“Evening, Eve,” he greets coldly.
My stomach lurches. “Uncle … what are you doing here?”
He just stares as if I’m some kind of nuisance or a problem he can’t wait to be rid of. How has he changed so much in such a short period of time?
Silas walks inside the lab, stepping closer, and one meaty hand clamps around my wrist in a painful grip, which I’m sure will bruise, causing me to drop the small bottle of oil I had been using. The shattering sound echoes off the wall, making the strange encounter even worse.
As I try to wrench away, two more people saunter into the room behind him. It’s Scarletta and another tall, overly muscular man who is bursting out of his too-small shirt, a smarmy smile spread across his face in anticipation. Who is he? Scarletta’s henchman?
Scarletta’s toothy grin glows white, his oily hair is greased back, but it’s his eyes that are the most disturbing. They shine brightly with savage glee.
“You should be thanking me, Eve,” my uncle says, voice booming.
“Let me go, Silas!” My plea catches in my throat as I try to pull my wrist free. “What are you doing?”
Silas tightens his grip, pulling me off my stool and handing me to the ape who walked in with Scarletta. The man chuckles, seemingly eager to lay his hands on me. The beefy guy is easily holding me in place by my upper arms as I struggle, now facing Scarletta and Silas.
“You’ve become quite the distraction, little dove,” Scarletta purrs as he prowls into my personal space, amused at my attempt to get away. The large lab suddenly feels too small, tight, and cramped.
He leans in, his breath reeking of cigarettes and booze, making me turn my head in disgust. “You owe us answers, little Evangeline, and we are going to get them one way or another.” His threat sends shivers down my spine. “So, tell us, what’s Dante planning?”
Staring at him, my resting bitch face reveals nothing. “I don’t know.” I wouldn’t tell him even if I knew anything. He and the other two deserve everything Dante has planned for them. Even my uncle.
Scarletta’s lip curls as he runs a finger along my jaw. “You’re lying, girl. I’m thinking he shares a lot with you.After all, you pretend to be so innocent, but we all know you have been Dante’s slut for a while now. And I’m also betting you’re his pretty little weakness.”
He steps back, admiring me as one would a prize. “I think it’s time Dante pays for refusing to turn over what should be mine.”
“When Dante finds out…,” I start to say, but he steps forward, slapping me hard across the side of my face. His gaudy rings make the blow feel as if I were hit with a brick. My head spins, and my back hits the man behind me, making him let out a sinister chuckle again. There’s a copper taste of blood filling my mouth because I’m pretty sure I just bit my tongue.
My breathing and heartbeat are so rapid that my chest is heaving now. I think I may pass out, and I know my face is already beginning to swell as I can only stare at the way Scarletta looms over me.
Meanwhile, the “ape”, as I call him, still maintains a hard grip on my arms. But Silas is distracted, having a coughing fit in the corner, clutching a bloody handkerchief to his mouth.
“Dante’s precious weakness,” Scarletta gloats menacingly, and I want to tell him he doesn’t possess an ounce of the intimidating presence Dante does.
When Dante Vescari steps into a room, he owns it. After all, he did the same to me in this very lab. The sleazy criminals surrounding me, however, including my uncle, are wasted space. But they are in fact criminals. This means I don’t know what they’re capable of doing to me.
“Uncle ... please…,” I cry, angry at myself because of how pitiful and weak I sound, but hoping Silas remembers all that my family was to him. All that I’ve been to him. His niece.
But he doesn’t look at me. He’s still standing to the side, looking pale and gaunt, sickly.
Good.He should suffer.
“If you kill me…” I say through gritted teeth, directed towards Scarletta now. My voice barely above a whisper.
“Kill you?” Scarletta laughs, a high-pitched unsettling noise. “No, girl. We have other plans for you.” He nods to the “ape”. “Show her, Antony.”
So, the ape does have a name. I’ll make sure I remember it for Dante.
Antony reaches into his coat with one hand and pulls out a syringe. He holds it between us. “A gift for Dante’s pet.”
My heart hammers. My lungs seize.
“No!” I lunge, but Antony spins me around and shoves me against the glass wall. The glass rattles behind me.
Scarletta’s grin widens. “We’ll soon see how much he loves you.”
Tears sting my eyes. “You won’t get away with this.”
