“I need a cleaning crew at the hotel. I was attacked.”
I barely register his response and obey, looking for a tattoo to identify my attacker. At the back of his neck, ink interlaces in an infinity symbol made of ropes.Croatian Bratva.
Fuck.
What if the secrecy at the Split headquarters was about tonight?
Just as Dante swears on the phone, a ring chimes from my attacker’s pocket. I suppress a shudder and fish the phone out ofthe pocket of his dark pants. An unknown caller. But I know who must be on the other end of the line.
Panic gathers in my throat. The ringing stops.
“All Hell is about to break loose,cugino. The attacker’s phone just rang. They’re going to call a second time and when they don’t get an answer, they’ll know they failed. We need to fly to Split. Now.”
“We’re never gonna get there on time.”
“Text my father. Tell him to involve Toma.”
“Lucie…”
“We have to trust him, Dante. Tell him what happened tonight. And prepare my gear, I’m coming with you.”
I hang up and leave the room, Biscuit in my arms. I trust Dante to take care of the mess since he owns the property. No one blinks at the blood covering my dress and arms.
Thankfully, a driver from Dante’s crew is on standby in the hotel lobby. He jumps up to his feet when he sees me, frowning and assessing me with dark eyes. It’s not sexual, and I appreciate that he’s checking me for injury.
“Where to, Miss Ventura?”
“Don Ventura’s mansion.”
When we reach our destination, I get ready to rain down Hell on the monster who stole what’s mine.
I’ll kill anyone in my path to get Toma back.
TWENTY-SIX
TOMA
My brother has always been brutal, but my betrayal and the torture that has followed has been my constant for weeks. It’s taking its toll. I don’t know how much longer I can go on.
I’ve lost weight. I’ve lost sleep. My reflexes aren’t as sharp as they used to. Petar keeps me malnourished on purpose, every piece of food a bargaining chip for the horrors he wants me to commit.
He’s made me hurt so many innocents over the past month that I don’t think my soul will ever recover. The sliver of hope the woman with hazel eyes I thought I could love ignited in me is gone. I’d never allow myself to touch her with my tainted fingers now. Thinking of her makes my heart lurch painfully in my chest. Her name used to be sacred but I almost forgot it now. I thought my body would only ever belong to her but there’s been many after her since. Not that I wanted their touch.
The impact of what Petar did, what he made me do has my skin permanently itching. I constantly feeldirty.
I’m starting over, proving my loyalty at the bottom of the food chain, in the small guard house by the gates of my brother’s house. It suits me just fine. As long as I don’t have to look at my tormentor every second of every day.
The Adriatic sea shimmers in the distance in hues of blue ink as night falls rapidly. The view is almost as beautiful as her eyes. I never left Split because I don’t enjoy the city. Having an espresso on the Riva, the city’s seaside promenade, is one of the simplest pleasures I enjoyed. In another life. My brother knows wandering the ancient streets could keep me from spiralling into despair. Make me feel human again. So he’s not allowing it. I’m a tool, his Beast. And I’m starting to believe it, too.
The two other men on duty with me are cruel, ready to take their break andfeaston the delicacies inside the main house. My hands tingle with the need to strangle them. Violence and rage is all I am now.
I bide my time. Once they’re out of the picture, I have my own mission. The vow that keeps me from taking my own life and ending it all. Get Diane out of here. The risk of saving her is the same as my usual treatment. There’s no hope left for me, but there is for Diane. So I’ll endure it.
She’s been invited to tonight’s festivities. Yet, I know my brother well enough. The glint in his monstrous eyes when he looks at her tells me he’s found her out and can’t wait to make her the main event of tonight’s depraved show.
The people gathered tonight fall into two categories.
Hunters.
