12. Adalina
Chapter 12
Adalina
“U
nhand me, you brute.” Dante’s hulking bodyguard tightens his grip on my arm, his muscles flexing like coiled ropes. Enzo drags me forward with ease, his expression stoic and merciless. The memories of my father’s guards doing the same flood my mind, triggering a surge of fear and panic. I try to fight against him, my bare feet digging into the plush carpet as I desperately try to slow us down.
Enzo pauses in the walk, patient with me. “Miss Adalina, I am taking you downstairs for lunch with Dante and your father. You will be fine.”
I debate trusting him. I don’t know this man from Adam. I couldn’t pick him out of a lineup if I tried. “Why is my father here?” I attempt to pull my arm away from him, but Enzo doesn’t budge.
“They’re talking semantics. Your father owes money to the Terlizzi family, and in exchange for getting what he’s owed plus interest, he’s taken you.”
I burst into laughter because neither Dante nor Enzo can see how this will backfire. My father will not pay to get me back. I am worth less than nothing in his eyes. He might enjoy beating me and watching his guards hurt me, but not enough to pay for it. “You should tell your boss this was a stupid plan. He’s bitten off more than he can chew. Now he has a useless captive, and there’s still the debt. Speaking of,” I frown, “how much did my father borrow?”
Enzo heavily sighs and continues pulling on my arm, yanking me down the stairs. “The specifics are none of your business. If Dante wants to confide in you, he will. Now, be quiet. Your role here is the bait that Dante dangles in front of Tommaso Martinelli. The silent bait.”
I have never been a quiet girl. I always spoke up in class and made my presence known in the circles I ran in. Even at home, it is my loud mouth that gets me beaten more than my actions. I’ve never chosen to be silent before, and I won’t choose to be silent today.
As Enzo ushers me into the grand dining room, my eyes immediately land on my father and Dante sitting at the table, picking at their salads. The air in the room is thick with tension. A heavy fog of unease lingers over us like a weight, filling every inch of the elegant space with a sense of foreboding.
“See, as I said, your daughter is safe and sound,” Dante announces with a gesture to me.
Tommaso turns in his seat to eye me up and down. The anger smoldering behind his dark eyes is palpable. I can tell what he’s thinking: when he gets me home, he’s going to make me wish I was never born.
“As safe and sound as any prisoner could be,” I quip with a smile.
Enzo’s fingers grip me tightly, a silent warning to shut my mouth. I catch a glimpse of Dante’s tense expression as he exchanges a knowing look with his bodyguard. The man releases his hold on me only moments later, allowing the blood to rush back into my arm. It tingles and stings as the feeling returns.
Dante smiles indulgently at me before nodding at a seat between him and Tommaso. I’m expected to take it, so I do. “She is being safely guarded.”
My father’s gaze lingers on me, his eyes flickering with suspicion and disapproval. I can practically see the wheels turning in his head, conjuring up a web of deceit and disobedience to justify punishing me. He scrutinizes every detail—my unkempt hair, the unfamiliar dress clinging to my body, the fact that I got out of his house in the first place—each one a weapon in his arsenal against me. This is not a moment of judgment but a looming storm waiting to break.
“Tommaso,” Dante barks, drawing my father’s attention. “Don’t look at her. She isn’t yours to look at.”
“She’s more mine than she will ever be anyone else’s.” Tommaso narrows his eyes.
But Dante is not cowed by the menacing glare or the low rumble of threat in my father’s voice. He laughs, the sound almost jarring in the eerie silence that has fallen on the room. “You say that, but I call the shots here. I could force you to watch me defile your daughter right in front of you. Right now.” The smile slides off his face. “Enzo could hold you down while I bend Adalina over the edge of this table and fuck her until she cums all over my dick. Is that what you want? To see your daughter’s eyes roll back in her head while I stroke her G-spot with my cock?”
I squirm in my chair, my skin prickling with arousal. Dante’s words ignite a fire within me, and I can feel myself growing unexpectedly wet.
“Careful,” Tommaso replies in a lowered voice. “That’s my daughter you’re speaking about. I have her virtue to concern myself with. Not to mention you’re engaged. What would your betrothed think?”
My head swivels so fast that I hear my neck pop. I fucking knew it. I knew he wasn’t single. “Engaged?” I glare at Dante.
He ignores me. “You should have concerned yourself with her virtue last night when I had her naked on my bed, pumping into her sweet little pussy until I filled it with?—”
Tommaso stands up abruptly, his face turning beet red. The maneuver forces his stomach to collide with the table, which tips his water glass. “Fuck you, Terlizzi. You made the wrong fucking enemy. You hear me? You’ll regret this.”
Dante grabs his fork and stabs another piece of his salad. He brings it to his mouth and chews slowly, drawing out the tension of the moment. My father is still breathing heavily and looks murderous, and he is forced to sit through this play until Dante is ready to give his performance. “Do your worst, Tommaso. Or pay your debt. It doesn’t have to be like this.”
If my father pays the debt and I’m handed back over to him, I have no doubt he’ll make good on his promise to cripple me.
“You’re a whore,” Tommaso points at me. “And you’ll die a whore’s death because of it. I’ll make sure of that.”
I meet his gaze with unwavering confidence. I have never bowed to him before, and I won’t start today. “So be it.”
If it comes to pass that I will be returned to my father’s hands, I’ll kill myself first. If our history is any indicator of what my future holds, killing myself will be quicker and less painful than however he plans to do it.