Sold to the Devil of New York

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER FIVE

Dancing with the devil.

ADELA

I wake up to pain.

Pain crashes into me, sharp, heavy and blinding. I am dragged out of nothingness.

My lungs tighten painfully, and my chest caves in hard. The air seems solid and sticky.

I gasp, eyes burning with tears, trying to breathe. My whole body is on fire.

My mind is fractured. Everything spins.

There is a weight on me, heavy, grounding and … warm?

A hand. I’m not alone.

“Adela,”

Vincenzo.

I try to move, but my body protests. My head throbs violently. Pain sinks into my ribcage, and something warm trickles down my temple.

The panic seizes my heart. Something is very wrong.

“Stop moving.” His voice hardens, closer now, “You’ll make it worse.”

My eyes flutter open. My eyelids are heavy, and exhaustion seeps into my joints. The world is dim and unfamiliar. Wooden ceiling, bare wall. I can’t hear city noise, traffic or chaos.

My stomach drops as the realisation hits me like a freight train.

This isn’t New York.

I jerk upright immediately, only to regret it instantly.

A sharp cry tears out of me as pain explodes through my side.

“f**k,” he mutters.

His hands are on me before I can react, one on my shoulder and the other around my waist, forcing me back down.

“Stay still.” He orders.

“Get off me.” I try to scream, but it comes out as a broken rasp.

His grip tightens around me. Fear sits firm in my chest. He is stronger than I am. I am at his mercy. I cannot be at his mercy. I refuse to accept this.

“Not happening,” he says flatly, tone devoid of emotion.

My vision clears slowly, and I finally see him.

He is shirtless. Blood streaks across his chest, dried in places, fresh in others. There’s a deep cut along his side, half-stitched, the thread still hanging loose as he stopped midway.

My breath stutters. Vincenzo is supposed to be invincible, and now, he is hurt.

“You’re staring,” he murmurs, dryly, almost amused.

Anger flares hot and fast in me. I tear my gaze away from him. “Where are we?”

“Safe,” he replies vaguely.

“That’s not an answer.” I look at him coldly, aware of the aches all over my body.

“It’s the only one you’re getting.” He drawls coldly.

My pulse spikes. Beth.

The thought hits me like another crash.

“Beth,” I choke out, trying to sit up again, chest tightening. “Where is she? What did you do …”

“She’s alive.” His words cut through my panic.

I freeze. My chest rises and falls too fast, my lungs struggling to catch up.

“You’re lying,” I whisper, wiping away my tears.

His jaw tightens. “I don’t lie about things like that. She’s irrelevant to me.”

Silence stretches between us. I search his face for any hint of deception, but there’s nothing there. Just exhaustion, blood, and something darker I can’t name.

Relief floods my veins, and I sag back against the bed. I press my hand over my mouth. She is alive. Beth is alive. I give myself three seconds with that, and then I put it somewhere safe and close the door.

“Good,” I murmur, my eyelids growing heavy, but I cannot sleep, not when he’s so close.

For a moment, neither of us speaks, then I notice it. The way his gaze lingers on me. Loaded with intent. It drags over my body like a touch.

I look down.

I’m not in the wedding dress anymore.

I’m wearing one of his shirts, and nothing else underneath.

My cheek explodes in heat.

“You changed me?” I accuse, trying to sit up despite the pain.

His gaze darkens, and he responds simply, “You were bleeding.”

I do not see the logic, just the invasion. I bark at him, ears ringing, “That doesn’t mean –”

He cuts me off with a drawl, bored, “You’d rather I left you in glass and blood?”

I falter, and my throat tightens. I hate that he has a point. I hate that he touched me. I hate that some traitorous part of me remembers how he held me in the car, how he cradled my head, the way he shielded me. The way he didn’t let go.

I shove the thought away violently and square my aching shoulders in determination.

“I’m leaving,” I say, swinging my legs off the bed.

The room tilts, and pain flares deep in me. I grit my teeth, determined to push through it.

