54. Chapter 54
Rosalina
Isucked putrid air through my nose, panting, shaking, and desperate to keep from having a full on meltdown, but mostly failing.
Lorenzo picked up the scalpel again. The overhead light gleamed along the sharpened edge as he scanned my naked flesh with a less than clinical gaze.
The anticipation was impossible to bear.
There was nothing I could do to stop the uncontrollable trembling racking my body, as I considered what he might do.
Icy tears streamed down my face in rivers, soaking into my already drenched hair.
The shrill shrieking in my ears intensified.
I didn’t think I’d ever been more scared in my life.
When my brother died, I’d been shocked but surrounded by warmth and love, despite my own injuries. It was over before I even knew what had happened. This time, I was alone, and I understood exactly what was happening.
My panic was so thick that I’d missed the clattering buzz of the cell phone sitting on the work bench against the wall.
“Emilio,” Lorenzo barked. “Answer your phone and take it upstairs. You’re ruining the vibe.”
“But, it’s just a text,” he said, pouting.
“I said, go away. You have toys upstairs.” Saliva glistened off Lorenzo’s slimy lips, and my stomach heaved.
The alpha in question scooped up the phone with a muttered apology and hurried up the steps.
“That’s better. Now we can be alone.” His rancid smile was back as he waived the tiny knife over my skin.
The thought of cutting me open must have put him in a good mood because he started chatting conversationally into the fetid air.
“Did you recognize any of the omegas upstairs? Or did I knock you out too fast? Oh wait, you can’t reply.
” Spittle sprayed over my skin as he laughed at his own joke.
“Well, I’ll just tell you the good news.
Those omegas you saved from the Parisi farm?
They’re mine now. Francisco gave them to me to start my very own trafficking ring.
You know, since you took out the competition.
Good job on that by the way. See, you’re already turning into the subservient, helpful wife I always wanted.
” He set down the scalpel with a clank. “This won’t do…
I may have gotten a little overexcited. Ah!
This is much better!” He picked up a long metal rod with two prongs on the end.
“Cattle prod,” he said cheerfully before he jammed it against my thigh.
My whole body jolted at the scorching fury exploding from the point of impact. As soon as it was there, it was gone. I struggled to draw breath, feeling like all the air had been knocked from my lungs.
“Oh this is fun. I have a taser, too, but we can save that for later.” He angled the prongs over my breast and pressed it against my bare nipple. I screamed into the dirty rag in my mouth, thrashing and cursing as my breath was driven from me again.
“I hope you don’t mind,” he carried on his conversation as if I wasn’t a shaking, whimpering mess strapped to the table in front of him.
“I had to test out the inventory, so I picked up a couple of the omegas from that pathetic excuse for a safe house Cruz set up and brought them here. The pack enjoys them, but they’ll enjoy you more.
Once we have you broken and begging, of course. ”
I shrieked, half in fear, half in anger, as he moved the cattle prod to the other side and repeated the process. Pain bolted through me again. It felt like someone hit me in the chest with a baseball bat. I choked for air, sobbing and keening behind the gag.
Black spots waded across my vision as I fought not to pass out. There was no telling what he’d do If I were unconscious.
This fuck was going to pay for this shit.
If I survived.
A happy ping broke through Lorenzo’s idiotic monologue, and he paused—pulling his phone from his pocket—and unlocked it with his ugly face.
His little piggy eyes flicked over the screen before he set the cattle prod back on the workbench.
“How disappointing. Looks like we’re going to have to cut this short—for now.
Don’t worry, there will be plenty of time later.
” He looked at me assessingly. “Don’t go anywhere.
I’ll be right back.” He chortled through his teeth, and scurried over to the door Emilio had left through, calling his pack mate’s name.
Half out of my mind and fuzzy with pain, I wailed into the dirty gag.
“That’s right, bitch, you can’t take me yourself.
Better go run and get backup.” At least that’s what I would’ve said if I wasn’t gagged, and less terrified.
It probably came out like a garbled, muddy mumble, full of tears and regret.
