Page 23 of Fractured Devotion

“Somewhere you can learn your fucking lesson—Carmela.”

The sound of my name across his lips made my body seize.

“My name is Ella.”

“You think this bottle of blonde hair and fake green eyes hide who you really are? Maybe it did in the beginning, but now your secrets are out, and you’re going to pay for the lies you’ve spewed. How stupid it was of you to walk yourself into the lion’s den? You should have stayed dead, Carmela, because when we’re done with you… death is all you’ll beg for.”

His grasp on my arm was unforgiving as he forced me out of the hotel room and into the elevator. The ride down to the lobby felt like I was taking my final walk on death row, but I knew the end was going to be far worse than the lethal injection prisoners would receive as punishment for their crimes. As the metal doors opened, he dragged me out of the elevator, not caring who saw him as he manhandled me toward the exit.

“Is there a problem?” The deep sound of a man’s voice gave me a sliver of hope.

“Mind your business,” Andrei spat his words, his grip tightening with his anger. “My girlfriend and I are late for an important function.”

The stranger searched my face before stepping forward, his body brushing against mine as he leaned in and asked, “Are you okay? If you don’t want to go with him, you don’t have to.”

“That’s not your decision. She wants to go with me because she wouldn’t want to jeopardize things that are important to her.”

“It’s fine. Thank you for checking.” I tugged the hem of my dress, praying the man read between the lines.

Andrei tugged on my arm. “Now get out of our way. We’ve got a date with destiny.”

“Ma’am?” he asked again, his gaze flicking to where Andrei held me tightly in his grip.

“I’m fine. We’re just running a bit late.” I forced a smile as Andrei tugged me around him and through the entrance of the casino.

“Fucking moron,” Andrei mumbled as we hurried out into the sunlight. “We won’t be back.”

The journey felt endless, a stretched string of silent moments as he forced me into the car. My lips remained firmly shut. The world outside sped by, yet it felt like we crawled, each mile stretching longer than the last. Before I knew it, the twinkling chaos of Vegas fell away to the stark, functional lines of an industrial area. The place wasn’t unfamiliar, known to be a hub for the illegal activities of the city’s underworld. Cars were scattered along the building, like scattered pieces on a chessboard, each one possibly a silent bidder for Lipovsky’s notorious auction. Andrei stopped the car with a finality that echoed in the empty spaces of the industrial complex, and I was briskly pulled from the backseat, a pawn moving toward an uncertain fate.

Stepping through the door, the heavy air of anticipation met us, thick with the scent of trouble. Aleksi’s presence loomed before us, a monster dressed as a man. His eyes held a flicker of annoyance as they fixed on me, an unwelcome gift that had become a thorn in his side.

“My, my, my,” he spoke, the words rolling out like thunder. “You’ve caused me a great deal of problems, Carmela.” He sighed, the sound heavy with the weight of unspoken conflicts. “Had I known you’d stir up a hornet’s nest, I would have refused you as payment from Manuel.” His voice held a sharp edge, a clear sign that my presence had disrupted more than just the still air.

I spat on his feet. “Fuck you, Aleski.”

The sharp sting of the slap was unyielding, its force enough to send me tumbling down, my body meeting the cool, hard cement below. The chill of the floor seeped through me as his voice cut through the haze of my shock.

“You will watch your mouth with me, little girl,” he warned. His hand clamped onto my hair, callously grasping at the strands as if they were mere ropes used to hoist me upright. The pain was a sharp, tugging sensation, a cruel anchor pulling me back to stand before him, a marionette yanked up by its strings. “Since we know your pussy is tainted, damaging the goods is irrelevant. Andrei, take her to the cage. She’ll be learning a lesson soon enough.”

He half-marched, half-pulled me through the stark metallic corridors, a grim procession toward an unknown fate. The echoes of our steps rang out, a lonely, hollow sound accompanying the sight of women confined like feral beasts. As we reached the room’s end, a surge of nausea rose within me at the sight of my destined pen. A small, five-by-five cage loomed ahead, its door ajar like a silent, taunting invitation, an unspoken declaration that I was no more than an animal to be tamed and broken.

Andrei shoved me inside, knocking me to my knees. The harsh cement tore at my flesh as I skidded inside the structure, catching the tender skin against the bars of the metal prison.

“Enjoy your few moments of silence. Soon, you’re going to see why crossing the Lipovsky family is a grave mistake,” he sneered, leaving a chilling promise hanging in the stale air. The sound of the cage door closing echoed, a definitive click of finality. Andrei spun on his heel and stormed out of the room.

Pressing my hands to the floor of the cage, I took several deep breaths. There was no room for surrender to the fear that pulsed in my veins like a second heartbeat. My life depended on my ability to compartmentalize the fear and focus on what needed to be done.

Shifting so I could sit, I drew my knees to my chest. My thoughts drifted to Alex. I feared he’d do something irrational and risk his life to spare mine. I had to pull myself together and prepare for a battle not just against Aleski Lipovsky—but a battle to keep the man I loved alive. His life for mine would only result in both our deaths.

This time, when Andrei came for me… I’d be ready. He might have the upper hand for the moment—but his last breath would be mine.

thirteen

ALEX

“Someone better explain to me how in the fuck this happened?” The words burst from me, a furious storm unleashed. The anger was a hot, fierce thing inside me, burning with the force of betrayal.

When Massimo got the call from the head of security at the casino, none of us were prepared for what he told us. Andrei Sloski had checked out of his room and had been seen leaving with a woman. According to the guard who’d stopped them, it didn’t look like the woman was going willingly, even if she’d told him differently. After watching the security footage and confirming it was Carmela, Massimo started making phone calls. Andrei had pieced together Carmela’s true identity and had likely told Aleski. That fact alone threatened to unravel me.

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