Page 77 of Brutal Vows

“Go. To. Hell.”

His smirk is almost admiring before his hand flies, a sharp backhand that whips my head to the side. Pain explodes through my already bruised cheek, and before I can stop it, a scream tears from my throat.

My body might betray me, but my soul won’t. I drag in a breath, tasting blood and defiance, and lift my chin once more.

“What are you holding onto, Gia?” His voice is almostcasual as he straightens his suit jacket, but the glint in his dark eyes betrays him. He’s enjoying this. “Your husband isn’t coming for you. He’ll never find you. I’ll make sure of that.”

I swallow the coppery taste of blood, testing my jaw with a slow shift. Sore but not broken. That’s good.

A smirk tugs at my split lip. “Confidence always comes before a fall.”

He doesn’t know. The poor bastard has no idea about the tracking chip Vitali stuck in my ass this morning so he could literally track it.

Vitali will burn the world to get me back.

His dark eyes narrow, and I suck in a quick breath when I see his fists tighten. “It seems your husband hasn’t taught you any manners,” he murmurs, voice deceptively soft. “I’ll fix that soon enough.”

I snort, a reckless sound that scrapes my raw throat. “It’ll take a greater man than you to teach me anything.”

My courage is borrowed, stolen from the hope that Vitali is already on his way, but it’s enough for now.

His smirk turns lethal. “Teaching you manners is going to be something I enjoy very much.” He leans in, his breath hot against my cheek. “And there are so many creative… pleasurable ways for me to do it.”

Then the first blow lands.

Pain fractures through me, sharp and unrelenting. An anguished cry rips from my throat as I raise my arms, desperate to shield my face. But it’s not enough. His fists rain down, each hit rattling my bones, breaking apart my breath. My chair tips, and I crash to the ground with a choked gasp.

It doesn’t stop.

The first kick drives the air from my lungs. Thesecond makes my ribs scream. I curl in on myself, arms wrapped tight around my middle, but it’s useless. Every brutal impact sends agony lancing through me, my whimpers swallowed by the cold, unfeeling walls.

But in the darkness behind my clenched eyes, I see him.

Vitali.

And I hold on. Because no matter how deep this bastard thinks he’s buried me—my husband will dig me out.

I have no idea how long it lasts. Time dissolves, slipping through my fingers like sand. Hell, everything disappears—except the scorching, all-consuming pain tearing through every inch of me. I’ve never known fear like this, a terror so raw it makes my body betray me. The wet heat trickling down my thighs tells me I’ve pissed myself. Shame claws at my throat, but it’s drowned beneath the agony.

I’m sobbing, trembling uncontrollably, my resolve splintering with every second that drags by. Maybe Vitali isn’t coming. Maybe this is it. My new reality.

Beaten.

Humiliated.

Destroyed.

Lachlan delivers one final, savage kick to my ribs, ripping a broken, ragged scream from my lips. The pain is blinding, white-hot, and the sharp stab with every breath tells me he’s broken something. The bastard pauses, his heavy breathing the only sound in the room as he catches his breath.

“Don’t pass out on me, little slut,” he coos, crouching down to slap my face when my vision begins to darken. My head snaps to the side, but I don’t react. I can’t. “You wouldn’t want to miss the fun before we leave, would you?”

Shouts echo from beyond the door, muffled but growing closer. The sharp crack of gunfire slices through theair, scattering the fog and threatening to pull me under. My lips curve into a slow, bloody smile as I tilt my head up to look at him.

Lachlan scowls. “I wouldn’t be smiling if I were you,” he growls, fingers yanking at his belt. The metal glints in the dim light, his sick intentions thick in the air. “I’m going to break you, little slut, and once Savia takes care of your husband, I’ll fuck you on top of his dead body.”

A laugh rasps from my throat, sharp and bitter. “My husband is going to kill you,” I whisper, my voice a promise, a prophecy. “And I’ll make sure to dance on your fucking corpse.”

The rage in his eyes ignites like gasoline. The belt whips down, fire lacing across my back. Once. Twice. A third?—

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