Page 17 of Bride Unwanted

It takes my eyes a few moments to adjust to the darkness. There is no window, but some light comes through the cracks of the door and that’s enough to illuminate the room slightly. It’s empty beside a mattress on the floor in the center of the space.

A chill runs down my spine, and my knees are about to give out from fear. There is no way I’m going anywhere near that mattress. Instead, I walk to the corner of the room and carefully lower myself to sit on the floor.

My mind is filled with terror, making it hard to think. I just hope Talon is okay. I hope they didn’t hurt him. No, I can’t think about that. I’m sure he is fine. I have myself to worry about now.

For a while, I try to wiggle out of my restraints, but all I manage is to dig the cable ties deeper into my skin until I feel blood dripping down my hands. Defeated, I give up and let the tears freely run down my face.

I don’t know how long I sit here, but it feels like an eternity until the sound of footsteps approach. Gathering all my strength, I push myself off the ground to stand up. I make it to my feet just as the door unlocks and swings open.

Light floods in from the hallway into my cell and blinds me for a moment. I squint my eyes just as I hear a somewhat familiar voice.

“Well, hello there, little Ricci whore.”

I blink my eyes open to see the same man we ran into earlier. Talon’s old friend, Anthony Moreno. Shock grabs hold of me, and I stand there, stunned. Even if my mouth wasn’t covered with duct tape, I wouldn’t be able to get a word out past the giant lump in my throat.

“I see the confusion on your face. I guess you really don’t know who I am? Do you even know who you married, or did he lie to you about that too?” Tony steps closer, and I wish I could step back, but the solid wall is behind me.

“Here, let me get this off so I can hear you scream,” he says before closing the distance between us. He lifts his hand, peeling off the corner of the tape, he rips is off my lips uncaringly.

I suck in a shuttered breath through my mouth. “I don’t understand,” I croak.

“So you’re dumb too, whore?” He chuckles. “The Ricci family is the largest crime organization in the city. Your dear husband is a criminal and so am I. Unfortunately for you, I want what Talon has, and you, my little whore, are the perfect bargaining chip.”

Talon is a criminal? No. That can’t be. Thoughts run through my mind like a tornado, analyzing all the interactions I’ve had with my husband. He told me he has many businesses… the restaurant was his. Did he lie to me about that or are his businesses just a front for what he is really doing?

“I don’t believe you,” I whisper.

The back of his hand hits my cheek so hard my head snaps to the side and stars float across my vision.

“Are you calling me a liar, slut?” Tony spits. “Maybe I need to teach you a little lesson?”

Fear overwhelms me as he grabs hold of my upper arm and drags me to the mattress on the floor. He kicks my legs out from under me and throws me onto the dirty mattress. Since my hands are still tied behind my back, I have no way of defending myself. Tears run down my cheek as I beg him.

“Please don’t do this. Just let me go! Please.”

“Save your begging for when my cock is buried in your cunt. I want to see what’s so special about you. Maybe we can take a little video and send it to your husband as an incentive.”

A new kind of bone-chilling fear spreads through my body and, despite my bleeding wrists, I pull on the restraints with all my might. I can’t let this happen. I can’t let this man rape me.

Despite my desperate tries to slip out of the cable ties, my hands remain bound behind my back as Tony gets on top of me. Straddling me, he rips off the strap on my sundress. I scream so loud my ears ring, but that only seems to egg him on more.

He laughs as he pulls down my dress, exposing my lace bra. “You do have some nice tits,” he growls, grabbing my breasts with both of his hands.

Tears make my vision blurry, as I can’t hold them back any longer. “Fuck you!” I scream, but that only makes him slap me again.

“Watch your mouth, whore! Do you think you are better than me?”

“You’re a monster.”

“I’m no more of a monster than your husband,” he says, while grinding his hard bulge against my crotch.

Bile rises in my throat as his hands roam my body. Squeezing my eyes shut, I try to go somewhere else, imagining I’m not here. It doesn’t work. The smell of Tony’s aftershave is too potent to imagine my happy place.

“Open your eyes, slut,” he yells, grabbing my face between his hands.

I shake my head as much as I can in his grip.

Just when I think I’m about to experience the most traumatic event of my life, a loud explosion somewhere in the building rocks the floor. Tony jumps up, leaving me on the mattress, catching my breath.

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