Page 231 of Kissing the Villain

ALEX

A different groupof men stole me from my kidnappers. They were professionals working with other criminals to get me to theIl Circoauction. Before I passed out from the drugs, I overheard them speaking about the highest bidder, a man named The Carver.

I tried to open my eyes but couldn’t see through the blindfold. They bound my hands behind my back, a bandana covering my mouth. I attempted to tug at the ties around my wrists. The plastic tightened its hold, making it impossible to do more than roll onto my side.

I kicked out my feet and groaned when my foot collided with something hard. Another trunk? A constant whooshing rang in my ears, like cars passing on a highway.

We came to a stop. I heard loud noises coming from the front of the car, and then the doors slammed. A few seconds later, the trunk opened. A man with a firm grip reached inside, the scent of cigarettes and cologne wafting off his skin. He lifted me from the trunk and threw my body over his shoulder.

I smelled salt and heard water. Another pier? Where the hell were they taking me this time?

With my legs bound at the ankles, my legs hit the man’s back with each step we took. I did my best to make it hurt more each time my bony knees made contact. He walked closer to the water until his feet hit wooden planks—a dock. I heard multiple footsteps, one on my right side and a few following us.

“About time,” a man said in front of us. “The ship leaves in ten.”

He was American, with a thick accent that sounded like he was from New York.

“We had an issue with the DeLucas,” the man holding me said. “They got in the way.”

The DeLucas were a Mafia family from Atlantic City. They were close friends of the Salvatores and would have helped Luca and the Knights find me. Relief washed over me because that meant Luca had sent them.

He would burn down the world to find me.

“Did you take care of them?”

“We didn’t have time. You said to extract the asset and get to the boat.”

“The Salvatores got an invitation to the island. So did The Devil’s Knights. All of their known associates will be in attendance.”

“They’ve gotten in our way for long enough. It’s time we eliminate them.”

Fear shot through me, my body growing rigid from the threat. My system went into overdrive from the adrenaline coursing through my veins. I wanted to fight with everything I had left but couldn’t move a muscle.

This wasn’t about me.

It wasn’t even about the Kurtis.

Someone had set Luca and the Knights up. I wasn’t a bargaining chip they would use to get something out of them. No, they wanted to wipe everyone I loved from existence.

I wished for death. It would have been better than what was coming for me. At least in death, I would find peace. They would tear me apart limb from limb just to watch Luca suffer.

There was no escaping this version of Hell. This was the seventh circle—violence. In Dante’s Inferno, fire and blood filled the outer ring, reserved for criminals and murderers, where all of us belonged.

I’d studied Dante for years and drew inspiration from his work. Luca wasn’t just the Devil in my paintings because he was a monster from Devil’s Creek. He was flawed, a sinner who never wanted to stop sinning, and I loved him because he was unapologetically himself. He never gave a single fuck about what anyone thought about him.

As the man led me toward a boat, I thought of Luca and Dante and all the Devil-themed paintings I had created over the years. I thought of how my love for him bled into every inch of the canvas and how he made me feel, even when I had lost my sanity. He was my constant, the one thing in my life that never changed. And because of my stupidity, I would never see him again.

Never see my twin brother again.

“Throw her in,” a man growled.

In the water? His words caused me to panic, and with the fabric stuffed in my mouth, I couldn’t breathe.

We walked onto the ship, which smelled of raw fish and saltwater. The man stopped and pushed open what sounded like a heavy metal door. He moved forward a few feet, then lowered me to the ground. My shoulder broke the fall, and a searing pain shot down my arm.

Every bone in my body hurt from the drugs and lack of sleep. But now, a red-hot blaze licked my skin, creating a dangerous fire I couldn’t contain. I rolled onto my side. A lumpy mattress,which had a rancid smell emanating from the material, was beneath me, and my stomach lurched all over again.

A girl made a muffled sound.

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