3. ~Caterina~
3
~Caterina~
An irritating beeping blasted through my subconscious and jolted me awake.
My eyes snapped open, and it took me a few moments to clear my blurry vision.
That wasn’t helped by the pounding in my head, which worsened as I raised it from its lolled forward position.
It took me a moment to discern that infuriating sound that had woken me to be that of a large truck backing up.
Backing up where?
Where the hell was I?
The last thing I remembered was being with Julian on the back of his bike, having the time of my life, and then… then Angelo had been there with his goons and… he’d caused that crash.
Shit! Julian!
I went to bolt up from my seated position only to find resistance, realizing I was bound to a fucking metal chair. I moved my fingers around behind me, determining that my hands were restrained by a pair of cuffs.
I was still in the black leather pants that Julian had gifted me, although my boots were gone and I was barefoot. I was down just to my white strappy tank too, and I could make out the bloodied scrapes all down my arms, likely from the crash. Or, for all I knew, being dragged in here to this chair by Angelo or his muscle.
I strained to take in the room, a bland concrete monstrosity. I noted the track twenty feet ahead of me and the closed double garage doors.
So I’d been left in a garage somewhere.
There was a truck that I’d heard just outside.
That didn’t really narrow it down location-wise.
A grating scrape jarred me from investigating my surroundings further and I looked out toward the direction of the sound, just as a light was turned on and a metal door was pushed open, someone stepping inside.
I blinked rapidly to adjust my vision to the sudden influx of light.
And that was when I took in that all-too-familiar Ivy League haircut and the goatee, followed by the gray leather jacket that he always wore, come winter or the height of summer.
Angelo Simone.
“Ah, you’re finally awake. Good. I need to head out elsewhere, but I didn’t want to leave without explaining what’s about to happen. Or seeing your face when I did. I was about to have one of the guys I’ve got with me fetch a hose to wake you up that way if you hadn’t come around naturally soon.” He grinned at me nastily. “That would have been fun to see, but no matter, they can still use it for other purposes if they like.”
“What the hell is the meaning of this?” I demanded. “Where’s Julian?”
“Two birds with one stone.”
“What?”
“Julian is due punishment for what he did to me. When I saw the two of you were together, I decided to exact said punishment on you as well. Besides, it really didn’t seem like you were suffering as you should be, riding on his bike and yelling excitedly and happily. Guess Nico isn’t getting the job done. Change of plans then.”
“What plans?”
Stroking his goatee, he told me, “These friends of mine work for a buyer I’ve been busting my ass to acquire for your father, since our previous ones for the whores we’d procured fell through when they betrayed us. So as a test and proof that we can work together, I’ll be handing you over to him.”
“You… what?” I choked, unable to stop a shudder from taking me over at his sick plan. “Does my father know about this?”
“Not yet. But I’m sure once he comes around to the idea, he’ll be grateful when it both gets you out of the picture once and for all and earns him one hell of a lucrative partnership for his flesh trade aspirations.”
“What about the alliance that my marriage to Nico solidified?”
“As far as Nico and the Marchettis will know, you were kidnapped by one of their numerous enemies.” He smiled sadistically. “They’ll never find you, of course. It will just be an unfortunate tragedy with the alliance still intact. In fact, they’ll have to fall in line, or Santino will blame Nico for letting you get taken on his watch.”
“That’s beyond convoluted. It won’t fly. Not with any of them.”
“Ah, but I can be very persuasive.” He strode right up to me, looking me over and clearly relishing the sight of me bound and seemingly helpless. “Don’t worry your pretty little head about it. I’ll sort it just fine.” He grasped my jaw, making me hiss at his harsh grip. “Now, the reason you’re not already on the truck outside headed to my buyer is because they want you broken in first. They can’t accept a hellcat like you currently are.” He released me roughly. “We’re gonna take care of that right now.”
He whistled and in the next moment four men in black tracksuits wearing balaclavas walked in and made themselves known. Yeah, they definitely weren’t my father’s soldiers. They never hid their identities. They were proud to be associated with the Leone Family. Or they had been. As my research on Leone and Marchetti soldiers had begun to build a picture, I’d managed to discover that many of them weren’t as on board with things as they were portraying to the families. Something Nico and I would be working on shortly.
“You’re really going to go this far? Have me set upon by these guys of yours? All because I rejected you years ago?”
He came close again, making me tense, especially when that sick smile spread over his face again. Then he had me cringing as he drew his fingers across the tops of my breasts. “It will give me immense personal satisfaction, yes. To know that you’re being owned and utterly destroyed by my new friends here.” He had me gagging as he licked the side of my cheek. “Mmm, I would get in on the fun myself, but I have Carver to tend to. He gets my worst tonight. Maybe tomorrow and even the day after that. His surrender will be much more satisfying than that of a weak little bitch like you.”
“No. Leave him the fuck alone, you fucking psychopath!”
He slapped me across the face, making my head snap to the side painfully, and I tasted blood on my lips from the vicious force of it.
Dumbass.
Bloodlust activated.
In a way it hadn’t been for a long time.
In a way it hadn’t been allowed to be.
Him striking me, touching me, the adrenaline tearing through my system from the four guys waiting in the wings to assault me in horrific ways, and then Angelo’s intent to have me taken to some sick bastard to have that continue forevermore, had the monster in me awakening. Knowing his intentions for Julian just took that to a whole other level.
He sneered at me, then stepped back and told his guys, “Make her your trashy little sex slave. And be fucking rough with it. She needs to hurt, to scream, to fucking bleed. And when she’s begging you for a shred of mercy, just turn up the brutality even more.” He blew me a sarcastic kiss. “Enjoy, Caterina.”
