Claimed

4. The Devil of Shadows

Chapter four

The Devil of Shadows

Vito stared at me, his gaze slithering out like a snake sliding through grass and seeking out a meal. “You know what’s funny, sis ? I could kill you right now, and no one would care. Father might be mad for a moment, but I’d still be his favorite.”

“Leave. . .so I can. . .change out of these clothes and go with you.”

As soon as he left I would run.

He smirked. “I would rather stay and watch.”

Ewww.

He lowered his gaze to my breasts, and I hoped it was just some intimidation tactic and not him really wanting to look at my breasts. “I’ve always wondered what your screams sound like, Bella. Guess tonight’s my lucky night.”

I looked at him, unwilling to give him the satisfaction of seeing more of my fear. “I'm not scared of you.”

He laughed. “You should be.”

I ignored his threat, and my hand instinctively went to my arm where his nails had dug into my skin. The wounds were still raw and red. The blood started to dry into a dark smear on my skin.

“I won't marry whoever this is. You and he can't make me.”

Vito tilted his head to the side. “Are you willing to bet your life on that?”

I pursed my lips together.

“Oh Bella. . .don't you see? We already have made you.” Vito stalked forward.

I backed away until I was pressed against the wall, trapped.

His eyes were almost shining in anticipation as he closed the distance between us. “But let's not worry about that right now.”

“W-who is the. . .guy I’m supposed to. . .marry?”

“Aww. Gianni is the thing of legends.”

My bottom lip quivered.

Vito's eyes gleamed with a sinister delight as he stepped closer to me, and his predatory smile grew wider. “They call him, Il Diavolo delle Ombre .”

It had been a long time since I’d had to speak Italian or even hear it, but I caught that translation immediately.

I whispered back, “The Devil of Shadows?”

“That’s who you’re going to marry, Bella.”

The name alone sent a chill down my spine. “What kind of fucking name is that?”

Vito closed the last bit of distance between us, getting closer than any brother should and gripping my unwounded arm as if needing to bruise that too. “Gianni Fortunato isn’t just any man. He’s a legend—a name that strikes fear and respect from Rome, Italy to here in Obsidian Bay.”

“O-kay.” I tried to slip to the right.

Vito put his hand up on the wall, blocking me. “Like me, he was born into this life.”

Dear God. Is he as bad as you too?

Not that I needed to worry too much. As soon as I could, I would escape my father and Vito, getting as far away from Obsidian Bay as possible.

I’d change my name and whatever else.

“Gianni was destined to rule from the moment he took his first breath.” Vito lowered his gaze to my cleavage and his eyes went wild.

What the fuck is wrong with him?

Not moving his gaze from my breasts, he continued, “Gianni was groomed for death, taught the ruthless art of control by his father, Lorenzo. And when the time came, he took the throne from our father.”

“Back away from me. . .please.”

“Why?” Vito licked his lips. “We haven’t seen each other in a long time.”

“I’m your fucking sister—”

“Half—”

“That means nothing. We have the same blood running through our veins.”

“I barely remember our mother.” Vito reached out and brushed his fingers along the cuts he had left on my arm. The touch was light, almost tender, but it sent a jolt of revulsion through me.

I yanked my arm away, glaring at him with as much defiance as I could muster. “Don’t touch me.”

He glanced over his shoulder as if expecting my stepfather to come in and then he returned his view to me. “Are you still a virgin?”

I widened my eyes. “That’s none of your fucking business—”

“It is all of our business. Gianni is expecting a virgin.”

“I don’t give a fuck what he is expecting—”

“Father had men watching you at your little ballerina boarding school and even college. They kept men from you.”

I blinked.

“But still. . .” Vito licked those lips again. “I bet you fucked someone.”

“You’re disgusting.” I shoved at him to move. “Get away from me.”

Vito held his ground. That muscular frame didn’t move an inch under the pressure of my push.

His smile widened into a grin that didn't quite meet his cold eyes. “Oh, Bella. You still think you have options.”

The humiliation of him attempting to control me made my heart pound, but I kept my face impassive. “I'm not a part of this family.”

His laughter rose in my dressing room. “You’re about to be Mrs. Fortunato soon.”

I trembled.

Vito's face contorted into a maniacal grin, and his eyes wild and unblinking. “Sweet Bella, you should know that Gianni is fucking crazy.”

Coming from this psycho that freaked me out even more.

“His rise to power has been ruthless.” He leaned forward, putting only three inches between his face and mine.

I trembled.

He whispered, “When Gianni’s father was gunned down by a rival family, he didn’t grieve. He retaliated, wiping out every single one of his enemies within weeks. . .the things. . .he did to them. . .”

I parted my lips.

Vito’s eyes sparkled with a twisted delight as he leaned in further and his stank hot breath brushed against my face.

