Page 7 of Brutal Vows

Heat suffuses my cheeks, and I nod my head as much as I can in his grasp.

“Good.” Letting go of my chin, he hands me the glass. “Now drink.”

I take it with trembling hands. I don’t realize how weak I am until it nearly slips from my gasp. Gripping it with twohands to keep from dropping it, I take a sip. Once the first taste of water hits my tongue, I gulp down the rest of the glass. Even without food and power, I still had access to water, but after going without food for so long, even water becomes hard to stomach.

“Easy,” he whispers, taking the glass from me once it’s gone. “You don’t want to get sick.”

I’m not sure why he cares. Well, he’d have to clean it up or have the attendant do it. I suppose he would care about that—and the smell.

“Have some of this.” he hands me a small plate with some cheese, meat, and a few crackers. It isn’t much, but the sight of food has my stomach grumbling in dire need. “Take it slow.”

Gratefully, I take the plate from him, setting it on my lap before picking up some cheese and meat to plop into my mouth. Flavor explodes across my tongue and I’m ravenous, but I do as the kidnapper says and take it slow. I only eat about a quarter of the plate before I am full. It isn’t a happy full, like when you’ve stuffed yourself at Thanksgiving, but my stomach is starting to rebel against eating any more, even if I should.

“Good girl.” He takes the plate from my lap and hands it to the attendant. After a beat of silence, he leans forward, bracing his elbows on his knees, and stares me dead in the eye.

“Now tell me, Gia,” he demands. “Where is your brother, Elio?”

Four

Her full lipsopen on a pout. Even with them being chapped and the skin peeling, they still look delicious. The beautiful chestnut color of her eyes is on full display as they widen with surprise.

Interesting. She doesn’t think we were there for her brother. Does that mean she believes we were there for her?

“I’m not going to ask you again,piccola cerva.” It amuses me the way her eyes darken and her jaw clenches when I call her a little deer. Some women find nicknames endearing, but it seems the little fawn I’ve caught in my grasp believes it to be condescending.

In this case, it might be a bit of both. I like seeing that fire in her eyes.

A beat passes, then another. My men throw glances at one another as they sip on their drinks and watch the scene play out before them. There aren’t many in my world that would dare defy me. Even these men, the ones I keep closest to me, rarely question or ignore my orders.

“Where isElio, Gia?”

She sits up straighter in her chair, chin tipping back, giving her a holier-than-thou attitude that might work if it wasn’t dampened by her hollow cheeks, bloodshot eyes, and tired expression. Her lips purse and she stares straight ahead, past my men, refusing to say a word.

That won’t do at all.

“I will punish you, Gia,” I warn her. “Right here, in front of my men. If you don’t start talking, I will push those leggings down to your ankles and bare your ass before taking my belt to it until you are begging me to stop.”

Her gaze eyes to mine, and I can see the question there. She’s asking herself if I will really do it. Yes. Yes, I will. Her throat bobs, gaze pinging from one man to another before setting back on me.

“I don’t know.”

A muscle in my face twitches and my eyes narrow on her.

“You don’t want to play this game with me, Gia.”

She huffs a breath. “I’m not playing with you,” she protests. “Do you think that if I know where he is I would be starving in a cabin in the middle of fucking redneck valley?”

That is something I’ve been thinking about. Why did she never leave when the food ran low? Doesn’t mean she isn’t lying, however.

“Watch your language,” I chastise her. She’s appalled at the reprimand, her eyebrows puckering in the middle and her little button nose scrunching in distaste. “Tell me why he had you hiding in the middle of nowhere.”

Gia shifts in her seat, her eyes lowering to her lap where she is fiddling with her hands.

“He saved me,” she admits quietly. Her statementis so quiet, in fact, I barely hear her. “Helped me escape my—” she pauses for a moment before continuing. “—our father.” She corrects herself. Thinking back to the DNA tests, I recall that the date they were tested was nearly six months ago

“Why did you need to escape, Fino?” I’m curious why Gia would want to escape her father. From what I recall, he doted on her as a baby. Her mother as well.

Gia’s eyes find mine again, her head tilting curiously when I say her father’s name.

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