Page 20 of Delivered to the Devil

How could this happen? Little Sophie is the most innocent creature on this earth. She can’t get dragged into this. She just can’t.

My sister managed to break free from our family at eighteen. She found a good man, got an education, and had Sophie a few years later. I used to visit them monthly, and even though we have never been particularly close, they were my only refuge from the meaningless life I lived.

What if something happens to them because of me? I could never live with that. The shame and self-loathing alone would kill me.

At this very moment, one thing becomes crystal clear. There’s no way out of this. No more attempts at running ortrying to outsmart Gabor. The steel door has slammed shut, and I’m trapped behind it.

***

My eyes are red and swollen the next day, surrounded by dark circles. Makeup does little to cover it up even though I go with the Hungarian standards, and when I walk into the restaurant, I’m sure everyone can see I’ve cried long and hard.

It’s a warm day, the sun shining high in the sky, and with all the customers being outside, Izsák can easily throw some nasty comments my way. Like any other day, he doesn’t let a good opportunity pass.

“What’s the matter, princess? Haven’t you gotten enough dick?” He delivers the crude words with mocking pity. “I’ll be happy to give it to you good and hard when we’re done here tonight.”

The blood surges through my veins, boiling with red-hot anger. Something snaps inside me—something that has been hanging by a thread for a long time.

Grabbing the first glass I see, I throw it to the ground. “Enough!” I shout as glass shatters all around me. “Don’t you get that other people have problems too?”

Izsák’s eyes go wide with fury. He slams me up against the wall, and my head jerks back into the concrete with a jarring jolt of pain.

Smacking his hand up between my legs, he grabs my pussy and growls, “You fucking cunt, if you don’t control that Western tongue of yours, I’ll fuck your filthy mouth so hard I’ll never hear a fucking word from you again.”

I shove him back with all my might, and even though he’s undoubtedly stronger than me, he crashes into the table behind him, glass crunching under his shoes. I’ve known all along. Thisman doesn’t have it in him to truly harm a woman. His threats are empty—all bark and no bite.

I simply stride past him and leave the restaurant.

***

Early the next evening, there’s a knock on my door. The only people ever coming here are the suit-clad men, and I doubt they have suddenly started respecting the boundaries of my home, so I have no idea what to expect when I go to look through the peephole.

I’m surprised to see one of the waitresses from the restaurant.

“I’m sorry to come by your home and disturb you like this,” she says when I open the door. “We have tried to get a hold of you several times. Izsák said you might have lost your phone, so he sent me here.”

Confusion has my brows furrowing. Why would he need to get a hold of me if I don’t work at the restaurant anymore? “I didn’t think Izsák would want me to show up again.”

It’s her turn to look confused.

Can it be that she hasn’t heard about my fight with Izsák? I thought he would have boasted openly about how he finally got rid of the dirty Westerner.

“He would like for you to come in when you can.” Without further question or explanation, she’s off again.

I hurry to change into my waitress uniform and put on some makeup. Then I head to the restaurant with a huge question mark turning over my head.

Izsák isn’t the forgiving type. On the contrary. After hurting his pride, I thought I’d never hear from him again. I didn’t even expect to see this month’s paycheck.

It’s not like I want to go back, but I really need the money. I can’t ask my family for help. They won’t help me unless I come back and fall in line with their warped control—and going back is not even an option anymore. And asking my sister would require me to explain what’s going on, and I simply can’t do that.

I have two choices. Crawl back to Izsák and beg for my job back, or end up on the street when rent is due next week.

My jaw drops when I enter the restaurant and see Izsák. His right arm is in a cast, one of his eyes is swollen and blue, and when he opens his mouth, there’s a dark hole where his left front tooth is supposed to be.

It takes me a full minute to get my staring under control, but he doesn’t say a word. He barely even looks at me.

A prickling sensation makes me turn and look toward the back of the restaurant. The air lodges in my throat when I see the suit-clad man in sunglasses sitting there in the shadows where he hasn’t been for days. I’m about to bolt back out of the restaurant, but then he takes off his sunglasses and my gaze collides with the sharp gray of Janos’s eyes.

Everything around me fades as time stops for a breathless moment. He gives me a small nod as if to reassure me that everything’s okay—that Izsák won’t bother me again. Then puts his sunglasses back on.

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