Page 52 of The Devil's Deal

I bite on the inside of my cheek, sealing a new course in my life, one I should be afraid of. But I no longer care. I can offer him something he wants, something that could get me killed. But if it gets me out of this room to start with, it’ll be worth it.

“I think I know where he is. Where they all are.”

He tilts up his chin, his brow rising an inch.

“I’ll tell you,” I go on. “But I need one thing in exchange.”

He chuckles deep in his chest. “Do I look like the kind of man who makes deals with little girls?”

I grind my teeth. “Fine. Good luck finding him. You never will.”

The only reason I even know is because I overhead my father and my uncle Sal talking in hushed voices in my father’s study right after the laundromat fire. I took a risk eavesdropping while waiting for him after being summoned for a meeting. But right now, knowing how useful that information is, I’m glad I did.

Brian stalks over to me until he’s only a finger apart from my body.

“What do you want?” he growls, his jaw twitching in the wake of his frustration.

“I thought you don’t make deals with little girls?” I grin salaciously.

An arm curls behind me, gripping my back firmly, thrusting me into the hardened weight of his body.

“I can find other ways to get this information out of you, Chiara.” His other hand journeys up my side until his palm reaches my face, cupping my jaw roughly. “And if you don’t hurry up and tell me what you want in exchange for your father, that little sliver of gentlemanly behavior my mother raised me with will wear thin.”

“You, a gentleman?” I scoff. “Where?”

His tongue darts out, seductively swiping over his lower lip, the wicked hunger sweeping through his gaze. “Goodbye, Chiara.”

He swings his body to the door, making his way across the room once more.

“I want out of this room!” I call out.

He freezes for a second before spinning around. “Why would I ever do that?”

“Because I have something you want.” I pause, inhaling deeply. “And you can give me something I want. I call that a fair exchange.” My lips tip up into a triumphant smile.

“Go on. We’ll see how useful your information is.”

“No,” I say harshly. “I need your word that once I tell you, you’ll let me out.”

A pain settles behind my eyes and nose. I fight through the incoming tears, blinking them away.

“Why are you so desperate to leave here? Is the room not up to your princess standards?”

I narrow a glare.

He smirks.

I’d really enjoy hate-fucking him, then blowing his brains out.

A girl can dream.

An exhausted breath jolts out of me, not wanting to tell him why it’s so hard being locked away in a room. Not wanting to give him a piece of myself that’s real. Something no one knows, not even Raquel.

“Many years ago…” I reveal, my eyes on his. “I tried to run away from my father, but it didn’t quite work out.”

My eyelids shutter closed for a mere second before I draw up the courage to dig up the scarred memories of my past.

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