Page 78 of His to Destroy

He sneers through the pain, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

"You were too soft for this life," he spits. "Too blind. I did what you wouldn’t."

I punch him—hard—my knuckles splitting against his jaw.

He crumples sideways but I haul him back up, refusing to let him fall.

I just watch him and wait.

And Stark—stupid, arrogant bastard—can't help himself.

He laughs.

A wet, broken sound that bubbles through his bloodied lips.

"You want to know why I did it?" he rasps, grinning with broken teeth. "Because I could. Because no one was going to stop me. Not her. Not you."

I slam him against the wall again.

"Say it," I growl. "Say exactly what you did."

He chuckles darkly, the sound vile and gloating.

"I dragged her into the dirt," he says, voice thick with sadistic pleasure. "She screamed. God, she screamed. They sounded more like whimpers though. Clawed at me like a little wildcat."

My vision blurs with rage.

"But it didn’t matter," he continues, smirking through his broken face. "After a while… after the first few blows, she stopped fighting. Went limp in my hands like a broken doll."

I slam my fist into his gut so hard he vomits blood onto the ground.

He collapses to one side, coughing and gagging.

But I don’t let him breathe.

I haul him up again, grabbing his broken face in both hands and slamming the back of his skull into the wall hard enough to leave a smear of blood.

"You disgust me," I snarl, my voice trembling with rage.

Stark grins, his teeth red and slick.

"You can say what you want," he gasps out, "but at least I have something you might never have."

I freeze, a cold, deadly stillness overtaking me.

He chuckles again, wet and mocking.

"A son."

My fists clench at my sides.

Luca.

“You’ve seen him, haven’t you?” he taunts. “The cute little lad. Damn, I knew that Spadafora girl had good genes in her to pass on to my seed. And she’s kept him well these formative years. Little lad’s such a smart ass.”

The thought of him—this monster—calling Luca his son rips through me like wildfire.

Before I even realize it, I drive my fist into his face again.

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