Page 82 of The Devil's Den

She moves closer to me. “Two days. Maybe more. I don’t know. I’m so hungry.” Her brows tighten. “They won’t feed me.”

“What?”

“Yeah.” She bows her head.

There are empty water bottles scattered around us, and a full one next to me I haven’t yet touched. This poor woman. What savages!

I’m glad I don’t share Bianchi blood, and then I think about my cousins Raquel and Chiara. They’re not my cousins anymore either. Stabbing pain plants itself in my chest. I really have no one.

“You okay?” Ava asks, her fingers attempting to swat away the strands of hair glued to her forehead from the sweat.

“No,” I say, and she nods because she isn’t either. How could we be?

“Shut up over there.” One of them comes rushing, banging his rifle over the top of the cage.

“Fuck you!” I snarl, the words slipping suddenly, and that’s when my eyes bulge.

“Shh!” Ava hums, but it’s too late, a vicious sneer grows on his face.

“Really?” His hand lands on the lock that keeps us prisoner. “You wanna fuck me, huh?” My heart skips a beat, sending fear riddling down my body in waves.

Why did I just do that?

“Yo, Ethan. The girls wanna fuck.”

Ava cries, her body shuddering, and my hand crawls to hers, holding it tight.

“Oh, yeah?” His lips jerk as Ethan marches over, throwing the rifle down as his stare runs past both of our bodies. “Get them out, then.”

No! No! No! Why didn’t I keep my mouth shut?

The air grows thick in my throat, dread pulsing from within.

He undoes the lock and the men yank us out by our hair, me first, then Ava. They throw us onto the icy floor, holding us down with their knees to the middle of our backs as they drag our pants down.

The man above me lowers his face to my ear, his voice gruff, his breaths heavy, sending bile turning in my stomach. “You’re gonna soon learn, little whores don’t get to open their mouths without being punished.”

His hands are everywhere, under my shirt, inside me. I break with a quiet sob, lying there, my eyes holding on to Ava’s, her tears matching mine. In the darkness of shared misery, all we can do is hold on to each other the only way we can.

With our bodies pressed deep into the floor, while the men violate us, the tears falling down our cheeks, I reach my hand for hers, our fingertips almost touching. I did this. Me and my big mouth. It’s all my fault.

She screams as the man continues, slapping her hard across the cheek for making a sound. The one behind me grunts, pushing faster, and I pray for it to be over.

Just let them stop!

I cry in silence, not wanting them to revel in my pain, but I’m sure they are anyway. I’m sure it doesn’t matter to them that they’re destroying us.

When they’re done, they both climb to their feet. But Ava and I, we just lie there, sobbing in voiceless despair, our gazes locked.I’m sorry, I mouth. Because I am.

Her lips start to move, and before she can say a word, a bullet rips into the back of her head. And the shock in her eyes, I’ll never forget it, even as they drag me away, kicking and screaming her name as the blood pools around her face.

CHAPTERTWENTY-SEVEN

MATTEO

I couldn’t even enjoy killingthat asshole, Louis, because all I could think about was finding her, finding Robby. If she’s dead, I may as well be too.

I’m back in the van, the night still fitted over the sky as I drive on a long, empty stretch of the road, the tracker long abandoned. The light changes to green and I turn a sharp right, too sharp, almost crashing into a tree I didn’t see.

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