Chapter 25
Twenty-Five
M y senses are assaulted as I jolt awake from a wave of pain. My body feels like it’s been plunged into icy water, every muscle tense and trembling. As my vision clears, I take in my surroundings—a dingy room with a worn mattress beneath me. The pungent smell of sweat and filth fills the air, making me want to gag.
Nope. I’m good.
Don’t think about it. Just don’t think about it.
Then the panic sinks in.
Where am I?
I try to move, only to realize my wrists are cuffed behind my back. The numbness in my hands from lying on them for too long is nothing compared to the fear that now consumes me. At least my feet are free, but what good will that do me in this situation?
As I struggle to sit up, white-hot pain shoots through my chest, eliciting a groan from my lips. The memories of the attack come flooding back, causing tears to well up in my eyes.
And then the door creaks open, revealing Santiago and one of his men standing in the doorway.
“Look who’s awake.” He smiles down at me as if I’m some kind of pet that amuses him.
“My husband is going to rip you limb from limb.” I shake my head and chuckle.
Santiago’s face contorts in anger at my mention of him. “Your husband has more important things than a missing wife to worry about right now,” he sneers.
Like what?
Behind my back, I discreetly wiggle one hand against the cuff. It’s not too tight, but I know I’ll need to dislocate my thumb to slip out of it.
That is going to suck.
The pain is excruciating as I pop my thumb out of its socket, gritting my teeth so Santiago won’t see the agony written all over my face.
Breathe.
Jesus, that is painful.
What the fuck was I thinking?
With one hand free, I grab the metal cuff and twist it around to use as a weapon.
Santiago crouches in front of me, his voice dripping with false sympathy. “You should have come to me three years ago, Evaline,” he says, reaching out to brush a stray hair from my face. The touch makes me recoil in disgust. “Things would have been so much better for you.”
That’s when I strike, using the metal cuff to smack Santiago in the head with all my might. As he falls to the ground, I scramble to my feet and make a run for it, ignoring the searing pain in my chest and hand.
I’ll deal with the consequences later. Right now, I just need to get out of here before Santiago or one of his men comes after me again.
A bloodcurdling scream is ripped from my burning lungs as a bullet slams into my side, sending me hurtling to the ground. I lie there, tears streaming down my face as I struggle to get back to my feet. The pain in my side is too much. Anytime I move, it lashes up my side, nearly causing me to black out.
I hear footsteps, but they aren’t the hard leather soles of Santiago or his men. They clack on the ground, like heels. My head snaps up, eyes widening as I take in the woman in front of me.
“Isn’t this such a pity?” she whispers solemnly. “If only your mother hadn’t been so weak. You wouldn’t even exist, and none of this would have happened.”
“You…” The word sticks to my dry tongue. “You would betray him like this?”
The viper in a Chanel dress smiles down at me, but it doesn’t reach her eyes.
“He isn’t the only one I’ve betrayed,” she confides to me. “And he won’t be the last.”
More footsteps sound behind her.
“Fucking bitch,” Santiago growls as he hauls me up from the floor. I bite back a scream, but it still comes out as a whimper. “You’ll pay for that.”
I don’t get a chance to give a witty response, because the pain that envelops me is enough to send me right back into oblivion.