I could barely breathe, trapped between the wall and the darkness he was weaving with his words.

“The Devil unleashed hell upon them. They didn’t just die. They suffered.” He moved his face to my ear and brushed his lips against the shell.

Bile rose in my throat.

A wave of nausea surged through me. The revulsion was overwhelming, a visceral reaction to the twisted intimacy he was forcing upon me. Every instinct screamed at me to push him away, to fight back with everything I had.

And I did.

Without a second thought, I brought my knee up hard, aiming for the most vulnerable spot I could reach. His pathetic penis. The impact was solid, and I felt a grim satisfaction as Vito’s body jerked in response. “Fuck!”

He let out a pained groan. His grip on me loosened for just a moment.

But that moment was fleeting.

Before I could step away, before I could make a move to escape, Vito’s eyes flashed with a dark fury. “You fucking bitch.”

His hand moved like lightning, and the next thing I knew, a sharp, stinging pain exploded across my cheek.

Ah!

The force of the slap sent my head snapping to the side.

My vision blurred.

My eyes watered.

The dressing room spun, and I tasted blood on my lips, but I refused to give in, refused to let him see just how much he had hurt me.

I blinked a few times and glared at him. “You’re. . .quite. . .a gentleman. Mother would have been proud.”

“I don’t give a fuck what she thinks about me in hell or in heaven. She left me here, so she can shut the fuck up!”

My cheek throbbed. The skin already began to swell, but I forced myself to stand tall, to keep my gaze locked on his.

I wouldn’t let him break me.

I couldn’t.

No matter how terrified I was, no matter how much my body screamed in pain and fear, I had to stay strong. For myself. For the small, desperate hope that there was still a way out of this nightmare.

I sneered at him. “It wasn’t our mother’s fault that your father’s enemies killed her.”

“Shut up.” Vito’s breath grew ragged.

He took a step back. His hand was still clenched into a fist as if he were fighting the urge to strike again.

My heart pounded in my chest.

“If you try this bullshit with Gianni, he’ll carve you up.”

I did my best to not let that scare me.

“Do you know what he did to the shooter that ended his father?”

“I don’t want to hear it. Just leave my dressing room so I can change.”

Soon as he left, I would climb out that damn window and run as fast as I could.

“Gianni tied the man up, stripped him naked, and left him in a cold, damp cellar for days—starving, delirious. But that was just the beginning.” Vito beamed for the first time as if this crazy man that he was talking about was his hero. “And he carved into his flesh, inch by inch, with a dull knife, savoring every scream.”

I shuddered.

“They say Gianni would pause just to watch the man’s eyes.” Vito pointed at his own. “Just to see the life slowly drain out of them. You see. Gianni likes the taste of their agony.”

My stomach twisted.

“When he was finally ready to end it, Gianni didn’t deliver a quick death. He set the man on fire, Bella. Burned him alive and watched as the flames devoured him.” An excited chuckle left Vito. “I bet he jacked off to it. I would have.”

Jesus.

“I would have cum all over his ashes, Bella.” Vito slipped his gaze over my body, grabbed his crotch, and began rubbing himself. “Sometimes, I imagine that Father tells me to check to see if you really are a virgin.”

“What happened to you, Vito?”

“And I do my duty. I shove you on the bed, open your legs, and stuff my cock into you, testing that wet pussy for myself—”

“I am your sister—”

“Half—”

“That means nothing—”

“It does because I would only be fucking the half that isn’t my blood.” Vito rubbed himself some more. “Gianni hunted the rest of the men like animals. One by one, he found them—hiding in their mansions, their safe houses, thinking they were untouchable. But nothing could protect them from the Devil of Shadows—”

“I don’t want to hear anymore—”

“He’d break into their homes in the dead of night, silent as a wraith, and he’d let them feel the fear, the panic, before he struck—”

“That’s enough. Leave and let me change—”

“Some, he hung from the rafters, letting them dangle there, choking on their own breath until they went still.” Vito began rubbing himself faster and his breathing came out ragged. “Others, he flayed alive, peeling their skin back as they screamed for mercy that would never come.”

I pressed my back harder against the wall, wishing I could disappear into it, wishing I could escape the horrors Vito was describing.

But there was no escape.

Not from this.

Vito gyrated against his hand and his eyes glazed over with sickening pleasure. “Once Gianni tied a woman to a chair, injected her with this slow-acting poison, and then sat back and watched as she convulsed. Her body twisted and writhed in agony.”

Still getting himself off, he groaned and rocked his hips. “Her veins blackened under her skin.”

I felt like I might vomit.

This was the man they wanted me to marry, the man they were forcing me to spend the rest of my life with. A monster who thrived on pain and suffering, who took pleasure in the most grotesque acts of cruelty imaginable.

My mind reeled with the horror of it all—the twisted pleasure Vito took in recounting the atrocities Gianni had committed, the way he spoke of pain and suffering as though they were delicacies to be savored.

