The dank, blood-splattered walls send a chill down my spine, and I wrap my arms around my center, unable to look at Stefan for a second longer, and decide to divert my attention to the reason I’m standing here.
“What am I doing here, Azrael?”
“You said he was taking you on a date.” He spits out the latter and gestures toward Stefan, all while keeping his eyes fixed on mine. “He sold you to his friends, who sold you to us.”
I jolt, then look over toward Stefan.
Where Azrael has no guilt in his core, Stefan’s eyesswim in it. The betrayal twists in my stomach, and nausea threatens to surface as the realization of Stefan’s cruelty sinks in.
He sold me.
He took me on a date and sold me.
To human traffickers.
To be raped and abused.
“Do you know how much you were worth to him?” Azrael spits out while I gawk at him, confused at his outrage. He does, after all, profit from this transaction.
He purchased me—or owns me, as he likes to put it. Either way, he’s a participant in this. “You did this too, Azrael,” I choke out. “You had a part in this.”
His commanding jawline sharpens, and his eyes flash with warning. “And I’m grateful I did. He brought me you.”
“A thousand dollars,” Azrael adds, and I swallow hard, finding every necessary function difficult in the wake of his admittance. “He purchased a new video game straight after he dropped you in a van to be raped and auctioned.” He seethes.
A video game.
I was worth a video game.
My head snaps forward, and I narrow my eyes on the piece of shit attached to the chains.
“What are you going to do with him?” I grit out. My entire attitude toward the man changed in the blink of an eye.
“I’m going to slaughter him,” Azrael says with confidence. “But first, I’m going to show him what he’s missing.” He steps forward and tucks a lock of my hair behind my ear. “I’m going to show him what a beautiful girl you are, and when you come, he’ll watch you come undone on me,knowing that he made a choice, and he’ll die knowing we’re grateful for it.”
His words are a soothing balm, full of contradictions.
“I don’t want him to hear you coming.” Azrael’s dark orbs search mine. “You’ll do as I ask, do you understand, Little Toy?” It’s almost like he’s asking me and commanding me all in one.
I can only nod. Unable to construct any words. My mind is still reeling from the revelations.
He moves behind me until his chest collides with my back, and he wraps an arm around my center. It’s protective and strong, dominant and possessive. His hand roams up my stomach and over my throat until he reaches my jaw. He cups me there, then bends to rasp into my ear. “Open your mouth nice and wide for me.”
I expect his fingers to prod me open, but something resembling a ball is pushed into my mouth. I tilt my head back and search his dark stare for reassurance. His eyes are hooded, full of hunger and need, causing my core to clench with anticipation.
He expertly fastens the ball gag around my head, and a wave of jealousy slices through me. Does he do this often with women? I hate the bitter, intrusive thoughts.
“You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.” He says it with a sincerity that bleeds from him on every word, leaving me no choice but to believe it. “I’m the devil, Hevan, and I’m going to devour you.” His promises, coupled with the use of my name, send a gush of comfort through me; it’s like he knew I needed something to remind me he isn’t completely lost in this moment.
Slowly, he unbuttons my shirt until the cold air makes me shudder, then he pushes it off my shoulders and turns me around, leaving my ass on display forStefan.
There’s emptiness in Azrael’s eyes, a deep, searing look I’ve not witnessed before now or, at least, refused to acknowledge. He lifts me, and I squeal behind the gag before he places me down on the cold metal table and pushes my chest until I lie flat.
He takes my hands in his, and his touch is tender. He raises them above my head, and the clang of metal has me stretching my neck to watch him chain my wrists in place above my head.
Stefan thrashes about, rattling the chains he’s attached to, but it’s white noise against the beat of my heart, reminding me I’m very much alive and at the devil’s mercy.
Chapter Twenty-Four
