Chapter 44
ISABELLA
Itoss and turn in the bed as I slowly start to wake up.
The spot between my legs feels empty and sore from the punishment that Slade put me through, although I can’t really say it was a punishment.
I open my eyes and notice that I’m in our bedroom.
Silk sheets cover me and the curtains are closed but some of the daylight is shining through.
Light filters under the bathroom door and I hear water splash in the sink.
Last night after Slade finished fucking me he tucked his dick back in his pants and helped me look put together again. He shoved the helmet on with firm hands, then clipped it tight like he was claiming me, without saying anything, and then he drove us back to the house.
By the time he parked his bike, I could barely move my legs from how sore they were so Slade picked me up. I passed out in his arms as he carried me into the house.
I don’t remember much after that.
A few seconds pass before Slade walks out of the bathroom in a white t-shirt and black pants. His hair is wet, like he just washed it.
I sit up in the bed as he walks over and sits on the side of the bed next to me. “How are you feeling?” he asks.
He seems different.
Distant.
I can’t help but wonder if that has to do with everything that happened last night.
I remember being tipsy after what happened with Georgino.
Every word I threw at Slade was sharp-edged, soaked in pain. I didn’t just want him to hear me.
I wanted him to feel it.
“Fine. A little groggy but I think I just need some water and food.” Slade grabs the water from the side table and hands it to me.
“Thank you.” My eyes go to his fists as he rests them on his thighs.
He has marks on his fists that I don’t remember being there last night.
I reach for his hand but he pulls away. “What happened?”
He shakes his head. “I need you to do something for me.”
I meet his gaze. “What is it?”
“I need you to identify Georgino. I need you to make sure he’s the one who’s been trying to kill you.”
“Why? Don’t you know what he looks like?”
“Yes, but I need you to identify him,” he demands, giving me no room to argue.
“What are you going to do with him?” I ask even though I already know the answer.
He raises an eyebrow at me. “What do you think, Isabella?”
He is going to kill him.
He is going to do what he did to other people, to Georgino.
“Was what he said true? My dad being a bad person and cheating on my mother? Is it true?”
I hope it’s not.
Every time I think of my dad I think of all the good memories we had.
I was his little princess and he wouldn’t let anyone hurt me.
He would always say how much he loved his girls, meaning me and mom.
But was it all a lie?
Slade doesn’t say anything, and I swear I feel my heart crack.
Another thing he hasn’t told me.
Slade slides his hand on my thigh, but I push it away. “Why didn’t you tell me? You knew and you kept this from me?”
“Because when I found out, I didn’t connect the dots between the stalker and what happened with your father.
I also didn’t want to ruin whatever memories or opinions you had of your dad.
” He slides a hand on my shoulder and scoots closer to me.
“Whatever that cunt in there says, don’t believe it.
He’s crazy and not right in the head. We don’t know for sure if your dad did whatever he is saying.
It’s his words against your father’s. And even if he did, it doesn’t give Georgino the right to kill your family or you.
” Tears fall down my cheek but I nod. Slade slides his hand to my jaw and strokes my cheek.
“Now I need you to look at him for me. After that, this mess will be done and you’ll be safe. ”
Slade lets go of me and stands up so that I can get out of the bed.
We leave the bedroom, head downstairs, and pass everyone in the living room. Ryker, Angel, and Becky are sitting in the living room just talking.
When we go into Slade’s office I don’t see Georgino anywhere. I’m confused until Slade walks towards his large bookshelf on the other side of his office. He pulls down a book, which I realize is actually a lever, and pushes the wall.
I furrow my eyebrows, watching him push the bookshelf to the side. He glances back at me and holds his hand out for me.
Despite everything, I take it.
He pulls me through the opening and Georgino is sitting with chains on his hands that are cemented to the floor.
The walls are covered with all sorts of weapons.
Guns, ropes, knives, pillars, and other tools that can inflict damage on someone.
This is Slade’s version of the red room.
Georgino is sweating on the floor with a bullet wound that is untreated, bruises and bloodied marks on his face, and a small slit on the side of his neck.
It looks like Slade already got started on some of his work.
Slade probably wants me to see Georgino one last time before he finishes off the job.
