41. Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty
Elise
I don’t know whether to feel disappointment or satisfaction from the events I just witnessed. My hands throb in pain from banging them against a door that Luca never had a chance of hearing me from. But my excitement is high as I watch Alexander struggle to pull the knife lodged into his shoulder blade out.
I laugh aloud, watching him on the camera. I don’t know why he would provoke Luca in the way he did, knowing that he actually does have me. But I’m glad he did. I’m glad Luca gave him a taste of what’s to come. I continue to watch him struggle on the screen, his cries of pain echoing in the panic room as he rips the blade out, throwing it across the room.
“Holy shit,” I murmur to myself as I watch it slide under the shelf.
Luca and his temper have unknowingly given me a way out.
My eyes are straining from my attempt not to blink as I watch him stand to leave the room, his hand over the bloody wound. He doesn’t bother to get the knife from its hiding place as he leaves, giving me more hope than I’ve had since arriving here. I thought I would feel more helpless after watching my chance at escape leave. But I know my husband. I know that if he’s here himself, he suspects Alexander highly. He won’t leave the area completely. He’ll at least have his men watch for a few days or even stay himself somewhere on the mountain.
I just have to get out of here and find him before he leaves.
Alexander doesn’t release me from the panic room for hours. By the time he does release me, his wound has already been treated, and he’s more than happy to use me to get his revenge for what Luca did to him.
“Ah!” I groan as my back throbs in pain, preventing me from pulling the sheer robe on. My body is covered in bruises thanks to Alexander, making moving difficult. I still don’t understand what kind of man he is—only that his actions seem to be fueled by his hatred for Luca.
It’s another cruel part of our world I was shielded from.
The whole reason I’m in this current mess is because I fled from the safety of my home, propelling Luca’s enemies into action. Though I can never forgive him for what he did to my mother, I understand why it was seen as necessary. We were never important enough to my father to protect. We were only seen as pawns—pawns big enough to make a plan over decades that would eventually take down the Pasquino empire.
I pull in a shuddering breath as I study myself in the mirror. The sight causes tears to form, but I refuse to let them fall. I won’t give Alexander the satisfaction. My body is a reflection of what it’s like to be in the crosshairs of this world. The bruises Alexander left pale in comparison to the man whose name remains carved into my flesh—the man I long to return to. The man who is also responsible for the scar near my temple.
But I see now I have worse things to fear than Luca. In fact, Luca seems to be the only one who can protect me from those things.
I jump as the door rattles from Alexander’s loud knock.
“You’ve been in there long enough,” he calls through the door.
I grit my teeth in pain as I quickly pull the thin lace robe over my shoulders, my irritation for Alexander’s kinks growing by the day. At this point, it only makes sense that he enjoys the humiliation I’m enduring as Luca’s wife.
I push open the door, lowering my eyes as I step out of the bathroom.
“Can you give me actual clothes to wear? At least until the bruises heal?” I ask.
Alexander has me roughly around the arm, smashing me into the wall. I flinch as he presses against me, his erection straining through his pants as he holds me between him and the wall.
“Who the fuck do you think you are speaking to me that way?” he hisses.
I feel the color drain from my face as he looks at me with a seething hatred that wasn’t there before. He’s angrier than I thought about Luca. I’m sure he wasn’t expecting to be found, let alone stabbed, on the same day.
I can’t help but laugh.
“It’s scary, isn’t it? Being right in his crosshairs?” I narrow my gaze, leaning into him. “I told you he would find you—Agh!”
Alexander roughly smashes me into the wall, my head knocking against the wood from the sheer strength he uses. I know I shouldn’t provoke him, but I can’t help it. Not when I see the fear lingering behind his gaze.
His hand roughly wraps around my throat, squeezing.
“You want clothes? Maybe you should fucking earn them,” he growls out.
Suddenly, his fist collides with my stomach, knocking all the air and strength out of me. My legs buckle as I hold my stomach, wheezing. His fingers rip through my hair, lifting my head just as he pulls his cock free, stroking it lightly as he looks down at me.
I flinch, attempting to pull away as he presses his shaft against my face, smearing the thick precum seeping from the bulbous tip over my cheek. He lowers his tip to my lips, but I keep them pursed, giving him my most defiant glare as I deny him what he wants.
He releases my hair, slapping me hard across the face. My jaw aches from the pain, and he roughly grips it, pressing the tip of his cock against my lips as he threatens me.
“Next time, I will break your jaw.”
My whimpers are ignored as he pushes himself past my lips, and I fight the violent wave of nausea that washes over me as I taste him on my tongue. My heart beats wildly in my chest as my adrenaline spikes, and I no longer feel the need to plan my escape as desperation hits.
I bite.
