Page 17 of Redeem
Is he serious? I thought that, with Adrian gone, I would be free. How naive of me. Women in the mafia are only useful for one thing, and now my father has brokered another deal to sell me off. I should be happy that it’s Emilio, who I originally wanted all those years ago. If they’d just picked him from the start, none of this would have happened, but it’s a funny thing, fate.
His fingers grip my chin painfully, moving my gaze back into his dark eyes. I can’t hear anything but the thump of my heart against my chest. I want to scream, to kick and punch him, but that won’t end well.
“What if I don’t?” The words tumble out of my mouth before I can stop them and my eyes widen.
He smirks, leaning forward until our foreheads touch and his lips are only inches from mine. Please no. Don’t.Stop. I can’t let this happen again.
“I will marry you myself and make you my own little slave. Young pussy always tastes much sweeter than the older, used-up cunts.”
His lips touch mine and I freeze. My whole body screams at me to fight, but I can’t move.
I close my eyes and wish to be anywhere but here.
CHAPTER14
ADDIE / ISABELLA
Aloud bang echoes through the classroom, followed by a crack. Maximo pulls back, lifting out his gun and aiming it at the door before I even have a second to breathe. Madden steps through the doorway, his fists against his thighs, looking like he’s ready to break something, and I hope to god it’s Mr Santoro’s face.
Maximo laughs, placing his gun back into his holster. “Madden, good of you to join us.”
Madden moves farther into the room, toward us. “What the fuck is going on ’ere?”
“Not that I owe you any explanation; however, I was just telling Isabella here about our little arrangement. Think she’s gotten the message loud and clear?” His eyes slowly look me up and down, lingering a little too long.
My stomach threatens to bring up my lunch, but I find myself nodding back, just wanting him as far away from me as possible. Madden watches us closely, his eyes darkening.
“Very well. See you around, Isabella, and I’ll need my answer by the end of the month.” He pauses, the corner of his mouth lifting. “Whichever you choose.”
He leaves the room without another word, and as soon as he's gone, I sag back against the wall, falling down onto my ass. My heart is galloping like it has just run its hundredth lap.
Madden drops to his knees in front of me. He places his fingers under my chin, only this time, with him, it feels right. He won’t hurt me. He lifts my chin until I’m looking into his icy blue eyes.
“Stupid question, but I've seen people ask this. Are ye okay?”
I almost want to laugh. He really doesn't have many people skills.
My bottom lip starts to tremble, and before I can stop myself, I fall into his arms. He freezes for a heartbeat before wrapping his arms around my back, pulling me into his lap. We stay like this for several minutes before I pull back. Madden’s white shirt is dirty from my mascara and makeup.
“Sorry,” I say, falling back onto my ass.
“Don’t ye ever fucking apologize for anything. Got it?” I nod. “Why in the fuck did he have his lips on yers?” he growls. I open my mouth to say it, but I don't even want to voice it. He shakes his head, eyes narrowing. “I was ready to kill that motherfucker and would have if he wasn’t Emilio’s father. He gets to make that call.”
I run my fingers through my hair before letting out a sigh. “He told me that I’m now to marry Emilio, and if I don’t...” I pause, unable to form the words still.
“And if ye don’t...”
“He’ll—he’ll marry me himself.” I sigh, wiping away the mascara from under my eyes.
“That fucking cunt. There’s no way he’s touching ye ever again. We have to tell Emilio.” Madden jumps up, and I reach for him, grabbing onto his arm. He looks down at me, frowning.
“No, please. I don’t want to cause Emilio any more drama. Don’t tell him what happened here. He will kill his father without thinking about the consequences. Please,” I plead.
"He needs to know what Maximo said, and that’s on ye to tell him before he finds out from someone else,” Madden huffs then helps me off the ground. “Angelo ain't watching ye too good. I’ll walk ye back to your dorm.”
I follow Madden out into the hall, picking up my phone on the way, and there are a slew of missed calls from Angelo.Shit. Pulling up his contact, I quickly send a text that I’m heading back to my dorm. He responds immediately, saying he’ll meet me there. He’s angry I snuck away from him.
It’s quiet with everyone in their final class for the day. I’ll have to see the teacher about skipping, and I have no idea what to say. That I was cornered and threatened by my dead fiancé’s crazy father, who threatened to marry me if his other son doesn’t? Yeah, not too sure how that would go down, but considering this school is full of rich kids, maybe it wouldn’t be a surprise.
