Page 133 of Cinder
Across the foyer, Viktor clears his throat, and it’s enough to calm Luca’s tantrum before it escalates any further.
Luca glares at his sister. “Get rid of him, or so help me God, I will kill everyone.”
I look at Ella. My hands are tied.
“Please,” she begs. “You have to go.”
And without waiting for a response, she closes the door.
Every inch of me wants to stay and fight, and I have to force myself down the front steps and over to my bike. Because if I didn’t go, and Ella and her sister got hurt in whatever happened next, I would never forgive myself.
No, right now, I have to play my hand the correct way, and that means riding away from here to regroup with the Knights and figure out how I’m going to save the girl I’m in love with.
It kills me, but I climb on my bike and tear out of the Moretti estate at breakneck speed, vowing to bring hell to Luca and Viktor’s doorsteps for what they have done.
CHAPTER 60
Ella
The momentI close the door, I know my fate is sealed. And for a split second I remember what it felt like to be warm and safe in Lars’s arms, and my heart is grateful to have known what it was like to be loved, but I know I will never feel it again. Because today I am going to die.
I only pray Lars doesn’t die too.
The door clicks shut and Luca nods to Viktor. A cruel smile slides across his thin lips as he tightens his grip in Lucretia’s hair and starts to drag her away. She cries out and struggles against him.
“No, stop.” I scream. “Don’t touch her. Let her go.”
But he ignores me and yanks her down the hallway, her screams fading as they disappear out of view.
I turn to Luca. “Luca, please stop this. Where is he taking her?”
Luca’s eyes gleam with malice and excitement as he takes two predatory steps toward me. “Wherever he wants to.”
“Please, no,” I cry.
“I promised him virgin pussy. He’s going to get virgin pussy.”
I make a run for it, but Luca grabs me before I can make any distance between us, and throws me against the closed front door, knocking the air from my lungs.
I hear the sound of a car door and an engine starting.Please no.Viktor could be taking her anywhere and I might never find her.
My knees buckle at the thought.
Rage and fear collide inside of me. “You piece of shit. What have you done?”
Luca grabs me by the chin. “When the fuck are you going to learn that I can do whatever the fuck I want? I am the don of the Moretti Mafia.”
I glare at him. Tears stream down my face. But I won’t ever bow down to a coward.
“You’re no don,” I say through the pain and tears as he tightens his grip on my chin. “Our father was a real don. You’re just a weak and pathetic wannabe.”
And with everything I’ve got, I spit in his face.
Rage flares in his eyes, and I see the insanity there. No, he’snot insane. He knows what he is doing. He is evil. A scourge.A fucking demon.
He slams me to the floor, and I see stars and taste blood. Before I can collect my bearings, he grabs my shirt and drags me along the marble floor. I want to fight him, but my head is thumping with pain, and my world shifts between light and dark as I fight the unconsciousness. If I pass out now, he will kill me and Lucretia might be lost forever, so I fight it with everything I’ve got.
Luca drags me to the open cellar door and pushes me down the stairwell.
