Page 56 of His Cruel Exception

ALEX

Vincent grabs my arm and pulls me toward the door, following the two men into the hallway with a look of glee in his eyes.

“Why are you doing this?” I ask him, trying to keep up as he drags me along.

He says nothing, only tightens his grip on my arm and continues walking. We enter another room, this one containing a single wooden chair in the middle. Vincent pushes me down onto it, removes the cuffs and replaces them with a zip-tie, then bends down to tie my ankles to the chair legs. I tug at the restraints, but they're too tight, and all I manage to do is make the ropes dig painfully into my skin.

“Please, let me go,” I beg, looking between the men.

“Francesco, tell him why we can't let him go,” Cosimo says.

Francesco steps closer, a grin spreading across his face as he looks down at me. “You see, your boyfriend's father killed our father, so we're going to kill his only son, wipe out their entire clan, and make Gaetano Scalera's life a living hell when we rule the Camorra. By the time we're done with him, he'll be begging us for the sweet relief of death.”

My head spins. These are the men in charge of the Falcos. I've heard their names so many times whenever Antonio and his cousins discuss the impending attack, but I never imagined I'd come face-to-face with them. A fourth man enters the room, holding a taser in one hand and a tablet in the other. He hands the tablet to Vincent then walks toward me, and I'm about to ask what he's doing when his fist connects with my face.

The force of the blow knocks me sideways, sending me crashing to the floor with the chair. Pain travels through my thighs from the impact, and I cry out as my cheek hits the hard floor. My glasses slip down my nose, and before I can recover, the man crouches beside me and presses the taser against my waist.

A crackling sound fills my ears as he activates it, and an unbearable sting tears through my body. My muscles seize, and I jerk uncontrollably, my back arching against the chair as a scream rips from my throat. I try to pull away, but the ropes keep me in place, leaving me helpless until he finally takes the taser off me.

I'm still trembling and struggling to catch my breath when his boot comes down against the side of my head, knocking my glasses off my face totally. I hear them crack beneath his foot, but I barely have time to register it before he kicks me in the stomach. I double over as much as the ropes allow, coughing and gasping for air. My stomach feels like it's being torn apart, and I try to curl into myself when he lands another kick against my ribs.

“Please, stop.” My voice breaks as I struggle to breathe. “Please!”

He ignores me and grabs a fistful of my hair, lifting my head before striking me across the face again. My nose starts bleeding, and I can taste blood from where my lip has split. He lets go of my hair, allowing my head to drop back against the floor, and I squeeze my eyes shut, terrified of what he's going to do next.

Everything hurts, and I can barely see without my glasses. The man grabs the back of my chair and pulls it upright, making me wince as my whole body aches. Through my blurry vision, I see Francesco holding a phone that looks like mine. He taps the screen a few times, and a moment later, the sound of a call dialing fills the room.

“Alexander, I've been trying to reach you,” Antonio's voice comes through.

My chest tightens at the sound of his voice, and I try to lift my head, but the pain makes it difficult.

“Oh, but this is not your boyfriend,” Francesco says, sounding pleased with himself. “If you want to see him alive, come alone to the Pine Barrens on Long Island, and we can work something out.”

There's a brief silence, and I think I can hear Antonio grinding his teeth on the other end of the call. “Show him to me.”

Francesco sighs before turning the phone to me. I can barely make out Antonio's face on the screen, but I can hear him clearly enough.

“Antonio,” I wheeze, struggling to get the words out. My throat hurts, and there's blood in my mouth that makes it difficult to speak. “Don't come, it's an ambush!” I don't know where I find the strength to raise my voice, but I need him to understand that these men have no intention of letting either of us leave here alive.

Before I can say anything else, the man who's been torturing me strikes me across the face again. My head snaps to the side, and my ears are still ringing when I hear a loud crashing sound coming from the phone.

“He ended the call,” Francesco tuts, lowering the phone. “You better hope he comes, because if he doesn't, then we have no use for you.”

I watch helplessly as the four men leave the room, and the door shuts behind them. I'm left tied to the chair, bleeding from several places, but all I can think about is Antonio. I meant it when I told him not to come here, but I know my warning has probably fallen on deaf ears.

He might not have said it back when I told him I was in love with him, but everything he's done since then tells me that he feels the same way. I see it in how he takes care of me, how he worries about me, and how he goes out of his way to make sure I'm safe.

And that's what scares me right now.

Because I know Antonio is going to come for me, and these men are counting on that. They've gone through all this trouble to lure him here, and there's no way they're going to let him walk away once they have him. I squeeze my eyes shut, trying not to think about what will happen when he arrives.

Because I don't believe for a second that they'll kill Antonio and let me go. I'm not that stupid to think they're going to release me out of the goodness of their hearts. I just wish there was some way I could warn Antonio properly before he walks straight into their trap.

I can't tell if time is passing slowly or quickly, but a very long while, the sound of gunshots from outside makes me jerk in my chair.

At first, I hear only a few shots, followed by men shouting over one another. Then more gunfire erupts, several shots going off in quick succession before another round answers from somewhere farther away. The noise grows louder, and I can hear hurried footsteps, men yelling orders, and the unmistakable sound of bullets hitting something close by.

My heart starts pounding as I try to make sense of what's happening. I want to believe it's Antonio, that he's here and his men are taking care of the fools who kidnapped me. But the thought of him walking into a gunfight because of me makes me feel sick.