Page 15 of Indebted

“Like I said, you’ll have more meds soon. There’s a port in your arm—I don’t know if you’ve noticed yet.” He places a finger against the port in my left arm which no, I hadn’t noticed until now. “Your last dose was around three-and-a-half hours ago, so you’re coming close to your next dose. Just try to hold out a little while longer.”

I have to say, he’s a lot gentler than he’s ever been. I can almost imagine he’s not the man who grabbed me off the street and pulled me into a car. Almost. “I think I can manage.”

Finally, I have to say it. I can’t stand having the question hanging between us. “What did he do to me? Tell me the truth. I can handle it.”

“It might be better if the doctor—”

“Just tell me. I’ll go crazy lying here, wondering. And I can’t see myself, for Christ’s sake.” Here come the tears again, and I really wish they wouldn’t. I can’t breathe through my nose, for one thing, so crying is probably the last thing I need to do. But I’m frustrated. And it hurts all over.

“He… beat you pretty badly.”

“I can feel that much myself.”

“Your nose is broken. I’m sure you can feel that too,” he adds before I can smart off again. “A few of your ribs were broken, but the doctor is confident there’s minimal internal damage.”

He’s dancing around it. I wish he would come out and say it already. “Did he rape me?” I finally ask when I can’t stand the way he’s left me hanging.

“It doesn’t seem that way.”

Fresh tears of relief start rolling down my cheeks. Still… “Why did you say it like that?” I choke out.

“You have to try to calm down. You’re not doing yourself any favors by getting upset.”

“Cut the bullshit. Stop pretending you give a damn about how I’m feeling and just tell me the truth. What did he do to me?”

The man sounds like he’s choking. He can kidnap a girl off the street and has probably killed countless men, but he can’t bring himself to describe what happened to me. “Do you really want to hear this? Isn’t it enough to know the doctor said there were no signs of rape? Violence, yes, but nothing internal.”

“So, what? He punched me? Because it feels like somebody took a sledgehammer to my… crotch.” I’d use the p-word, but only if I could see his reaction clearly. I bet it would be worth witnessing.

He lets out a sigh. “There was a partial shoeprint. It looks like he kicked and possibly stomped. Not hard enough to break anything, but enough that you bled.”

I had to go and ask, didn’t I? But it’s strange, at the same time. Am I in shock? Or am I just flat-out numb? “Now that you mention it, I do remember a little bit of that. He hit me hard, and I blacked out for a little bit, but I woke up.”

“What did he do? What do you remember?”

It’s ironic. I truly wish Luca was here for this. He knows something of what my attacker went through. “He wanted to rape me. He was all ready to go, or thought he was until he decided to go for it and couldn’t keep it up. So he started hitting me, instead.”

For a minute, all I hear is his breathing. Finally, he sighs. “I’m truly sorry. I know Luca is, as well.”

Luca. My heart aches at the sound of his name. He should be the one here now. He should be the one easing me through this because damn it, I only went to that party for him. I’m only here because of him.

I thought he cared. I was stupid enough to think the attraction between us would be enough to make him care.

Now I wish I hadn’t said anything. “You know what, I don’t think I can handle this right now.”

“Understood. But can you tell me anything else about him? We got a name from the plate on the car, but it looks like a dead end. Probably stolen—at least the plate, if not the entire car.”

Who is this man, some sort of super villain? How can it be this impossible to find him? “He works for Bernardi. He talked a lot about him. Made him sound like some kind of a god. He worships the guy.” I lick my lips. “Can I have some more water?”

He lifts the glass and directs the straw to my mouth. While I’m sipping, he asks, “Did he mention any other names? Or maybe where he falls in the organization? How long he’s been with Bernardi?”

“Nothing like that. Just that he works for him and the way he made it sound, he’s had a lot of direct contact with the guy. The boss says this, the boss says that. But I don’t know what it means.”

“Did he say anything else? Anything at all that might help us find him?” It feels like he’s leaned in, like he’s closer, and all of a sudden I’m starting to feel like I’m suffocating.

“Sure. He gave me his address and his date of birth and his Social Security number. For God’s sake.” I wish I could get up and walk away, or at least roll over so my back is to him. I don’t know how much more of this I can take.

“We’re trying to find him. We have to put a stop to this.”

“So by all means, question me like I’m the one who’s at fault here. We both know who is. It’s this whole fucking family,” I spit. It feels good. For the first time since I woke up, I feel like myself. “This is your fault. You should never have brought me here. I shouldn’t have brought into this in the first place. But if you weren’t all so twisted and greedy and disgusting, this wouldn’t have happened. That poor girl would still be alive, and I wouldn’t be lying here like this. So do me a favor and don’t pretend any of this is for my sake, okay? At least respect my intelligence enough to spare me that.”

Well, now I’ve done it. He gets up without saying another word and leaves the room. I guess all that kindness really was an act. All he cares about is what his boss wants, and what his boss wants is to make sure this maniac doesn’t cut into his business any further. That’s all. This had nothing to do with me.

All the Bruno family does is chew people up and spit them out. I’m just the latest one, is all.

And Luca couldn’t even bring himself to visit my room.

Now there’s no hope of stopping the tears.

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