And then there was the sight of Vito, standing there, rubbing himself, his eyes half-closed in sickening pleasure as he imagined what he might do to me if given the chance.

My stomach churned.

I had to get out.

Now.

The revulsion surged within me, giving me the strength I needed.

Without a second thought, I darted to the side, desperate to put as much distance between us as possible.

But before I could take more than a few steps, Vito’s hand shot out, grabbing me by the arm and yanking me back with a force that sent me crashing into him.

“No!” I screamed, struggling to break free.

But his grip was like iron, unyielding as he pulled me close, his body pressing up against my ass.

He chuckled darkly. His breath skittered hot against my neck and his other hand snaked around to grab my waist. “Where do you think you’re going, Bella? We’re just getting started.”

“We’re not.” I tried to pull away, to twist out of his grasp, but he was too strong, his hold on me tightening as he rubbed his erection against my ass.

“Stop it!”

The sickening rhythm of his movements made my skin crawl. He was fucking humping my ass, grinding his body against mine with a disgusting urgency that made me want to scream.

But I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of hearing me beg for him to get off me.

Instead, I fought back with everything I had.

I stomped on his foot, hard, and when he cursed in pain, I used the moment to elbow him in the ribs, putting as much force behind it as I could muster. All of this in fucking pointe shoes and a ballerina costume that wasn’t made for battle.

Vito grunted, but instead of letting go, he retaliated with a vicious jab to the side of my face. The impact sent stars dancing across my vision.

My head snapped to the side.

The taste of blood filled my mouth.

The room spun, but I refused to go down.

I couldn’t let him win.

My breath caught in my lungs.

Then, he began choking me with one hand as the other hand kept me in place.

The lack of oxygen made my limbs weak.

“I would fuck and kill you, if I could. you were something special. Thought you were better than me.”

I clawed and struggled against his hand, trying to stop him from choking me any further. It felt like cement had been poured down my lungs.

My vision blurred.

“You’re nothing. Just a piece of pussy to be sold, used, and thrown away. You’re not important.”

My head swam.

Just as my vision started to fade, the door to the dressing room burst open, and my stepfather’s voice boomed through the room. “Stop it, Vito!”

Oh God.

Vito let my neck go and shoved me forward.

My stepfather grabbed me. “She is Gianni’s now. Not yours.”

Vito sneered at him.

My throat burned.

And right as I tried to run out of the open door, I collapsed to the floor, gasping for breath.

Get up. Come on. Get up.

I could barely see, but one of them picked me up.

My stepfather spoke above me which told me that I was in his arms, “Gianni called, wanting to know what was taking so long.”

Footsteps sounded.

They must have been carrying me off.

Vito spoke further away, “I was almost done warming her to the idea. Why did you stop me?”

“It didn’t look like you were warming her. It looked like you were going to do something else. We don’t need you making anymore. . . mistakes .”

“I. . .I was going to be good this time, Father—”

“Just call our men and tell them to have the car ready. You fucking sick bastard and you took too damn long.”

“I needed time—”

“Now we’ll have to give her to Gianni in this goddamned ballerina outfit.”

No.

I opened my mouth to speak, and my throat burned in pain.

“And call Gianni. Tell him we will be less than ten minutes. Tell him not to worry. The wedding is still on.”

No. God help me.

I was trapped in a life I didn’t want, forced into a role I never asked for. And as much as I wanted to fight, to run, I knew deep down that there was no escape.

I did my best to not feel like some pathetic victim and give up.

Pain blazed on my throat, neck, and arms.

So what?

Every bruise, every scar Vito left on me would heal, but what Vito, Maximo, or even this Gianni could never touch was the fire burning inside me.

I wasn’t theirs.

I never would be.

And I would survive, no matter what it took, which meant that I would play their game. . .at least for now.

That being said. . . I may have been trapped, but I refused to let them steal things within me they could never own—my will to fight.

My light.

My unwavering soul.

For now, I was powerless, a pawn in their deadly little mafia game. And I was sure that the night ahead would be filled with nothing but uncertainty, sickness, and dread.

But, maybe, just maybe, I would find a way to take back control.

Because despite the fear gnawing at my insides, I clung to the hope that I could save myself.

I could gain back control.

Suddenly something cold and damp pressed against my face—a cloth. It was rough against my cheek and carried with it an overwhelming chemical stench. The scent filled my nostrils in an instant—sharp and cloying—forcing its way into my lungs.

I struggled—wild, desperate—as the sickly, sweet smell invaded my senses.

No!

My mind screamed for air. Each breath I took was tainted. The chemicals wrapped around my thoughts like a thick fog. I clawed at the cloth, at his hands, but my strength drained from me.

My vision swam.

Shapes merged into one another as the edges of my world turned dark.