Page 42 of Traitor

Lukas came rushing out of the front door to greet me, but I pushed by him. They were words I’d been longing to hear all damn day, and finally I’d get to gaze into Char’s eyes. I marched up the stairs, taking them two by two as I raced up to my bedroom. I darted for the bed as Char groaned in pain and I took her hand within mine.

Then, her bruised and battered eyes finally found me, and my heart took flight.

“Char,” I whispered.

Her eyes watered over. “Teo? Is that really you?”

I reached down to brush some hair away from her face. “It’s really me. I’m right here.”

Her lower lip quivered, scab and all. “Oh, my God. It’s so good to see you.”

She started sobbing and I scooped her into my arms. She was clearly in pain, both physically and emotionally, and it killed me inside to see her like this. Especially after the message she relayed to me. Especially after the horrors she had endured and witnessed in Lorenzo’s house.

“I want to bring my mother down. For good,” she said through her sobs.

I kissed the top of her head. “You took the words right out of my mouth.”

She looked up at me. “I want her done. I want her in prison. And I want everyone she’s ever helped to be in prison with her.”

I looked down into her mangled face. “You will get all of that, and more. You have my word.”

Because taking her mother out of the equation meant crippling Lorenzo. It meant crippling the Lucchese Family. I didn’t believe for one fucking second that Char’s mother wasn’t working with the lot of them. All of them, not just Lorenzo.

And something in the pit of my gut told me that taking them down meant taking Char’s mother down.

An idea that slithered a snake-like smile across my face.

18

Mateo

A week.

It took one solid week for Char to heal to a point where she could talk on her own. And every time I looked her way, I found her staring at me. It made me feel powerful. It made me feel at ease. But, more than that, having her back at my beach house made this place feel like home.

A sensation I hadn’t felt since she had left.

“You know, you still haven’t been punished,” I said.

Char looked up from her bowl of soup. “What?”

I grinned. “For leaving. You were the one that went willingly with Lorenzo, did you not?”

She swallowed hard. “Teo, look. I can explain. I really can.”

I stood from my chair. “You’ll get to do plenty of explaining. In my bedroom.”

I walked over to her and held out my hand, watching as her eyes dropped to my palm. She slid her trembling hand against my own and I helped her to her feet, the both of us abandoning our lunch as we walked up the steps. I tugged her into my bedroom and pressed her back against the door. I let my breath linger against her lips as I locked us behind it, making sure she had nowhere to run during my torturous pleasure.

Then, I pressed my lips to her ear. “You’ve been a very, very bad girl. And you need to be reminded of where your allegiance lies.”

She let out a shuttering breath. “You. It will always lie with you.”

I wrapped my hand around her throat. “Time to prove it, then.”

She squealed as I tossed her onto my bed, then quickly harnessed her legs and ankles to it. I watched her skin flush as she tugged at her restraints, but it was the widening of her eyes that caused me to place a calm hand against her bare calf.

“Char,” I said.

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