As weak as I was, the muffled ranting bolstered my resolve.
My whole body ached like I’d been run over by a truck, but through it all, I’d been busy fiddling with the straps on my wrists.
There were keepers and locks on the buckles, but Lorenzo hadn’t bothered to use them.
It didn’t take me long to wiggle enough slack in the tongue to slip the prong out of the hole and pull my wrist free.
My blood pressure surged with triumph. I was going to give myself a fucking heart attack at this rate, but there was nothing I could do about that at the moment.
My fingers flew to the fasteners, unbuckling my other wrist and ankles, and ripped the tape off my face before spitting the rag from my mouth.
I slid off the table, wincing all the way.
There weren’t any keys in sight, but there was a shiny, black handgun.
I grabbed it from the work bench, checked the chamber, and flipped the safety off.
It might be loud, but even an alpha couldn’t dodge a bullet to the brain. I snatched a can of bear mace from the shelf for good measure. The taser would’ve been nice, but I only had so many hands.
The adrenaline fueled high had me hurrying across the floor. I plastered myself against the wall behind the door and waited. He shouldn’t be able to see me right away when he entered. I was going to need every ounce of surprise that I could find.
It was only a matter of seconds before the hum of muffled voices grew closer as if approaching the door. Something about taking me somewhere.
The key turned over in the lock, and the door whipped toward my face.
I breathed deep, centering myself and just before the heavy door would’ve broken my nose, I turned letting my shoulder take the impact.
The door bounced off my arm and slammed shut.
Emilio and Lorenzo spun around confused.
I squeezed the trigger, just like Diego taught me to.
The bang shattered the air and sent a spike of pain into my brain. Emilio’s eyes went wide as a perfect red circle bloomed between his squirmy eyebrows, and the back of his head exploded in a shower of bone and brains all over a stunned Lorenzo.
Well, that went well.
Lorenzo cussed, spinning around blind, and wiping gray matter from his eyes.
I could shoot him, but when a girl had bear mace, a girl might be interested in using it.
I lifted my other hand, flipped off the safety clip and sprayed.
He started screaming in earnest then, and it was glorious.
I never thought I was a sadist until that very moment.
He thrashed blindly, narrowly missing me, so I slipped around him, heading for the wall with the saws and knives.
I set the gun aside and selected a long, heavy knife.
With a machete in one hand and bear mace in the other, I watched him scream and spin.
He gathered himself quickly, his alpha healing helping his recovery, and stopped thrashing. Through squinted eyes and pained grunts, he staggered toward me. “You stupid cunt. I’m going to fucking kill you. I don’t care what Francisco says.” Then he lunged at me blindly.
I side stepped, and swung the machete at his throat.
Hot blood sprayed across the cement floor with a wet splat, and his hand whipped up, clamping over the wound.
I side stepped, and swung the machete at his throat.
Hot blood sprayed across the cement floor with a wet splat, and his hand whipped up, clamping over the wound.
Time stood still—him standing there swaying on his feet, eyes full of hatred.
Then he gurgled.
The first drop of blood dripped from his lip, splattering on the floor, and then another and another until a frothy stream flowed between his gritted teeth.
His legs gave out, and he dropped to his knees, teetered there, then flopped over onto his side like a dying fish.
Alphas can heal through all sorts of shit, and I wasn’t about to take any chances.
I brought the machete down on his neck until I heard the crunch of bone.
Was he dead? Fuck if I knew, but it was close enough to slow him down for now.
The rest of the Vasco pack would be feral as soon as they got over the initial burst of pain, and I was unequipped to deal with that many raging alphas without surprise on my side.
Cringing, but still riding the high of the adrenaline roaring through my veins, I sifted through his pockets and fished out a set of keys.
I hadn’t come down here much, but my father was traditional, if nothing else, and the key to the cells was an obvious old-fashioned iron thing.
I unlocked Diego’s cell first, and he rushed out.
“Rosa, what did you do? Are you all right?” He stripped off his shirt and pushed it toward me.
Oh, right. I was naked.