Page 31 of Romeo Pagani

Mine.

Fuck. She was mine now.

I staggered back at my thought, not believing it. Where the hell had that come from?

Shaking my head, I refused to let it sink in. I was here to do a job: take Gio down and get Bailey out. That was all I was here for. It was with that mantra on repeat that I pushed my still hard cock back into my jeans, did my zipper up, then shoved my T-shirt and hoody back on.

Maybe I should have said something as I strolled toward the door, but it didn’t matter how much I opened my mouth, no words would come out. My head was fucked. I was fucked.Shehad been well and truly fucked.

Sighing, I took one last look at her as I opened the door. Her lips were pulled up into a small smile, her gaze focused on me.

She wasn’t scared of me.

She wasn’t traumatized after what I’d done to her.

Or maybe she’d been hurt so much more than me stealing her virginity. Maybe that was nothing compared to what else had been done to her.

It was the last thing that echoed in my mind as I closed the door behind me and exited the hallway. I didn’t stop to talk to anyone, not even Gio who was standing in the main room, his gaze focused on the door. If the way his chest was heaving was anything to go by, he’d rushed in here, which could only mean that hehadbeen watching us.

I tilted my head at him in greeting, my teeth grinding together to keep me from saying anything to him. If he touched her one more time, I’d make his death so damn painful he’d be begging me to end it an hour in.

The thought of the violence and blood that I was no doubt going to spill had my tension easing a little as I made my way out of the club. I needed a new plan. So when my cell was handed to me in the usual Ziplock bag, and once I was outside, I dialed my brother’s number.

“Sup?”

I growled at his greeting. Rafael was only two years younger than me at the age of twenty; he was a free spirit, but he still had the Pagani genes. “Need you to meet me,” I demanded, darting to my car. I didn’t want to make it too obvious, but I needed to get away as quickly as possible.

“Where?” he asked, his lazy tone gone and replaced with one that told me he was paying attention now.

“I’ll send you my location.” I pushed into my car and slammed the door closed. “Be there in thirty.” I didn’t wait for him to answer as I ended the call and inserted the key in the ignition. I needed to get the hell away from this club, but I knew I’d be back within a couple of hours.

I had a plan. One that wasn’t approved by Lorenzo, but it didn’t matter because I needed to do this on my own terms. I needed to repent for the sins I’d committed.

And this was the only way how.

CHAPTER 8

BAILEY

I wasn’t sure how long I’d been lying on the bed and staring at the door, but it couldn’t have been more than a few minutes before a loud bang ricocheted around the room. My body jerked upright as the door burst open. Eyes wide, I grabbed for the comforter on the bed to cover my naked body.

The material hit my stomach as sticky wetness slid across my skin, reminding me of what we’d done in here.

I’d let Romeo touch me. I’d let him take from me again, only this time it was different because…I’d liked it. If I closed my eyes, I was sure I could still sense the whisper of his hands on my hips, lifting me up and down on his lap. I wanted to bask in it. I wanted it to take me away from the horror that was currently facing me. But I couldn’t let myself. I had to pay attention—I had to protect myself.

“Hey!” Fingers clicked in my face followed by a gentle tap on my cheek. It was unlike Mr. Pozzi to be so gentle, but I knew it was only because he wanted to know what I’d found out. He’d been serious about me being his spy, but I hadn’t even thought about the fact that I neededsomethingto tell him. But then, I hadn’t realized he would barge in here moments after Romeo had left.

I swallowed as my gaze drifted up to Mr. Pozzi’s face and connected with his evil black eyes. His grin told of his anticipation to know what information I had, but I knew that would be disappearing any second now.

“What did he tell you?”

Blinking, I ran through everything in my head: the way Romeo had apologized, the way he’d told me I had a pretty pussy—I felt my cheeks heat at that thought. Dammit, I couldn’t go there. Not right now. “I…nothing.” My voice was low, scared to be too loud in the small room with him so close by.

I tried to focus on anything but Mr. Pozzi standing deathly still in front of me. A quick look at the door told me what I already knew—his two security guys were with him.

“Nothing?” he spat, grabbing my face in his hand. I sucked in a breath as he dug his fingertips into my flesh, gripping so hard I swore he’d crack my teeth. My arm jerked, ready to fight his violence off, but when his eyes flashed and darkened even more, becoming liquid pools of onyx, I dropped it back to my lap.

Now wasn’t the time. I had to know when to fight and when to back down. Andthiswas a back-down situation.

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