Chapter Ten
Donny Rae
The world was nothing but a series of sharp jolts and the suffocating smell of old floor mats.
My head was throbbing, a rhythmic drum of pain behind my eyes that reminded me of the heavy thud I'd felt before everything went black in the primary suite.
I was curled on my side, my wrists bound tight behind my back with zip-ties that bit into my skin every time the vehicle hit a pothole.
I wasn't in the lavender dress anymore; I was still in Dominic's cashmere robe; the soft fabric now stained with dirt and grease.
I tried to shift, to find some pocket of air, but a heavy boot pressed down on my shoulder, pinning me to the floor of what sounded like a windowless van.
"Stay down, little bird," a voice rasped. It wasn't the deep, melodic rumble of my man. It was high, reedy, and full of a cruelty that made my stomach turn. "You're worth a lot more to us if you stay quiet and pretty. Don't make me have to rough up that ginger hair of yours."
"Where are you taking me?" I managed to choke out, my voice sounding like it had been dragged over gravel. I fought back the urge to cry. Dominic told me I had a spine. He told me I was a master’s now, and a master’s didn't beg.
"If you kill me, he will find you. You know who he is, and you know what he does. "
The man laughed—a dry, hacking sound. "Oh, we know exactly who Dominic Masters is, which is why you're in this van, sweetheart.
He's been acting like he's untouchable, like the rules of the city don't apply to him because he's got a fancy house and a tapered fade.
But he forgot about the blood debt. He forgot that you don't touch a Vitti shipment and get to keep your happiness. "
The van slowed, the tires crunching over gravel and broken glass, before coming to a complete stop.
The back doors swung open, and the sudden influx of light made me squint.
I was hauled out by my hair and the collar of the robe, my bare feet hitting the cold, damp concrete of what looked like an abandoned meat-packing plant.
The air was frigid, smelling of salt and rot.
I was pushed into a chair in the center of a wide, open floor, a single industrial light swaying above me.
Standing in the shadows was a man who looked like the opposite of Dominic.
He was thin and pale, dressed in a suit that looked like it cost five figures but sat poorly on his frame.
He walked toward me, a wicked smile spreading across his face.
"Donny Rae Taylor," he sneered, circling me like a shark, "the girl who tamed the beast. My name is Luca Vitti.
Your… fiancé… recently decided that my family's business wasn't worth his respect.
He burned down my warehouse, killed my men, and he thought he could hide you away in a fortress and call it a day. "
"He didn't hide me," I spat, meeting his gaze even though my heart was hammering against my ribs. "He claimed me. There's a difference."
Luca's smile faded, and he reached out, his stiff fingers tracing the line of my jaw.
I flinched, the memory of Dominic's warm, tattooed hands making this touch feel like ice.
"He's coming for you, you know. He's probably tearing the city apart as we speak, but that's exactly what I want.
I want him focused on you. I want him sloppy.
I want him to walk right into the trap I've set, thinking he's coming to save his queen, only to find out he's just delivering himself to the slaughterhouse. "
He pulled a cell phone from his pocket and hit a button, holding it up so I could see the screen.
It was a live feed of the plant's front gates.
There were men everywhere, armed with high-powered rifles, hidden in the shadows of the rusted machinery.
They weren't just thugs; they were professional soldiers.
"I'm gonna let him hear your voice," Luca whispered, leaning in close. "I'm gonna let him hear you scream, and then I'm gonna watch him lose his mind. And when he's dead, and the Masters name is nothing but a memory, maybe I'll keep you for myself. You are quite a prize, after all."
Luca dialed a number and put it on speaker. It rang once. Twice.
"Vitti," Dominic's voice came through the line, and the sheer, murderous weight of it made the air in the room feel heavy.
He didn't sound like a man; he sounded like a force of nature.
He didn't yell or scream; he spoke with terrifying, flat precision.
"If there is a single mark on her, I am going to peel the skin from your body while you're still breathing.
I am outside your gates. You have five minutes to bring her out, or I am turning this entire block into a tomb. "
"You're always so dramatic, Dominic," Luca responded with a laugh, though I saw his hand tremble slightly. "She's right here. Say hello to your man, Donny."
He held the phone to my mouth. I took a deep breath, looking straight into the camera lens of the security feed, hoping he could see me.
"Dominic! It's a trap!" I screamed, the words tearing at my throat. "Don't come in! There are shooters everywhere! He wants you to—"
Luca slammed his hand over my mouth, pulling the phone away. "Five minutes, Dominic. Ticktock."
He hung up and looked at me, his eyes wide with a sick kind of excitement. "Let's see how much that Masters' blood is really worth."
I sat there in the dark, the zip-ties cutting into my wrists, and for the first time, I wasn't simply scared for myself.
I was terrified for the man with the lion's heart and the ink-covered skin.
I knew he was coming. I knew he would never leave me here.
However, as I heard the first explosion rock the building and the sound of heavy gunfire erupt outside, I prayed to a God I hadn't spoken to in years.
Don't let him die for me. Don't let the menace fall.
The shadows at the far end of the warehouse shifted, and for a split second, I saw a flash of a black varsity jacket and the glint of a gold chain under the swaying light. He was here, and God help anyone who stood between the king and his queen.