He walked out then, leaving the door wide open behind him, and the four guys drew closer to me.
As they started talking amongst themselves and eye-fucking me in the process, I heard a car starting up, then driving off.
One of the guys, whose blond hair was sticking out of his balaclava, drew a flip knife from his pocket and opened it, then approached me. “I’m Trent. I’m telling you, because I want you screaming out my name for the next few hours. Helps get me off.”
Urgh.
As he made a show of the knife for me, I finagled my fingers in the cuffs, so I had enough leverage to do what I needed to.
I was ready and in position, but I needed something to cover up what would happen the moment I went ahead with it.
The idiot gave me just that when he stepped up to me and cut through one of the straps of my white tank.
I gritted my teeth as I dislocated my right thumb at the exact same time, and he grinned, thinking that reaction was for him and what he was doing.
I did the same thing with my left thumb as he cut through the other strap.
And as the other three cheered when he shred the rest of my tank from my body, I slid my hands discreetly from the cuffs behind my back.
Instead of moving to cut through my white lace bra that was now visible and on display for them all, the sickos salivating over the sight, the guy went to reach beneath one of the cups.
“Touch me and I’ll break your fucking jaw,” I ground out.
He stilled, caught off guard by a threat coming from what seemed to them like a sure thing, a victim who was theirs for the absolute taking.
His buddies snickered, and he took a step back and cocked his head to the side. “Yeah?” he questioned, amusement dancing in his eyes. “Is that right, pretty girl?”
“That’s right,” I answered with an eerie calm that had Trent looking confused and his buddies eyeing one another, unsure.
Perfect.
“Angelo didn’t mention you were a tough talker, sugar,” Trent said, jolting toward me in a pathetic effort to scare me, trying to reinforce his dominance after me undercutting it so easily. “Tell us, how tough are you gonna be talking when we’re ripping into your fuck holes, huh?” He grabbed my throat. “We were gonna start with your mouth, but now I’m thinking we’ll skip right to your ass.” He squeezed, making me choke. “Ever had two big cocks ramming into that tight hole before?”
“Yeah, that’s it,” I heard one of the guys behind him uttering. Then the three of them shucked off their pants, their hard dicks coming into view.
Trent released my throat, then grabbed me between my legs, squeezing my pussy.
At the same time, I snapped my thumbs back into place, letting out a scream that they all believed was because of his hand grabbing me obscenely.
His eyes gave away his grin that was hidden beneath the balaclava. “Well, you’re gonna. And while you’ve got two stuffed in here at the same time. Ready for that, sugar? Hmm? Where’s the tough talk now?”
He released me, him and his buddies laughing, turning and looking at one another.
Distracted.
“I warned you,” I spoke, a moment before I burst off the chair now I was free of the cuffs, snatched up the heavy metal thing and swung it—right at the bastard’s jaw.
He shrieked like the true bitch men like him doing things like this were, and reeled back, cupping his jaw, dropping his knife in the process. I’d heard the delicious crack as I’d struck him there head-on. It was definitely broken.
They’d wanted pain, they were going to get just that. Only I would be the one inflicting it.
The other three guys came at me, slow in getting to it from their obvious shock.
Well, predators weren’t used to becoming the prey.
I shoved the chair at the closest one, knocking him back, then dove for the blade, snatching it up, dodging a punch aimed at my throat from another, then snagged his arm, wrenched it down, then drove the knife straight into his dick. He squealed, and that got ever louder when I ripped the blade out, then spun into another asshole attempting to grab hold of me, and stabbed it deep into his throat. Blood sprayed all over my hand and splattered my face. He slumped to the ground, bleeding out right before my eyes, essentially drowning in his own blood.
That left the fourth guy and the one whose jaw I’d broken, who I noticed in my peripheral vision was finally pushing off the wall where he’d been reeling.
I didn’t get the chance to retrieve the blade from the fallen guy’s throat because the fourth guy lunged at me. He swung his fist, intending to put me down with a hefty punch to the face, but I reacted quickly, dodging out of the way, then sweeping my leg at his ankles. He landed hard on his knees. Then I was there, wrapping my arm around his throat and working on choking him out. He dug his nails into my arm in an attempt to weaken my grip, but the pain just spurred me on, skyrocketing the adrenaline surging through me.
More than that, calling to the monster in a deeper way.
I’d finally let it out after so long, there was no stopping it now.
I tugged ever harder, making the shit gag and splutter.
Movement behind me reached me, and I thrust my foot out, kicking back the attempted attack.
The guy I was holding weakened in my hold enough for me to fist my hand in his hair, then drive my knee into his face. Over and over. Bloodying him, breaking his nose, and hell knew what else as I just kept slamming into him wildly, giving no quarter, absolutely fucking mercilessly.
I only stopped because I was set upon again.
I released the guy just in time to deflect a punch coming from Trent. Then I spun into a kick that plunged into his ribs and sent him staggering back.
Before he could recover, I executed a round house that sent him stumbling and tripping on one of his fallen buddies. I snatched up the chair and rammed it down onto him; the legs grinding into his flesh and making him curse out into the garage as I put all my weight into it. “Now we’ve gotten started, let’s move onto the meat of it,” I spat, as I held Trent hostage on the concrete, while savoring the whimpers and pained grunts from those remaining conscious.
Down but conscious.
That wasn’t enough for me.
Especially not for the monster.
It needed blood.
It needed agony.
It needed screams.
It needed their fucking lives.
“You’re not… done?” Trent gasped.
“Not even close, sugar.”
I pushed off the chair and smashed my foot into his balls, making him scream.
Then I looked around at all those I’d felled.
“Mmm. Time to really get started, you sick pieces of shit.”