Total pages in book: 126
Estimated words: 115400 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 577(@200wpm)___ 462(@250wpm)___ 385(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 115400 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 577(@200wpm)___ 462(@250wpm)___ 385(@300wpm)
“Why are you out here, Angel? Did you escape?”
Chiara nods. “I . . . I was sold,” she begins. “Maybe ten, fifteen minutes ago. He was dragging me out to his car, and I fell and . . .”
The tears return to her eyes, and seeing the pain within them, I don’t try to push for information. At the end of the day, all that matters is that she was able to get away. Instead, I simply hold up my hand and point in the direction she came, knowing my men will deal with whatever she left behind.
“No,” she says, reaching for my hand and pulling it back down. “You don’t need to do that.”
I catch her eye, my brows furrowed in confusion.
“I’ve already dealt with it,” Chiara explains. “After I fell, I saw the headlights coming, and I knew it was you, so I refused to get up. I didn’t want to risk him getting me in the trunk of his car, and he said that if I was on my knees, that I—”
My jaw clenches as she cuts herself off, and I can only imagine what kind of bullshit this asshole has put her through.
“I killed him,” she says, trembling. “He forced his . . . into my mouth, but I wasn’t about to let him walk away from it unscathed, so I bit down and didn’t let go, even when it felt like all the blood was going to choke me. I just . . . I had no choice.”
I nod and hold her to my chest, hating every moment of the torture she’s had to endure, all because I pushed her away. If I had never let her go, none of this would have happened. “It’s okay, Angel. You did what you had to do.”
“I put my heel through his eye socket and punctured his brain.”
I simply stare at her. I was expecting a lot of things to come out of her mouth, but that wasn’t one of them. As she stares back at me, her lips quirk into a wicked grin, and for a moment, I don’t recognize the woman within. She’s harder. Colder. She’s changed.
“When a man touches something that belongs to my husband, he must be punished.”
I groan low. Those words out of her mouth are my undoing, and I pull her tighter against my chest, my lips pressing against her temple. “That’s my girl,” I soothe before taking her shoulders and gently pushing her back to meet her eyes. “Listen, my sweet angel. Let me take you to my car. You can sit in there with two of my men while I handle this. I need to put an end to this bullshit, and the moment I’m done, I’ll take you home, and you won’t ever have to leave.”
She shakes her head, anger flashing in her eyes. “No. I’m going with you.”
“Chiara—”
“Don’t,” she says, grabbing my shoulders as she shakily gets to her feet. “If you knew what those vile monsters did to me. What they . . . I’m going with you, Killian. They put their hands on me, so when you slaughter them like animals, I’m going to be right there to watch it happen.”
I rise with her, holding on to her arms, terrified she’ll crumble again. “What are you talking about, Chiara? What did they do to you?”
She glances away, refusing to meet my eyes as though she can’t possibly divulge this information to my face. “They raped me, Killian,” she whispers. “Three of them. The guy who runs it and two of the guards. They came into my cell, held me down, and took turns—” she pauses, closing her eyes as though the images running through her head are too much for her to handle. “They cut me. One of them had a knife, and they cut these deep gashes on my skin while they were trying to get my clothes off. But they’ll scar. I’ll forever have these reminders of what they did to me.”
“Yes, every time you look in the mirror, you will remember. Some days you will fall apart and other days you will feel rage, shame, fear, and maybe even disgust. But those scars are also a reminder that you survived. Each one of them, while just as painful as the last, tells the story of what you have endured and overcome. You are stronger than them, and no scar is going to keep you from getting the justice you deserve. I know it may be impossible for you to see now, but one day, you will wear those scars as a trophy.”
When she stares at me blankly, I know she doubts every word I say. She’s not there yet. She has been through the kind of hell no woman should have to endure, and while the scars I bear are different, I’m a testament that strength can come from the worst of times.