Page 127 of Ruining Vanessa

Well.

That he’d do something like this.

“What were you doing on the stairs?” Giulio asks. He runs one hand along my arm and to my hand—the one that’s still holding the hammer. “Having a friendly chat? Because you and Traci are such good friends?”

“I just ran into her when I was headed up to talk to Damien,” I say, tears flowing freely down my face. His near-intimate touch makes it even worse, and the attention he’s drawing to the hammer isn’t helping at all. “She was coming downstairs; I was going up.”

“And you’re both just so clumsy, you couldn’t figure out how to avoid each other without you taking a fall and endangering our little white blob?”

Traci doesn’t say anything, looking to me instead with a pleading look, like she thinks I can save her from this. I can’t. I can’t control Giulio. I can’t even affect Giulio. He’s like a force of nature, and he’s sweeping through the room and catching us all inside the storm.

“Giulio,” I whisper. “Please, it was all an accident. I just tripped.”

“Liar, liar,” Giulio says, kissing the side of my neck. “But we’re past me threatening your life, aren’t we? Because you’ve got a white blob inside you. Might make you think you’re safe from me, or something.”

I glance at Damien and Slayer, but they’re both transfixed on us. Damien even looks… He looks like he’s starting to get aroused.

“I’m gonna give you a choice,” Giulio says, loud enough for everyone to hear. “If Vanessa tells the truth, only one person has to die.” After a pause, he adds, “Well, I guess Traci and Paul could confess to their crimes too, but that’s less fun, so we’ll say it only counts if Vanessa’s the one to talk.”

Oh, god. I can’t handle the pressure. I look between Traci and Paul, helpless. I have to be honest. I have to save one of them.

“I have been telling you the truth,” I whisper. “But I’ll give you more details if you promise not to kill them.”

“I promise, if you tell me everything, at least one person will get to walk out of here alive.” Giulio laughs. “Well, five people.”

I’m so nauseated that I’m sure I’m going to throw up at any second. I don’t look at Traci and Paul, even though I know their attention is laser-focused on me. Death might be better than what Giulio will dream up for them, but I can’t consign them to death. I just can’t.

“I took the delivery because Paul wasn’t there,” I choke out, sobbing freely. “And it wasn’t right. Jenna said Paul always took that delivery. I was… I was going upstairs to show Damien, I’m sorry, I just had to, I couldn’t—” I don’t dare look at Paul as I try to get myself under control. “I ran into Traci. She asked me about the accounting… and the… the person who’s been giving information… and… I don’t know, she went to reach out to me, just to tap my chest, and I tried to step back out of her reach, and I tripped, and I fell, and I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.” If it wasn’t for Giulio’s arms around me, I’d be on the floor, huddled up in a little ball.

“She’s fucking lying!” Traci shouts desperately. “I didn’t do that! Damien, please, I swear to god—”

“Hey!” Giulio snaps. His arms tighten around me. “Don’t look at Damien. Damien isn’t in charge.”

Slayer grabs her wrist, pulling her closer to him. His eyes are trained on me, though, instead of on Traci or Paul.

Traci sobs and hunches over herself.

“For which you should be glad,” Giulio continues, “Because Damien would probably have shot you in your room already if he were.”

“Yes,” Damien answers immediately. “There are plenty of whores. There’s only one Vanessa.”

“Giulio, please,” Traci begs. “I… I’m the best earner—”

“Second best!” Paul interjects desperately. “She’s not pulling the same numbers she used to.”

I sob loudly as they argue with each other, barely managing to stay upright. “Please,” I whimper again. “Giulio—” I choke on his name.

Everyone in here is insane. Logic has gone out the window, rational thinking not even having a place here. There’s nothing I can say to make this better.

“So!” Giulio says, interrupting the counter-accusations. “I’m still not clear, Vanessa, on why Traci was touching you at all. Right now, it sounds like I should still be killing two people.”

“Please don’t,” I get out, though my voice is strangled and foreign-sounding. “You said you wouldn’t!”

“I said I wouldn’t if you told the truth,” Giulio answers. He starts rubbing my hand with his thumb. I want to just drop the hammer but I’m so terrified of doing anything to set him off even more. “It sounds to me like I’m still missing a few pieces.”

“I don’t know any more!” I say, turning my head to try to look at him.

Giulio gives a disappointed sigh. “Fine. Let’s just do it at the same time. Damien, you drill through Paul’s fingernail; Slayer, you take one of Traci’s teeth. A front one? Give her a big gap that nobody can ignore.”

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