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“Rossi is paying; he’ll be out here in a few minutes,” he growls before bringing my lips to his and kissing me roughly.
His tongue slips into my mouth, and I pant, kissing him back, not giving a shit if Rossi sees.
Pulling back quickly, he rests his forehead on mine. “Just be patient with me. Okay? I promise I’ll get you out of here. Just trust me.”
I search his eyes, and some of the coldness that is usually there has melted away.
“Okay,” I whisper just before he releases me, and I get back to my seat.
As Rossi gets into the passenger seat, I can’t stop myself from wondering … If he’s going to get me out of here, will he come with me?
“Did you think I wouldn’t find out that you’ve been here, on my property, acting like a fucking whore?” Enzo grips my neck, pressing his palm harder into my flesh as my head pushes against the hard wooden door.
I feel like I’m having a heart attack, not knowing what he’s talking about, but scared that he somehow found out about the things that have happened between Hudson and me.
“One of my own crew members had to tell me because my traitorous fiancée didn’t,” his thick accent growls against my lips. “You are a slut, Briar. I am not going to marry a slut.”
I want to fight him. I want to smash my head against his, knock him on his ass, and shoot him until he’s dead. But a few days ago, Hudson told me I needed to trust him. And that I needed to lie low. In other words, I need to behave in situations like this one, where someone is literally choking me to death, which isn’t an easy task.
“I don’t know what you mean, sir.” I choke out the words from under his hold. “Please, tell me so that I can make it better.”
“Liar!” he hisses. “If a man like Hercules has been looking at you with lust in his eyes, I know you’ve noticed. You are nothing more than a stupid, untrustworthy bitch.”
“N-no, sir.” I try to shake my head, but it only makes him press his hand harder. “I swear, I don’t know what you mean.”
Releasing my neck, he grips my face. “I will fuck the dishonesty out of this pussy. Do you hear me?” he growls. “How does it make you feel that just before I came here, I was getting my dick sucked by a woman who looks nothing like you? Because I can, Briar. Because I am not yours.” He reaches between my legs, gripping firmly. “But you, baby doll, are mine.”
Pushing me to the ground, he undoes his belt and slides it from his pants. “You will pay for what you did. Take your shirt off. Now.”
Even though I want to run, I do what he told me. As scared as I am, I’m relieved when it’s a belt that hits my back instead of him forcing me to suck him off.
Over and over, the belt comes down on my bare flesh, and I bite back my cries. Because I refuse to give this man—no, this monster—the satisfaction that he’s hurting me.
I am strong.
I am a force.
I can handle this.
I let my mind carry me to a place far, far away. I think about the magnolia tree that was in my yard. It was the only pretty thing on Sunset Drive, and I loved it.
One of the older ladies who lived on the street over had given it to Walker after he mowed her lawn. She told him to give it to his mother for Mother’s Day. My parents were in one of their many periods of being sober, and my dad and I had planted it together in the yard.
“It doesn’t look like much,” I said, looking at it. “Are you sure she didn’t give us a dud? It looks kind of … broken.”
Pulling his gloves off, he chuckled, grinning proudly at the tree. “You’re right, my girl; it doesn’t look like much now. And, sure, it’s a little rough. But I promise, once it gets enough sun, rain, and time under its belt … it’ll really be something.” He paused, leaning down to the ground and patting the fresh soil around the tree’s base. “It might be impossible to think that this tiny little thing could one day be a beautiful tree. But I promise, just like everything, Briar, it’ll take time and a whole lot of patience. Oh, and strength to not give up.” He stood up, kissing my head. “Think you got those things inside of you?”
I grinned up at him before eyeing over the tree that looked more like an oversize twig. “Yeah … I think I do.”
When I come back to the present, the whipping has stopped.
“Get up!” Enzo yells.
I hurry to my feet. My back might be screaming in pain, and I can’t help but wonder how it looks.
“Put your shirt on!” he barks. “Hercules will be coming in here any minute. I don’t need him to see your tits. Even if they aren’t all that special.”
As I pull my shirt on, he takes a seat at his desk, and the sketch in my book flashes through my brain. Oh, how I’d love more than anything to pay this man back for all he’s done by making that sketch come true.