His screams are music to my ears as I gnash his flesh between my teeth. And suddenly, instead of his open hand, he punches me. I blink wildly, attempting to remain conscious as he hunches over in pain. My face is on fire, and my nose is dripping blood like a faucet, but I focus on my task, blindly stumbling to the door as I pull it open, praying that I can escape.
Alexander’s cries follow me into the hallway as I try to find my way to his study. My brain isn’t working properly after he hit me so hard across the face. And even as I stumble through the hallway, I notice that my vision continually blacks out.
“Shit,” I murmur aloud as I realize I may not be able to make it to his study let alone escape.
I continue to groan in pain as I finally find the familiar door that leads to Alexander’s study. I pull desperately on it, my heart falling into my stomach when it doesn’t budge.
“No,” I whisper.
I pull against it violently, shaking it with all the strength I can muster.
“No!” I scream.
I press my head against the door, my trembling becoming more violent with each passing second as I imagine what Alexander’s going to do to me once he catches me. He may very well kill me this time.
“Elise!” I tense, my hands gripping the door even harder when I hear his footsteps. There’s nowhere to run. Even if I made it out the front door, nothing but snow and mountains surround me. Alexander would only have to wait for me to almost freeze to death before dragging me back to inflict more damage.
My breath hitches when I hear his approaching footsteps. They are slow and deliberate, just to frighten me further. He knows what we both know—I have nowhere to run.
His deep chuckle echoes up the hall, and I force myself to pull in a deep breath as I turn to face him, holding my head high with false bravery. Alexander’s smile is wicked.
“I just might fucking kill you,” he growls.
I swallow my nausea, blinking back my tears as I look at him.
“Do it. At least you’ll have my death to comfort you when Luca finds out what you’ve done,” I hiss.
Alexander’s face remains expressionless as he looks at me. Then, he laughs, shaking his head.
“I’m sure it will come as a great comfort.”
I scream as he reaches for me, grabbing my arm. Instead of dragging me away, however, he fiddles with the locks on his study, ignoring my screams as he opens the door, throwing me inside. I hit the ground hard, my wrist screaming in pain as I catch myself. I turn just in time to see Alexander moving to his desk, dragging out sinister-looking tools.
I recognize some from when Luca threatened me in the Annex after he thwarted my escape attempt. It makes it even more difficult to swallow my dread as I know anything that caught Luca’s eye to use for torture must be painful. Alexander slowly drags his fingers over a pair of pliers, his gaze shifting to mine as he lifts them, slowly approaching.
“Maybe we need to get rid of those teeth first. So that we never have another incident like this, huh?” he asks.
I watch him carefully as he takes his slow steps towards me, remembering why I was trying to enter his study in the first place. I flip over on my knees, scrambling for the shelf, but he grabs my leg, snatching me back just as my fingers brush the bottom of it. I flip over, kicking with all my might, and land a blow hard enough that he releases me.
“Fucking bitch!” he growls as I desperately move to the shelf once again, my fingers brushing under it. My fingers slip over the weapon, but I can’t get a grip as he pulls on my hair. I scream, the pain of the strands slowly ripping from my scalp as I reach for my one chance at escape, motivating me until I finally have it in my grip just as Alexander pulls me to my knees, angling my head back.
“I’m going to enjoy ripping out those pretty little teeth—Hck!” I plunge the blade into the side of his throat, ripping it out within seconds. I know not to leave it at that. Alexander stumbles back, shock on his features as his hands cover the wound. Blood splatters from behind his grip, covering me as I scream, plunging the knife into his chest again and again until he can no longer stand, his legs giving out as he collapses, choking on his own blood.
Alexander’s choking fills the air as I step back, trembling. I hold the knife pointed at him just in case he tries to get up, but he doesn’t. He glares at me with wide eyes, holding his throat.
“Fuck you!” I scream.
My scream is accompanied by the tears I finally let fall as I run to his desk, pulling it open. My eyes shift hurriedly over the contents, my adrenaline spiking when I see several key fobs for the cars he must have. I snatch the pair I associate with a car that is good in terrain, bursting out of the study, right into his maid. She looks at me in shock, her eyes lingering on the blood that isn’t mine.
I hold up the knife, happy that she’s an older woman as I threaten her. And she instantly raises her hand in surrender.
“I need a jacket,” I say.
She has no rebuttal, not even a fight, as she leads me to a coat closet, giving me a fur coat. And I continue to hold my weapon out at her as I back away. She may be a frail old woman, but she stood by as Alexander inflicted his torture on me. I’m sure once I’m out of her line of sight, she is going to attempt to save him.
“Where is the garage?” I snap.
She points to the door opposite me, and I don’t waste any more time with her as I run to the door, flinging it open. Luckily, it’s a massive garage, and Alexander keeps his cars parked at an angle so that none will trap the other.
As I press the unlock button, the SUV nearest me chirps, signifying how close I am to my escape. I quickly jump inside, cranking the car before speeding out of the garage to my freedom.