The devil you begged for

024

ISLA

~•~

The three of them stood up at once, approaching me.

Instinctively, I tried to move backward, but of course, there was nowhere to go.

“Whoever thought one day the little Smith Princess would be in our hands for us to use her however we want?” One of them gloated.

I was irritated, annoyed, but mostly, I felt fear. These men seemed like they bore deep hatred for my family. I didn’t even need to ask why because being in the mafia came with having enemies.

“She has been sheltered all her life, only coming out for galas, most likely getting ready to get married off. What a twist of fate.” Another one responded.

As they came closer to me, I closed my eyes tightly, wishing that when I opened them, they’d be gone. It would just be a bad dream.

I heard them laugh and soon after, the gag was removed from my mouth harshly. I winced, my mouth aching at how big it was.

“Do you know why you’re here?”

I stared at them, not responding. Instead, I looked around, trying to check for doors and windows that I could escape from later if I was lucky. I tested the knot on my wrists. It was done very tightly but I was certain I’d be able to get out of it if I wanted to. It would just take time. And it would hurt.

“Hey,” the guy who asked the question called out, turning my head so I was facing them again. “I asked you a question. Do you know why you’re here?”

That was a dumb question but I didn’t dare voice that out. I didn’t want to annoy them further, especially when I didn’t know if I could leave here alive or not. “No.”

“Do you know how many of our brothers your father killed? Do you know how many times we had to lie low to avoid trouble?” His words carried venom, no doubt harboring hate for my late family, but my family offended him, not me. What was he going to achieve by taking it out on me?

“When we heard your family was dead overnight, we didn’t believe it.” Another one said with a chuckle as though my parents’ death was a joke. “We had to check for ourselves and truly, they were gone. However, there was no corpse that matched you. Then we heard from the streets that you managed to escape.”

“Why are you telling me this?” I gritted out, not liking being reminded about the worst day of my life.

However, they ignored my question. “We looked for you and found out Russo had already claimed you.” He continued, rounding the chair that I was tied to. “We followed you to and from school but that damn man always had his eyes on you. His security was too tight. We didn’t give up though. You can imagine my surprise when I saw you coming out by yourself.”

“I thought it was a set up, man.” One of the other two tapped the one who was speaking.

“Me too, but a whole night and he didn’t look for you. That was when I realized we were in luck and had to act first before someone else took you.”

I bit the inside of my cheek. Before someone else took me? Was I an object that people took whenever they liked?

“What do you want from me?”

“I want you to pay for the sins your family committed.”

“H-how?” I was scared to ask that question but if I knew their plans, I could try to work around it,

“There are so many options.” He stopped rounding my chair and stood in front of me, bending slightly so he was at eye level with me. “We could sell you to the highest bidder. That won’t be able to compensate for everything but it could get us a lost territory.”

“Or we could keep you.” Another interjected. “I’m sure your father will be rolling in his grave if you have to serve us whenever we want.”

I bit down on my lip so hard that I tasted blood. Tears gathered in my eyes but I refused to let them fall. I didn’t want to seem weak in front of them.

“We could also place you in one of our brothels.” The last one added. “You can serve other men and still serve us at the same time.”

“I would rather die than have s*x with you.” I spat out before I could stop myself.

Instead of getting angry, they laughed. “What?” The first one asked. “Are you acting like a prude now? Or you’re not interested in f*****g anyone but Lorenzo?”

“I didn’t sleep with him.”

“Sure you didn’t.” His tone was sarcastic. “He kept you in his house for a month and promised to marry you but he didn’t touch you. I get it.”

“I didn’t!” I yelled.

My yelling earned me a slap on the face. My head turned to the side at the impact, my face likely red from his palm. I turned back to face him, breathing heavily. He held my face, squeezing hard. “Look here, you little b***h. I don’t care whether or not Lorenzo f****d you, but while you’re here, you don’t get to raise your voice. You don’t get to speak unless spoken to. Just sit back and obey my arrangements accordingly.”

My breathing was getting heavier by the second. While I was both scared and angry, my rage overshadowed my fear. “f**k you.”

My head whipped to the other side when he slapped me again, but I could barely feel the pain. I turned back to face him again.

Out of anger, they stuffed the gag back in my mouth. “God, I hate the way she’s looking at me. How did Lorenzo ever deal with her?”

“It’s hard, but over time, you’ll get used to it.” A new voice entered the conversation and all four of us froze for a moment.

I looked ahead just as the three of them turned around to see Lorenzo. The three of them stumbled back a bit, looking behind him, most likely wondering if he was alone or not. “B-but there are g-guards outside.” One stuttered out as they all pulled out their guns in unison.

Lorenzo tilted his head, looking behind them to stare at me. He chuckled and shook his head in pity.

Even if I didn’t know how it came to be, for once, I felt hope that Lorenzo was here.