Page 18 of Dark Desire

“Jorge.” Matias called out to the man before leaving the room. “Tell Dmitri hello when you meet him in hell.”

I waited until the door closed and leaned into whisper in Jorge’s ear. “You like to beat women? Well, I like to cut motherfuckers up. I hope you’ve made peace with death because this will not be quick. I want you to feel everything I do so you can feel what Katya did every time you hit her… every time you forced yourself on her and she begged for you to stop.” I ran the blade across his cheek, drawing blood.

“You’re sick.” Jorge gasped beneath me as the blade trailed down his neck.

“You have no idea. Don’t you know who I am?” I pressed the metal into his shoulder, the tip digging beneath the skin. “I’m La Lama.”

His raspy intake of breath confirmed he realized his fate was much worse than death. I pressed deeper, the end of the knife piercing through to the table beneath him.

“I love carving up assholes like you.”

“Kill me. You won’t get what you want.”

“I don’t need you to tell me where he is. We know Dmitri is back in Vegas somewhere. It won’t be long until we find him, and I will do to him what I’m going to do to you.”

His screams filled the room as I worked my blade like a master. I wanted to punish him for all the things he had done to Katya and Antonio. They deserved retribution. I wouldn’t stop until I felt like I’d given him what he deserved. Every slice, every stick of the metal into his flesh, gave me a charge of power. Power I'd desperately needed and craved.

“Vincenzo,” Donny’s voice cut through the bloodlust that had taken over. “I think you’ve made your point.”

I glanced down at what was left of the man and took a step back. He was completely unrecognizable and had stopped breathing some time ago. I wiped my blade across my pants and stuffed it back into my boot.

“Can you take care of this?”

“Yeah. You can go get cleaned up. Maybe you should do that before you go upstairs?” Donny looked at my arms, which were stained almost black from the dried blood.

“Probably.” I walked to the sink at the back of the room and scrubbed my hands until the water ran clear. I was slowly losing it. I'd become so lost in the mutilation of Jorge that I hadn’t realized when he'd finally ceased to exist. Finding the spare clothes Massimo left behind, I changed out of my ruined ones. Once I finished, I tossed them into the trash and, without another word, I walked out of the basement.

It wasn’t until I pulled into my driveway that I realized I had even left the club. Darkness was all that clouded my vision.

I'd hurt my sub because I lost control and now…

I barely recognized the man I was becoming.

Twelve

Riley

My entire body hurt. Every move or twist I made sent pain lancing through my body. I avoided Vincenzo as much as I could, but his gaze seemed to follow me everywhere. I had called in sick for two days, but I couldn’t keep avoiding work and finally returned.

He stood behind me, watching as I bent slowly to retrieve something. “Are you alright?”

“Yes. Why do you ask?”

“I’ve been watching you and something seems off. Are you sure you’re well enough to be back at work? I mean, you were sick for two days.” His tone was suspicious, and I couldn’t look at him out of fear he'd see the truth in my eyes.

“I think you should stop watching me and start cooking. If anyone is off today, it’s you.”

I turned to grab a plate and slipped on some spilled water, but Vincenzo was quick on his feet. He wrapped an arm around my waist and jerked me against him. There was no hiding the pain from him because I screamed out as my back pressed into him, the tattered flesh I was hiding beneath my clothes igniting with a fire that raged across my skin.

“What the fuck?” Vincenzo carried me out of the kitchen, passed the other chefs, and deposited me on my feet in his office. He slammed the door shut and turned to face me. “You’re hurt. I knew it. What happened, Riley?”

“Nothing. It’s nothing. I should just go home." I started past him, but he latched onto my arm and stopped me. "I’ll be fine in a day or two.” I tried to jerk out of his hold, but he wasn't having it.

Vincenzo pinned my arms above my head. His fingers wrapped around my wrists, holding them in place as his free hand ripped my shirt up. His quick intake of breath and the silence that followed had me breathing fast.

I closed my eyes and wiggled out of his hold. “Don't.” I jerked the material down, covering the marks.

“How did I not know? All this time, it was you.” He paced the floor as he ran his hand through his hair. “I did that to you.” He waved to my body. “How come you didn’t tell me it was you? Why did you lie all this time?”

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