Seconds later, the sound of footsteps shatters the fragile quiet.
Sandro’s head snaps up instantly, his grip on me tightening, and he pulls me to my feet as he rises. “Stay behind me,” he murmurs.
Then the door at the top of the stairwell creaks open, flooding the basement with harsh, yellow light. Shadows stretch long across the floor.
Kenji descends slowly, his polished shoes echoing with each deliberate step. Two of his men follow, rifles slung across their shoulders. And when one flips a light switch, two sets of harsh fluorescent strip lights flicker to life overhead, illuminating the creepy open space with chains hanging from the ceiling and searing into my eyes.
I blink, bringing a hand up to shield them as I squint into the sudden brightness.
“Well,” Kenji says, his voice as smooth as oil. “How touching. Two lovers whispering sweet nothings in the dark.”
Sandro straightens, chains rattling. “Come closer and I’ll show you how touching it can get.”
Kenji laughs, low and mocking. “Still defiant. I admire that about you, Sandro. But the time for endearments is over.”
I feel Sandro tense beside me, his hands flexing into fists as he brings them up, almost as if on instinct.
Kenji crosses the room, stopping just outside the cell. The light catches his smirk. “It’s time for the fun to begin.”
35
SANDRO
The clank of metal echoes through the dungeon, and I tense, instincts screaming as the cell door creaks open. Evi presses closer to me, and I hold her tight, my hand gripping her waist as I push her behind me, shielding her with my body as best I can. She’s trembling uncontrollably now, and I can feel her heart racing as she leans into my back, peering around me like a frightened child.
“You really should have stayed home, Sandro. But since you didn’t… here we are.” Kenji steps into the open doorway, his shadow stretching across the stone floor. His smile is slow, predatory, and it lands on Evi with lazy approval. “What a beautiful prize you won—truly. She isspectacular,” he murmurs, his voice low, oily, dangerous as his eye roams down the parts of her he can see. “I can see why you’re fond of her. I could have fun with that body for hours.”
Evi stiffens, her nails digging into my biceps, but she stays deathly silent.
My muscles coil, and I growl low in my throat without thinking. “Don’t eventhinkabout touching her,” I grind out, every word a threat. If I were free, I’d claw out his last good eye just for daring to look at her.
Kenji’s gaze flicks toward me, glinting with amusement. “Possessive. I like that. But you’ll find, Sandro, that I don’t respond well to orders.”
Snarling, I jerk forward, snapping my chains taut as I try to get to him, even though I know I’ll never make it.
Kenji laughs softly, amused by my useless ferocity. “Ah… that’s fine. I don’t need her just yet, anyway. I know convention says ladies first, but in this regard, it seems only polite to start with you.”
“No,” Evi breathes, clinging to my arm like she intends to protect me by sheer force of will.
Kenji’s gaze darts back to her, and I step forward, removing her from his sight completely.
“You want me, here I am,” I growl, and my heart wrenches as Evi chokes back a soft, terrified sob.
“How about this?” Kenji proposes with as little concern as if we were discussing the weather. “You come willingly, and I promise I won’t lay a hand on your wife—as long as she stays inside the cell.”
I know how little Kenji’s word is worth, but down here, with my arms chained to the wall, there isn’t much I can do to ensure Evi’s safety, so I’ll take what I can get. “Done,” I state flatly before Evi can voice an opinion. Then I turn to meet her eyes, silently warning her not to question my decision.
She steps forward, her hands finding my chest, tears streaming openly down her cheeks now as she shakes her head. “Sandro, I?—”
I can hear the plea in her voice, and I cut it short before she can object. “I love you,” I rasp so quietly only she can hear, and I dip down to steal a quick, hard kiss.
Then his men are grabbing me, hauling me away from her before she can respond. I catch Evi’s wide, fearful eyes one last time as they move with precision, unlocking the cuffs around my wrists from the chains they’re padlocked to. Then they shove me back, forcing me out of the cell. She follows for several steps, her bare feet quiet against the cold floor, and my heart lurches as she reaches for me, as if unable to let me go.
“Evi, no!” I bark, freezing her in place.
She cringes back, her arms snapping defensively around her waist. And the last thing I see is the devastation on her face before the barred door slams behind me, the bolt clanking into place. Her sob, muffled and raw, cuts me like a blade as Kenji’s men steer me forward, their movements leery, as if they expect me to snap at any moment.
It takes all my willpower not to fight as they haul me to the center of the room-turned-torture-chamber. But if I struggle, Kenji could easily decide to drag Evi out right alongside me. And I can’t allow that.
