Page 52 of Broken Saint

He squeezed my wrist harder until I couldn't take the pain silently any longer. "You're hurting me," I squeaked.

"That's nothing compared to the lesson Luca is prepared to teach you." Just then my father's right-hand man emerged from the shadowed depths of my suite and stark fear filled my mind. Where Ronin was a stone-cold killer, Luca favored torture over killing. He had inventive and cruel ways to make people talk. My father always said if he wanted information from someone, Luca would be the one to get it.

"Why? I have done nothing but exactly what you asked."

The look on his face told me he didn't believe my lies for a second. I'd worked on that skill for a very long time. It wasn't second nature for me to hide my emotions, especially under duress. Lately, however, I'd gotten pretty good at it.

"You have more to tell me?"

There was something about that question that led me to believe he knew a hell of a lot more than he'd let on this far. Dammit. What the hell was going on? What had he done to Carina?

I didn't have to wait long. Luca strode forward and pressed his cell phone into my hands, a maniacal grin spread across his face. A picture of my sister, bound and gagged, filled the screen. Her tear-stained face streaked with mascara and grime against a bleak backdrop of what looked like a cage. The right side of her face appeared swollen and there was a small cut across her lip. As if someone with a ring on their finger had slapped the hell out of her.

That thought alone as I stared at Luca's giant diamond ring on his right hand made me want to kill him on the spot. Only once before had that kind of lust for blood entered my mind.

"Oh my God!" My free hand flew to my mouth to cover it. "Why would you—" My stomach lurched. "She's your daughter!"

"She's as much trouble as you and needs to learn her place," he spat. "However, you are the biggest idiot of all if you thought two women could conspire against me and win. And my own daughters. You'll be lucky if one or both of you doesn't end up dead before the night is over. Now start talking. Tell me what the fuck you did."

Holy shit. He didn't know. Whatever information he'd forced from Carina, she'd managed to keep the diamonds a secret. Which meant I only had to make up something else.

"I only tried to make Ronin listen to reason by explaining to him why we shouldn't marry. But like you, he doesn't listen. He wasn't interested in anything I have to say." That was all true. The details were edited out, but at least it wasn't a lie.

My father jerked me to the ground and twisted my arm behind me. "Liar." He knelt beside me and got close enough for me to feel his breath on my face. "Stop being a little bitch, and face the music like you have at least a little pride. Tell me about the man. The one you've been fucking like a whore and spilling our secrets to."

"What are you talking about?" That was basically the only thing that popped into my mind. It was hard to think with the pain shooting up my arm.

My father grabbed my hair and shoved my head towards the ground. Much more and he was going to break my arm or yank it from the socket. When I didn't answer right away, he shoved my head hard and bounced me off the floor. I yelped as tears streamed down my face.

"I'll let you deal with this bullshit," he said to Luca, moments before he released me. I wasn't expecting that, so I fell forward on the floor. My arm felt like it was on fire and my scalp burned. I'd always known my father's cruelty had no bounds, but for some stupid reason, I hadn't quite believed he would turn it towards me in such a brutal physical way.

"I'm more than happy to."

Before I could object, or say anything at all, Luca grabbed my hair and dragged me to my knees. "That's right. Get on your knees in front of your father. Show him the respect he deserves."

"Fuck you." I spat without thinking. I was pretty sure the pain he was inflicting was going to come no matter what I said so I didn't temper my words. "If you think your intimidation or torture is going to work with me, you are wrong. That's not how women work, asshole."

Luca laughed, the sound so evil it scraped down my spine with the finesse of a sharp knife. It creeped me out, as I imagined him cutting into me and peeling my skin back like a serial killer because that's exactly how depraved Luca could be. I'd heard the stories. On occasion, I’d even heard the screams.

I had been a nosy child. Despite the fear that often ran through me, I couldn't let it go and not know exactly what was happening. So I often followed Luca. Because of that, I knew a lot more about my father's organization than they could imagine. It's a wonder I was never caught.

"Big talk from a scared little girl," Luca growled while my father laughed in the background.

"Right?" my father agreed. "I guarantee if I unleashed Luca on you, it would take no time to get all the information I want and then some. However, if he ruins the only asset you have, your body, then I could jeopardize the agreement our family has with Kavanaugh and his entire family. But don't worry, daughter. He is creative and will find a way to save your pretty face and whore body and still get what we need from you."

I had no doubt he meant what he said. And maybe I could come up with something to appease him. But I would never share those diamonds with him. Once I'd thought I would use them as a negotiation tool with him, but now I wanted nothing more than to keep them as far away from him as possible. He could search to the ends of the earth and never get his hands on them. Let him suffer like the rest of us.

But I had to do something to save Carina.

She would be counting on me to help her. I just needed to get them off of me for now so I could find a way. Give them anything...

"I haven’t shared anything with that man. Until recently, I didn’t even know his name. He was a stranger I met in a bar."

"Fucking whore."

I heard the words come from Luca's mouth, but with my face pressed into the carpet I didn't see exactly what happened next. There was a loud crunching sound and something warm splattered across my cheek. The fear already coursing through me amplified as Luca's hold on me suddenly released and I toppled sideways.

"What did I fucking tell you?"

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