The devil you begged for

026

LORENZO

~•~

When we stepped outside the warehouse, Isla stopped short, seeing more bodies on the ground.

She looked up at me but held her tongue. After what she had been through, she still wasn’t used to seeing death right in front of her. She was still too fragile. I didn’t want that.

Before I could instruct them, my men had already started cleaning up the bodies. Along with the three inside, there were six in total. I didn’t bother to check if they were acting independently or under the orders of their boss. I would find out later. I was sure he’d visit me if he found out I killed six of his men, but he couldn’t fault me. They had touched her. Of course, they’d end up dead.

I’d come with several men, thinking it would be a tough fight but it happened to be just six of them. With about ten of my men with me, it seemed like I was bullying them. It was almost pathetic.

I glanced at her face, seeing the marks on either side of her cheek. For a moment, I wanted to bring them back to life and kill them again. Maybe I shouldn’t have killed them so easily. I should have tortured them for a while, making them ever regret picking her up from the streets.

“Let’s go.”

She walked past me and headed to the car without saying a word. She had been reminded that she was safest when she was in my house. Anywhere without my protection would have her dead in no time, especially with that mouth on her.

When we reached the car, she merely stared at it, not making any move to enter.

“What? Do you need me to carry you in?”

It was an honest offer since I knew her legs were tired from being tied up for so long. However, my words had her opening the door to the backseat immediately almost as though she took them as a threat.

I chuckled to myself and slid in after her.

She stayed quiet as the driver started the engine. It made me wonder if she was just tired or if she was actually shaken up by the past events. With how much her family protected her, I was certain she had never been kidnapped.

As though she just recalled something very important, she looked up at me with a gasp. “My bag!”

“What?”

“I left the motel with my bag, but I didn’t see it after I woke up.”

I stared at her, wondering whether to help her find it or not. She had left my place with all that she had inside a small duffel bag. If she lost it, she'd have to take everything from me. It was leverage. I could use it. I could make her owe me.

But then I remembered I wanted something very important from her. Something she didn’t know she possessed. Something I wasn’t certain if she had or not. I called Romano. “Check for Isla’s bag,” I instructed once he answered.

“I was just about to call you, boss.” He responded. “Two suspicious cars are tailing you.”

I glanced behind me to see a black tinted car driving steadily behind us. My jaw tightened. It wasn’t the first time someone was trying to come after my car but it was the first time I was unprepared for it.

“We’re behind them, but I’ll send someone to get her bag.”

“Mmh.” I hung up and told the driver to drive faster.

As though Isla noticed something, she also looked at the car behind us. “What’s wrong? Is someone following us?”

I didn’t even get to answer when the driver behind started closing in on us.

I leaned forward, my voice even. “Keep driving.”

The driver knew what that meant. He turned off the main road, heading for the side streets where he could lose them. Isla shifted uncomfortably beside me, fingers digging into the leather seat. Her breathing grew shallow, but she didn’t say anything else.

As we sped up, so did they. I cursed under my breath. While I should have expected this, I had been focused on Isla and forgot that so many people wanted me dead.

Gunfire cracked. The rear glass splintered, several shards flying forward. Isla screamed, her hand clamping around mine as we ducked to evade the impact of the flying glass. Her grip trembled but she refused to let go.

The driver threw the car into a sharp turn down a narrow alley. Sparks lit as the metal scraped the wall. One of their cars tried to follow behind us but ended up crashing into a dumpster because of its speed. The second stayed on our tail.

“Left,” I ordered, bringing out my gun and flicking the safety off.

I was ready to take the second car out, but Romano and the others appeared ahead, splitting our car from the ambushers. Shots rang out. Their car spun, tires blown out, and slammed into a pole.

Silence fell, except for the engine and Isla’s uneven breathing. She was still holding on to me, her nails now digging into my flesh as if letting go would leave her exposed again.

I finally looked at her. “Do you see it now?” I questioned, keeping my voice low. “You’re only safe when you’re with me.”

Her eyes stayed on me. She didn’t answer, but she didn’t let go either.

We pulled into a parking lot by an abandoned store. I undid my seatbelt and tried to open the door, but Isla tugged on my hand. “Where are you going?”

I turned around to look at her. I wanted to go back to take a look at the people who thought it was wise to attack me on the road but she looked scared and vulnerable. She looked… dependent. Dependent on me.

“What? Are you scared to be alone?”

I was surprised when she nodded. But then again, it wasn’t so shocking. She had been drugged, kidnapped, threatened, and shot at all in twenty-four hours. It was normal for her to act out of character.

I nodded and buckled my seatbelt. The driver understood my intentions and immediately started driving home. I trusted Romano to take care of everything anyway.

Isla finally let go of me as the car pulled out of the parking lot, but she still stayed close, making sure her shoulder touched mine as though having physical contact with me reminded her that she wasn’t alone.

This changes things.