The devil you begged for

015

ISLA

~•~

“Come on, Isla! Don’t leave me hanging!” Ryan yelled out in the parking lot.

Lorenzo sat in the back seat like he owned the entire parking lot. One arm draped lazily across the seat and his dark eyes were trained on me as if he was waiting for my reply. I was happy I didn’t see him this morning only for him to personally pick me up this time. I was more than certain he knew exactly what he was doing.

Not wanting to show him how much his presence affected me, I stepped into the car and closed the door, sitting beside him.

There was silence for a moment, then Lorenzo suddenly chuckled. “You’re not going to say yes to your little admirer?”

“It’s none of your business,” I muttered, making sure he heard me as I dropped my bag by my feet and forced my gaze forward. I couldn’t even look at him. I couldn’t fathom how he went from acting like he actually wanted to help me to threatening me with my freedom.

Did he drop the act because I found out about the wicked things he did? Or did he just get tired of playing pretend? I really wanted to know what was going on in his head. He’d fed me, bought me new clothes, accompanied me to my old house, and bought me a new phone. Suddenly, he wanted me to eat on his terms, he wanted me to know he didn’t see me as a threat, and he wanted me to know he could discard me as easily as he did my family.

“Everything you do is my business,” he said as if he had already forgotten the events of the past week.

My jaw clenched. “You’re disgusting,” I spat out as I turned to face the window, pretending to watch students crossing the parking lot.

“Tell me something I don’t know.”

The words made me want to spit on his face. He didn’t even flinch as he admitted to being a bad person. Then again, what did I expect from the Italian mafia? He wore the tag like a crown, unashamed.

I pressed harder against the window. If I looked weak, he’d feed on it, but if I looked strong, he’d test it. Either way, I’d lose. The man was unpredictable.

The car rolled forward and for a moment, it was silent. The silence was loud because I could feel his eyes on me. His presence was suffocating, but it was his car. I couldn’t ask him to get out.

“You didn’t sleep last night.”

“It’s none of you–“

“Business,” he finished for me lazily. “You keep forgetting where you are, dolcezza. You don’t have pieces of your life that don't belong to me.”

My head snapped toward him but I didn’t respond to him. He was forcing me to react, intentionally saying things that would piss me off. I released a deep breath and turned away from him, pretending to be busy by going on my phone.

He chuckled one last time before he stopped staring at me. I could breathe a little easier without the weight of his heavy gaze on me.

When the car finally rolled to a stop, I looked up, ready to leave Lorenzo and retire to my room. I was more than surprised when I realized we weren’t at his house.

I was met with glass windows. Inside, mannequins were dressed in silk and sequins. The boutique looked expensive, exclusive, the kind of place my mother used to shop when she needed to remind everyone of our family status.

My stomach dropped. “No.”

“Yes,” Lorenzo said smoothly, already opening his door.

“I’m not going in there.”

He turned around to open my door. “Let’s get you dressed up for tonight.”

My breath hitched. While I absolutely loathed living with Lorenzo, his home was better than any place he wanted to take me to. If I needed a dress, I was definitely going to a function with him where the likes of him would be present. I didn’t want to see anyone from the underworld, especially with Lorenzo by my side.

I stayed rooted to my seat. “I don’t need a dress.”

His eyes narrowed and his voice dropped. “You need whatever I say you need. Get out of the car.”

When I made no efforts to leave the car, he leaned down, making sure his mouth was directly by my ear. “That boy… Ryan…”

My eyes widened. “No.”

“I could kill him with a phone call and he wouldn’t even understand why.”

“Don’t you dare!”

“Why? I thought you weren’t interested in him?”

“Lorenzo!”

“Are you getting out or not?”

I gritted my teeth, tears pooling in my eyes. Lorenzo had fully mastered the art of threats. He never threatened my life because he knew it barely meant anything to me. He dangled my freedom in front of me, like a prize for me after being obedient to him. He used other people’s lives to keep me in line because he knew I wouldn’t want to be responsible for their deaths. He knew I wouldn’t want to drag them into my mess of a life.

I swallowed hard, my fingers digging into the leather seat. For a moment, I almost told him to go to hell, that I’d rather rot in this car than play dress up with him.

But then Ryan’s stupid grin flashed in my mind, the way he never seemed to take anything seriously, even my rejection. He didn’t deserve to die, not because of someone like the man standing in front of me.

As if Lorenzo could see the decision on my face, he gave him his hand. Having no choice, I took it and got out of the car with his help. His mouth curved into the faintest smirk as he slid his other hand into his pocket. “Good girl.”

He didn’t need to raise his voice or his hand. Those two words were enough to make me feel small.

As we walked toward the boutique, I couldn’t help but feel taunted. My mother used to drag me into places like this, whispering about appearances and all that. Now, I was going in with the man who killed her.

“You’ll need to work on your expression later,” he commented as we walked in. “You’ll have to smile tonight. Everyone will be watching us.”