Page 104 of Married to the Devil

“You can blame fucking Rafe. That’s how it always is. They pay enough to keep me coming back but never enough to cover all my hospital bills. Ignazio though, he’s got deep pockets. An old bastard like that, he’s been squirreling shit away. So I take my checks, pay Pops’s medical bills, and do what has to be done. And you know what? I don’t fucking feel bad.” He pauses at the bottom of the steps and shoves me against a wall. I groan, pleading with my eyes.

Please, Hattie. Please, not my daughter. Please don’t hurt her.

His lips curl in disgust.

“I know what you’re thinking. But Rafe’s not coming anytime soon. He’s in Philly.”

Nunzio drags me onward.

I stumble alongside him, trying to think. The kitchens are coming up. If I act at the right time and slam into him hard enough, maybe I can make some separation and run to Byron, or maybe I can make enough noise for Byron to realize something’s wrong⁠—

Nunzio’s grip on my arm is iron. His fingers dig in tightly as we reach the kitchen doors.

Now. It has to be now. It has to be⁠—

He pulls me through and I’m about to ram him with my shoulder when I freeze.

Byron’s standing near the back door. When he looks back, there’s no surprise in his expression.

No.

Please God, no.

“Any problems?” Byron asks.

“None at all.” Nunzio shoves me against a prep station. “Don’t fucking move or I swear I’ll cut your throat. Byron, keep an eye on her. Where’s the delivery van?”

“Waiting outside.”

“Good. Stay here.”

Nunzio strides away.

I watch him go before turning to Byron. The cook drifts closer. He has a big, sharp chef knife clutched in his right fist. He’s pale and sweating, clearly terrified. I try to speak but the gag is tight and I can’t do much more than drool and mumble.

He made his choice. That’s what Nunzio said the other day, isn’t it?

Byron would have to choose, and now he did.

I should’ve gone to Rafe. I’m so, so stupid. I wanted to protect Byron. I didn’t want him to get in trouble. Whatever Nunzio was plotting, I figured it wasn’t that big of a deal.

But of course I should’ve known.

This isn’t my world. I’m too trusting and naive. I thought Rafe would’ve vetted Nunzio… that there was no way his own head of security could turn on him…

I was wrong.

Byron shakes his head sadly as he approaches.

“I’m so sorry, June,” he says, glancing over his shoulder. “When he came to me, I couldn’t say no. But I did my best to get Hattie away. I told Priya to take her into Marnie’s room and to lock the door no matter what she heard.”

My eyes go wide and my heart skitters in my chest.

He did that?

“Hold out your hands. Hurry up, before Nunzio comes back.”

Confusion swirls. Isn’t Byron working with him? But when I offer my wrists, he jams the knife between them and slices, freeing me from the ties. He releases the gag and I spit out the cloth, coughing and gasping for air.