“Adela,” he reaches for me, but I evade his touch.

“Don’t,” I snap, moving. “Don’t touch me.”

I don’t wait for his response. I bite back against the agony. I push my body to the extreme, then I run.

Every step is laced with anguish, but I don’t stop. I push through the door, into a narrow hallway, then another, until I’m outside.

My eyes widen as cold air slams into me. I exhale softly, looking at the trees, just endless trees.

My heart stutters. No city. No roads. Just thick forest.

Fuck.

This is a safehouse. We are in the middle of nowhere. We are far from civilisation. I cannot stay here with him.

Despite the danger, I don’t hesitate. I run.

Branches whip against my skin. My bare legs sting as I push through undergrowth, ignoring the way my body screams for me to stop. I can’t. I won’t. I’d rather die than go back to him.

Every step costs me something I am not sure I have left. I keep going.

“Adela!” His voice echoes behind me, too close and too fast.

Panic surges. My heart clenches painfully. I push harder, lungs burning, and vision blurring.

Then, he grabs me.

I am yanked backwards, and my body collides against something solid.

I thrash in his hold, hitting, clawing, but his grip tightens.

“Let me go,” I scream, my voice weak and brittle, “You f*****g psycho.”

He spins me around and slams me against a tree.

The breath leaves my lungs in a rush.

His body cages mine, one arm braced beside my head, the other gripping my waist hard enough to bruise.

“Are you done?” he snarls, eyes wide, cheeks flushed, body stiff with rage.

“No!” I shove at his chest, but it’s useless. My eyes burn with tears, and I let it fall. “I’ll never be done. I’ll never stop …”

“Running?” he cuts in, eyes blazing. “Fighting me?”

“Yes!” I cry, heart, shattering into a million pieces.

“Good.”

The word hits me off guard. I freeze for half a second, and that’s all he needs.

He hoists me up effortlessly, throwing me over his shoulder.

“Put me down!” I pound against his back, ignoring the way my vision swims. “I swear to God, I will kill you!”

“I know,” he says calmly, like we’re discussing the weather, which only makes me angrier.

Blood rushes to my head. My body trembles under the weight of my injuries and fatigue. I keep fighting, keep hitting, and keep swearing.

He doesn’t react or slow down.

By the time we reach the house, my strength is fading. Pain bleeds into me. Exhaustion sinks into my ribs. Frustration wraps around me like an ugly blanket.

He carries me inside like I weigh nothing, straight back to the bedroom.

Then, he throws me onto the bed.

I scramble up immediately, backing away, my heart racing wildly. “Stay away from me.”

He doesn’t listen. Of course, he doesn’t.

He steps forward, slow, deliberate. Predatory.

My pulse spikes. “I said …”

He grabs my wrist.

I gasp as he yanks me forward, flipping me onto my stomach in one swift motion. “Vincenzo!”

Cold metal snaps around my wrist. My blood runs cold. My heart stops beating. No.

Before I can react, he grabs my other hand and drags it up. Another click. My breath stutters. Closets, Cages, Rooms with no exits. I have been here before.

I tug instinctively. The cuffs don’t budge. They’re locked to the bedpost.

My chest rises and falls rapidly. Panic claws up my throat.

“You can’t,” My voice breaks, and fresh tears well up in my eyes. “You can’t do this.”

“I can,” he says quietly. “I have.”

I twist, trying to look at him.

He stands there, watching me with a deranged glint in his eyes. The bed dips as he climbs on, and my pulse spikes. My heart pounds hard as he checks the wrap around my head.

He is between my thighs. Heat spreads through me and settles between my legs, pulsing and throbbing. I bite back my whimper as he cups my cheeks.

My thighs press together.

His eyes drop there. Just once. Then back to my face.

He smirks and pulls away, taking all his heat with him.

“I’m going to kill you.” I avow, trembling.

He nods, “I know.”

This is just another cage, and I always find a way out.