Slade lets go of me and walks towards Georgino. “You know this girl?” Slade grabs his hair and makes Georgino glance up at me instead of the ground.
Georgino winces as his eyes connect with mine. “Yes.”
“Who is she?”
“Little Rossi,” he says slowly before smiling at me.
Slade pulls his hair and Georgino cries in pain. “Say her name.”
“Isabella Rossi.”
Slade grabs a knife from his pocket and he points it right in front of Georgino’s eye.
I force myself to watch Slade as he stabs Georgino in one eye.
The blade sinks in with a wet crunch, and a sound rips from Georgino’s throat that I’ll never forget. My hand flies to my mouth. I think I’m going to be sick.
Slade doesn’t even hesitate. He goes for the other eye like he’s flipping a switch, like Georgino isn’t even human anymore. Another stab. Another scream. And I’m shaking—violently. My breath comes in broken gasps, my vision blurring with tears I didn’t realize I was crying.
I can’t tell if I’m horrified by what Slade just did or by the part of me that understands why.
I force myself to watch as Georgino cries in pain and thrashes against Slade’s hold on his hair. Slade leaves the knife in one eye and looks up at me. “He is the one who killed your parents?”
I look away from Slade and back at Georgino who is crying and begging for help.
Georgino thrashes against the chains as he tries to break free.
He leans down and his breath hits my face.
He smells of death and cigarettes. “Be careful Isabella, because I might not come for you right now. But one of these days, when I find you again, I’m going to stop at nothing to destroy Richard Rossi’s life,” he says, gripping my arm harshly, making me let out another cry.
“And the final reward is going to be you, Isabella.”
He tilts his head down giving me a sinister look before his lips form a creepy smile.
“Please,” I whimper, shaking my head and shutting my eyes so he can’t see me.
If I can’t see him then he can’t see me.
“Be ready, Isabella.”
Tears fall as I remember the moment he killed my parents.
“Yes,” I say, basically signing someone's life away.
Slade nods and lets go of Georgino’s hair. “You can go,” he says but my feet don’t want to move. I’m curious about what Slade is going to do. I want to see what he told me to write in the books. That must be the depraved part of me talking. “I said you can go. I don’t want you to see this shit.”
“I want to see.”
Something passes over Slade’s eyes and I’m pretty sure if Georgino wasn’t here, he’d pin me against the wall and have his way with me.
Slade nods and walks over to his wall of weapons. He stares for a minute before deciding on a hammer.
He strides back over to Georgino. He pauses in front of him and looks at me. “Last chance. You already think of me as a monster. I don’t want you to think of me as a demon or worse.”
“I know why you’re doing this Slade.”
I think I’ve accepted the fact that he kills.
The thing that makes me mad is that he tries to control me and doesn’t let me leave. He keeps things from me which makes me feel unsafe.
I want the Slade who tells me everything and lets me in.
He still hasn’t even told me about this dad.
Slade raises the hammer and brings it down on Georgino’s shoulder.
Not once, but twice.
Georgino tries to move away from Slade’s wrath while screaming in pain.
Slade pulls out his knife from Georgino’s eye and starts slicing his body after throwing the hammer to the side.
It feels surreal to watch him cut Georgino’s body as Georgino calls for help. I’m watching my book come to life as Slade destroys his body.
My book feels much more tame than seeing everything in real life play out.
“You fucked with the wrong girl,” Slade says before pulling on his hair. “She’s mine. You touched what’s mine and I don’t like it when people touch my things.”
Slade’s sharp knife scalps Georgino, removing the skin from the top of his head. Vomit builds in my throat.
But he deserved it.
He was going to kill me.
I feel like I’m going to throw up when Slade tosses the piece of skin that he cut off to the side. The skin hits the ground, almost sounding like a slap.
Georgino’s face is covered in blood as it pours from the top of his head.
You can see his skull through the blood.
I can’t believe he is still breathing.
Slade looks at me with dark voided eyes, the darkness in him settling in. “Leave. I don’t want you to see what’s next.”
“I can handle it-”
“Leave Isabella! I won’t ask again! Get the fuck out of here!” Slade yells.
For once I listen to him, running out of the room and office, slamming the door behind me.
I swear I can still hear Georgino’s screams and cries for help as I stand outside Slade’s office door.