NOVA POV
"Dear Lord, it’s Nova Hart again and I ca to you for the sa thing. Please make this death quick. I’m tired of hanging on in pain." I said the prayer a little loudly this ti, just in case he didn’t hear well through the murmurs and painful throb in my head.
My body aches from being in the sa position for days. And the most mortifying part is each ti I need to use the restroom, this psycho would bring a plastic bucket between my legs instead of loosening the ropes.
My head throbs from too many hits to the skull and I wonder why I’m yet to get unconscious. Maybe it’s because of whatever it is in the drip he keeps my body full with. I seem to teeter toward the edge of unconsciousness, but I still can’t get unconscious and blur out this world.
Thankfully, my torntor had seed out of it recently, sothing about a failed attack. I’ve been careful to fake pain when necessary so he can have his fill of being humiliated and he can leave to go focus on his other stuff. But today seems to be different.
He already used the whip, the belt, added extra heavy chains to the collections of the ones holding up, and attempted to eat my hand.
It was during that attempt that his phone rang and the glee on his face when he told them to bring the next rat to this sa warehouse was evil.
I don’t know who it was and while I feel sorry for that person; I honestly do hope the person has tough skin but I’m also happy because at least his attention would be divided now.
He twirled around like a baby princess in Disneyland, and when the door finally opened and soone was bundled in with a bag over their head, my torntor seed to gain extra lips and cheeks with the way his mouth stretched more and more in happy laughter.
The victim seed to be unconscious, probably the sa thod they used for . But after she was chained against the wall opposite mine and the bag was removed from her head, it was too late for to swallow my very audible gasp.
Fucking Giulia Romano!
My stomach tumbled. Luca would definitely suspect Grant, thinking he did it because I was missing, and this psycho knows. He’s playing the dirtiest of all gas and he derives absolute pleasure in it.
"Like your new roommate?" He smirked, turning to walk toward , and my heart skipped a beat. No. No. Not .
"Yes... yes... I do," I stamred in fear, hoping and praying the knife in his hand doesn’t find its way to any part of my body. He’s been insinuating carving his na on my body for so ti now and I don’t want today to be the day.
"I knew you would. After all, I heard about the infamous bathroom incident," he stilled.
The bathroom incident was between and Giulia and witnessed by Sandy and Grant. To the best of my knowledge, no outsider knew about this, so how co he knows?
"She said you’re being played, but what she didn’t realize is that you are both pawns in this ga and I remain the ultimate controller."
True, actually.
Giulia seed to be awake with the way she started thrashing against the ropes and her muffled screams against the tape in her mouth.
My torntor went over to her side, and as soon as the tape was taken off her mouth, she launched into full Russian profanities. Since my torntor was well versed in that language, it didn’t take long before they were both at each other’s throat.
It’s kind of bittersweet to see the ice queen lting.
"You piece of shit! My father will have your head on a pike! Luca will skin you alive!" Giulia scread, and I almost admired her energy. I’d lost mine days ago.
"Luca?" My torntor laughed, that unhinged sound that made my skin crawl. "Luca thinks Grant Calloway took you. And Grant?" He turned to with that sick smile. "The Fucker thinks Luca took his precious Nova. They’re probably killing each other right now." His happiness made my skin crawl.
My chest tightened. Grant. God, Grant must be losing his mind. After everything—after I pushed him away, after he finally chose —he probably thinks I’m dead.
"But they’re not," Giulia spat, her eyes sharp despite the blood trickling from her temple. "They’re smarter than you think."
My torntor’s face darkened. He raised his hand and I flinched, but the slap landed across Giulia’s face. The sound echoed through the warehouse.
"Shut your mouth before I cut out your tongue," he hissed.
That’s when I heard the sound so faint I thought I imagined it. It was the creak of tal like doors closing then almost muffled sound of movent outside the warehouse walls.
My torntor heard it too. His head snapped toward the door, body going rigid.
"What the—"
The warehouse door exploded inward with a deafening crash. My ears rang as figures poured through the smoke, n in black, guns raised, and at the front—
In the front was my boyfriend, my lover.
Grant.
And right beside him, Luca Vitellio.
Ti seed to fracture. My torntor lunged for , knife gleaming, but a gunshot cracked through the air. He stumbled, clutching his shoulder, the knife clattering to the ground.
"Touch her again and the next one goes through your skull," Grant’s voice was pure venom, his gun trained steady despite the tremor I could see running through his entire body.
Luca moved like a predator toward Giulia, his face a mask of cold fury. "Get my fiancée down. Now." His n scrambled to obey.
Grant crossed the space between us in seconds. Up close, he looked wrecked, his sunglasses hiding what I knew were bloodshot eyes, his jaw covered in days-old stubble, his hands shaking as he reached for the chains holding up.
"Nova. Baby. Fuck. I’m so sorry. I’m so fucking sorry." His voice cracked and I realized he was crying behind those glasses. Grant Calloway was crying.
"You ca," I whispered, my voice hoarse from screaming, from disuse, from everything.
"Always. I’ll always co for you." His fingers fumbled with the locks and I heard him curse. "Ivin! Get these fucking chains off her!"
Ivin appeared with bolt cutters. The chains fell away, the IV drip needles got removed from my aching skin and my legs buckled imdiately.
Grant caught , his arms wrapping around so tight I couldn’t breathe, but I didn’t care. I buried my face in his chest and finally—finally—let myself fall apart.
"I got you. I got you. Nobody’s ever touching you again," he kept repeating it like a prayer, like a promise, like an oath.
Across the warehouse, Luca had Giulia cradled against him, his hand gentle on her face despite the murderous rage in his eyes. "You’re safe now. I’m here."
"Took you long enough," Giulia bood in her bossy voice, but she was clinging to him like he was her lifeline.
My torntor and three of his n were on their knees now, surrounded by guns, blood pooling beneath him. Grant shifted in his arms and I felt him tense, his attention zeroing in on the man who’d made my life hell.
"Grant, don’t," I tried to say, but my voice ca out too weak. I saw a flicker of recognition in Grant’s eyes as he eyed my torntor in disgust but I don’t have the energy to say more.
"Who the fuck are you?" Luca demanded, his voice ice. "Who sent you?"
My torntor laughed, that sa unhinged sound, blood bubbling at his lips. "You want nas? You want answers?"
He looked between Grant and Luca with pure malice. "Ask Bianca. Ask her what she promised for delivering you both your worst nightmares."
The na hung in the air like poison.
Grant’s entire body went rigid against . "Bianca."
"That bitch," Luca hissed.
"But that isn’t what you said—" I tried to gather my strength so I could explain to them that they were being fooled again but my Torntor loud deranged laughter covered my weak voice.
My torntor kept laughing even as Luca’s man pressed a gun to his head. "She played you both. She knew exactly how to make you destroy each other. And she almost—"
The gunshot cut him off before I could warn them about his lies. He crumpled to the ground, dead before he hit the concrete but his lies and poison had already grown branches.
Luca lowered his gun, his face expressionless. "We’ll deal with Bianca later. Get them to the dics. Now."
Grant didn’t argue. He lifted like I weighed nothing, cradling against his chest as he carried toward the exit. Behind us, I could hear Luca murmuring to Giulia in Italian, soft words I couldn’t make out.
The sunlight outside was blinding after days in the dark. I squeezed my eyes shut and Grant held tighter.
"Stay with , Nova. Just stay with ," he whispered against my hair.
"Not going anywhere," I managed, my fingers clutching his shirt. "Not anymore."
And for the first ti in days, I believed I might actually survive this.
We both might.
Reviews
All reviews (0)