of bullets as Edo and I dive behind a stack of wooden crates.

"It's a fucking trap!" I roar over the sounds of bullets. I pull out my .38 from my shoulder holster. Edo and I blindly fire back, the gunfire deafening in the enclosed space.

"Go left!" Edo shouts as he rolls out from behind the crate and kneels on one knee, firing his gun multiple times.

Gritting my teeth, I dart out from my hiding spot to another one, quickly firing off a round. I can see several people fall from my aim, and I grin in satisfaction.

This has to be Invicta. There's no one else who would be stupid enough to start a gunfight with me.

I reload my gun and pop up again, pressing the trigger multiple times as bullets whiz past me. Bam, bam, bam. More Invicta soldiers go down.

A searing pain tears through me and I grimace, clutching the bleeding wound. Blood pours around my fingers and I sway on the spot. I'm hit with another searing pain and I collapse on the cement ground, staring up at the ceiling. The pain is indescribable, and the edges of my vision grow fuzzy.

This is what it must be like to die, I think before the world goes black.