Roman brings the SUV to a stop outside his father’s massive entryway and meets my stare through the rearview mirror. “What did you expect?” he questions. “You were gifted to us as property and we knew there was a good chance you would try to escape. Believe it or not, you’re not the first who has tried to run. It was in our best interest to insert a GPS locator, and you know it. Had we not done that, it would have taken days to find you in those woods, and you know just as well as we do, you would have bled out before we got to you. So bitch at me all you like, but that tracking device is what saved your life.”
I glare at him through the mirror, hating just how right he is, but my stubborn nature will always win out when it comes to Roman DeAngelis. “I want it out.”
“Go ahead,” he says. “Do it now. Slice that knife deep inside your arm and tear it out.”
My jaw clenches as he holds my stare, knowing damn well that the thought of this knife pressing against my skin will send me into a horrendous panic attack, but he doesn’t relent. “What’s the matter?” he pushes, curling his hand around mine and forcing the blade away from his throat. “Would you prefer that I do it for you? Hold you down and press the sharp edge into your creamy skin?”
Fear pulses through my veins and I open my hand, letting the knife fall into his lap. “STOP,” I scream, tears brutally filling my eyes. “STOP IT.”
He releases his hold on me and as though nothing happened, he reaches for the door handle and pushes out of the car. “Let’s get this over and done with.”
Both Levi and Marcus follow his lead, and before I know it, Levi is already there, opening the door and offering me his hand.
I let out a deep breath, trying to gain control of my wild emotions as I take it gingerly and allow him to help me out of the SUV. Roman and Marcus walk ahead of us and I find myself hiding behind Levi’s big shoulder as he leads me up the stairs of the grand entrance. The boys don’t stop to knock at the door, just simply let themselves into the house that I’m sure they probably grew up in.
Conversation fills the lobby, yet there is no one in sight, so I take the small opportunity to look around. We’ve barely even walked a few steps, but I can already see just how expensive this home must have been. It’s fit for a king with high ceilings and gold trim on nearly every surface.
A massive grand staircase sits in the center of the room leading up to another wide-open space. My body itches to go and explore, but I won’t dare leave the brothers’ sides on a night like this. Separating from them in this house would be a mistake that I’m sure would cost me my life.
Giovanni DeAngelis already has a target painted on my back and I don’t intend to find out what would happen if he were to get me alone.
“You’re late,” comes a chilling tone from the entryway of a huge dining hall.
Giovanni stands before us, staring down his three sons as his new wife stands at his side, looking as though she actually wants to be there. Levi’s hand flinches on my back, and I can’t help but remember the last time they met with their father. Shock collars were forced around their throats and they were tortured for information about the night we went into the old industrial area. It ended with one hell of a deadly brawl that made Giovanni cut and run with the few guards he could make it out with.
It’s also the night I fucked Levi on the roof and found their dead mother rotting away in a glass coffin.
I can only imagine how tonight is going to go. It was a bold move for Giovanni to have his sons here tonight, though he couldn’t possibly know that after all these years, they’ve finally found their mother.
“Precisely,” Marcus mutters as Roman’s hands ball into tight fists at his side, though I can’t possibly begin to figure out which of the many haunting memories or reasons would have him reacting like this. There are just too many, and while my gut is telling me it’s because of the Snow White mom thing, my head is telling me that it’s something different entirely.
I feel a sharp gaze lingering on my body and I risk glancing up to find Ariana’s hungry stare on me, a promise in her eyes to collect on the favor she claims that she’s owed, but fuck her. Now knowing who she is and what threat she could hold over me, I won’t be going anywhere near her.