Page 101 of Lust and Honor

Roberto’s eyes stay fixed on mine. He steps closer and kneels beside me. My cheek stings from the slap, and my whole body throbs, pulsing with fear. With my back pressed to the wall, there’s nowhere left to retreat.

He drags his index finger along my cheek that’s probably bright red now, his wild, unhinged gaze locking onto mine. With the last scrap of strength I’ve got, I knock his hand away.

“Who the hell are you people? What do you want from me?”

He tilts his head to one side. “My name’s Roberto Rosa. Senator Rosa’s son. I believe you’ve already met Leonardo.”

I draw in a shaky breath. “I have nothing to do with Maxim’s business. Whatever score you’ve got, settle it with him.”

The mention of Maxim’s name makes the madness in his eyes burn brighter. “I don’t have a score with Maxim. He owes me. Big time.” He twirls a strand of my hair between his fingers, stroking it slowly. “A debt that only you can pay off.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t even know you.”

“But I know you, Ava Wilson. I tracked down your father and used him to deliver you to me. But the fool slipped up, and I had to kill him to keep my plan from blowing wide open.”

He drops my hair, his voice cold. “Maxim’s father hated him as much as your own did. Handing you over to Leonardo was the perfect way to make him bleed. Finding Leonardo, and buying off Alex, wasn’t hard at all.”

My stomach twists. “This was your plan…to make Maxim think I betrayed him, wasn’t it?”

His smirk turns smug, almost proud. “That’s right. Though I gotta admit, that little stunt you pulled and the phone you bought, for whatever reason, helped my plan a whole lot.”

He chuckles under his breath.

“All I did was throw your old boss in your path and snap a few pictures afterward with Leo.” His grin widens cruelly. “I’d fucking love to know what Maxim’s face looked like when he saw the money I transferred to your account and those plane tickets I bought for you on that phone.”

My stomach twists.

“Maxim’s convinced you helped Leonardo find the location of his hidden stash,” he continues casually. “When in reality, it was Alex the whole time.”

“You...what did you do to Gerard?”

“Oh, he was a decent man,” he says casually. “I took his wife hostage to make him play along. Don’t worry, sweetheart. They both got an easy death.”

Rage and despair explode inside me. I slap him hard across the face, snapping his head sideways. Before I can think, I’m on top of him, straddling his chest and raining fists down on his face and skull. This scum killed April. He murdered two innocent people for his filthy revenge.

Leonardo grabs me from behind and yanks me off him.

“Let me go, you pig! Let me go!”

Roberto pushes himself up, breathing hard, a twisted grin spreading across his bloodied lips. “You’re a fighter. Better than I expected.”

He turns to Leonardo. “Put her name on tomorrow night’s fight list. I’m betting on her.”

Then he steps close again, brushing his fingers across my cheek. “If you don’t want anyone touching you, you’d better win.”

Two broken women flash in my mind, the ones lying battered in the yard. My voice trembles. “And if I lose?”

His breath ghosts hot against my ear, sending chills crawling down my spine. “Then every single bettor there, man or woman, will take their turn with you.”

***

When Leonardo throws me back into the cell, Maria rushes over, eyes brimming with tears, and wraps her arms around me. “I thought you weren’t coming back.”

I sink to the ground, dazed, my mind spinning on poor April and her husband, they’re gone. Guilt, regret, and sorrow swallow me whole. They died just for crossing paths with me. God, how am I supposed to live with that?

I look at the woman lying on the floor, beaten beyond recognition, and I wonder what kind of monsters could do something like this to another human being.

My gaze falls on Maria, and my heart aches even more. She’s way too young for something like this. I glance around again. All the women here are broken and terrified. There’s no way out of this place unless someone from the outside comes to save me. Has Maxim figured out the truth by now? Is he coming for me? If he does, will he get here in time?