Page 82 of Vendetta

After a beat of silence and a drawn-out sigh, Diego finally relented. “Ah, princesa. That is a longer story.”

I gave in to the urge and dropped to the floor, dizziness washing over me just as my butt touched down. “I’m not sure if you noticed, but it seems we have an abundance of time, Diego. Tell me what happened while I was gone.”

This time the silence was longer. “Well, once the agreements were made, Lorenzo started to move more of his men to the island. The morning of the wedding, Vasco’s soldiers threw your father down here and locked him up. He’d sent us with you for protection, leaving himself alone and vulnerable. We didn’t know what had happened until he didn’t show up for the ceremony. By then, you were gone, and there was no one to stop him from taking over. We didn’t see it coming.” He stopped, and the sound of his deep breathing filled the air. “You should sit down for the next part.”

“Already sitting,” I mumbled under the door, and let myself lie down with my ear pressed to the small gap on the floor.

“Your father is here. He’s alive, but he’s not doing well. It took the whole pack to drug him when Lorenzo carried you down here unconscious. They’ve been keeping him drugged more and more, and torturing him off and on. They aren’t even asking him anything, just doing it for fun. It’s like they already knew exactly where you were. Rosa, why weren’t they looking for you?”

Icy fingers grabbed hold of my stomach. Was that suspicion in Diego’s voice? “If you think I had anything to do with this, you’re out of your mind.”

He cut me off. “No, no. Don’t misunderstand me. I know you wouldn’t be involved with something like this on your own. But you wanted out of this life so badly, maybe they offered you something you couldn’t refuse.”

A dry laugh wheezed out of my throat and sent me into a coughing fit. Once I’d recovered, I composed myself. “No, Diego. I never wanted out bad enough for this.” I considered lying to him, telling him I’d escaped from the Morenos, but what was the point now? He doesn’t need to know that they let me go, but I don’t have to volunteer it, either. “Nico Moreno arranged for me to be kidnapped at the wedding. That’s where I’ve been. I’ve been his captive.”

A door banged, echoing down the hall, and stopped me from saying anything else.

“Quiet down here! Or we’ll let you starve.” The man laughed. I couldn’t see him, but it didn’t sound like Lorenzo. I wondered if it was one of his packmates or just a random peon.

Lighter footsteps followed, growing closer until a plate poked through the small slot in the door. I wasn’t hungry, but if I didn’t take it now, I wouldn’t have anything until who knew when, and that was only if I was lucky. They could always make good on their threat and starve us.

I crawled to my knees and dragged the dish through, but just before it snapped shut, I caught a hint of sweet cinnamon-sugar in the air and a glimpse of Maria as she walked across with more trays.

I scrambled to my feet, swaying, but when she saw my face pop up behind the bars, her face paled, and I shook my head frantically, bringing my finger to my lips. She mouthed my name, and her hands trembled, rattling the contents of the trays she carried.

Tears burned behind my eyes, but I blinked them back. I wanted to call out to her, hug her, and make sure she was okay. But if she were caught, she would be the one to pay for it. I couldn’t risk her safety for my stupid sentimental feelings.

“Hurry up, my game doesn’t have a pause button.” The light from the alpha’s phone highlighted his half-grown neck-beard as he tapped away on the device.

She cast a glance at me, her eyes glassy but resolute. “Coming, Emilio.”

Okay, I recognized that name as one of Lorenzo’s pack. I honestly couldn’t remember all of them. Imagine joining a pack where you didn’t even know all the members. I couldn’t even recall if there were three or four other alphas besides Lorenzo. But this gave me an idea.

“The rest of you shut the fuck up,” Emilio yelled as he ushered Maria past him and up the stairs that I could just make out beyond the open door.

I’d have to pay attention, but there was a way out of this mess, and I was going to find it.

Right after I passed out.

I didn’t even feel the floor as I crumpled like a wet paper bag. The warm darkness of oblivion pulled me under as soon as the door clanged shut.

Chapter 53

Rosalina

This couldn’t be good for my health. Wasn’t there some kinda rule about not sleeping or passing out when you had a head wound?

I dragged myself into a sitting position again and leaned against the wall, listening for any indication of what woke me up. There wasn’t much to go on.

Clearly, things on the island had gone to shit as soon as Cruz whisked me away. I swallowed a laugh. It wasn’t a joke. They fucking kidnapped me, but making light of the insanity might help me keep a positive outlook on a crap-hole of a situation. If only my head would stop throbbing like a freight train, I’d roll my eyes at the absurdity of it.

A clang of keys and low voices bounced off the inside of my eyeballs, and I cringed, curling in on myself. There it was. Whatever was happening must’ve woken me up.

A click and hum of fluorescent lights preceded the scuff of footsteps on concrete. I flinched as the rusty lock on my door crunched and the hinges squealed. Piercing illumination glared in from the doorway, blinding me with its brightness. Rough hands grabbed my arms and wrestled me up, and when I staggered and fell, they dragged me out of my cell into the overwhelming brilliance of the hall.

I groaned. Everything hurt.

The sour stench of moldy laundry infiltrated my nose and saturated my lungs. I gagged, but swallowed the revulsion back.