Deadly Vows Rewrite - Chapter FortyNine (Patreon)

Luca

“Wyatt Jameson. Spent two years at a junior college before transferring to Yale, where you caught the eye of some pretty high-ups. That is, until you put your nose where it didn’t belong, pissing them off,” I say, stepping into the cell with Romelo following closely behind.

Wyatt looks up at me, his features shifting into anger.

“Fuck you, Pasquino,” he says.

I smile, holding Romelo back as he takes a threatening step forward.

“So you do know who I am. I knew when Elise told you her full name, you weren’t some random man spending his days in a cabin in the middle of nowhere,” I say.

“What do you want? You here to kill me? After I saved her life?” he asks.

I shake my head.

“Quite the opposite. I’m here to offer you a new one,” I say. He looks at me in confusion, but I can tell that I have his attention.

“I know that you were on the chopping block. And not in the hypothetical way. You got a little too interested in Sokolov’s dealings without realizing your boss was in his back pocket,” I laugh.

Wyatt narrows his gaze, but doesn’t respond.

“I know that if I release you, not only will you and your poor dog be shot down in the street, but if Ivan Sokolov gets his hands on you first, you’ll wish they had,” I say.

“You thought that by catching one of his constituents, you could clear your name and bring glory to your cabinet. Well, I’m here to give you a dose of reality. There is no scenario where someone like you takes out anyone in this world,” I say.

Silence fills the room.

“So what do you want?” he asks. His tone signifies that he has resigned himself to death. But that would be a waste. And an insult after he saved Elise’s life.

“I want you to work for me,” I say.

He looks at me in confusion.

“Why would I ever—”

Romelo steps forward, aiming his gun right at his head, stopping him midsentence.

“I owe you a life. You saved Elise. And the only way I will save yours is by offering you this. Either work for me, or die. And my wife seemed to be real fond of you and your pet. So I would hate to have to explain to her what happened to you.”

Wyatt shifts his attention between me and Romelo more than once, obviously weighing his options. But he doesn’t have much. He may be a boy scout, but he is also all about self-preservation. His track record proves it. And while he would have to earn my trust, something tells me Elise’s existence alone would snare his loyalty.

“Fine,” he says.

“Good. I’m sure Nicolai will be happy to hear he can give the dog back,” I say.

Romelo lowers his weapon after a moment, and I step forward, dropping the folder filled with information on Agent Jeffries in front of him.

“Now… tell me everything that went down to get you thrown out.”

Elise

I jolt awake, flying up in bed. My skin is clammy as sweat sticks to me from the nightmare I endured. My fingers tremble violently as I reach around in the dark, feeling for Luca. But he isn’t here. I am alone.

I quickly jump out of bed, running to the light switch. As I flip it on, it illuminates the room. Our bedroom, not Alexander’s. I’m home. I’m safe. I clutch my fingers to my chest, hunching over as I try to catch my breath.

I had a nightmare. I dreamt that I was back with Alexander, being beaten again. I note that the sweat is making the bruises on my back burn in pain, adding to my fear. I quietly pull open the door to our bedroom, making my way downstairs. The house is empty and eerily quiet with no lights on as I move down the steps.

I haven’t seen Luca since we got home earlier today. He’s always been a busy person, so when he left Enzo and me to our own devices, I assumed he had business to deal with. I figured he would at least come to bed, though. I continue to walk through the house in search of Luca until I finally reach his office. The door is closed.

I push it open without knocking, my disappointment surfacing when I see that it’s empty. I exhale a deep breath, crossing it to Luca’s desk, my eyes falling to my violin. It sits near his desk. He must have put it there.

So much pain and torture have happened in this room.

I pause when I make it to his desk. My rings sits on top of it. I smile as I reach for it, imagining the pain he must have inflicted on those people who dolled me up to be sold when he got it back.

 It fits perfectly as I push it onto my finger. It’s so strange how things have changed so much since the first moment Luca put this on my finger. I shift my attention to his screen, my grabbing the ring waking up his computer.

My heart seizes in my chest as I finally locate my husband. He’s in the annex. I narrow my gaze as I lean in closer to the screen to see who it is that has earned his wrath tonight. I take a small step back, my heart leaping into my chest. It’s Alexander.

He’s still alive.

The longer I stare at the gruesome display, the more I realize I don’t feel sickened by it. Excitement flutters in my stomach as I watch Luca continue to strip the flesh from his back. The amount of blood lingering in the room with lumps of flesh in it is entrancing.

I laugh aloud.

“I told you he would kill you,” I murmur.

I wish more than anything I could hear Alexander’s screams as Luca rips another finger from his hand. I slink into Luca’s seat, propping my knees up as I watch in glee. I’ve never been comfortable around any form of torture. But after enduring all that I did, I am glad for the show my husband is giving me. It doesn’t take long for me to mirror his smile, as I become more engrossed in Alexander’s death.

* * * * *

“Elise.” 

I jolt awake at the sound of my name, shifting my attention to the hand on my shoulder. It’s Luca. I look back at the screen, but it’s gone dark, and when I look back at Luca, his expression shifts to concern.

“What are you doing in here?” he asks.

I pull in a deep breath. “I was…looking for you,” I say.

Luca narrows his gaze slightly, but doesn’t push me as his attention shifts to the ring around my finger.

“You never came to bed,” I add.

“I had things to take care of,” he says, his touch shifting from my shoulder to my upper back as he coaxes me out of the chair. I find myself easily melting into his arms as I take in his familiar scent. His body covers mine with ease as he strokes my hair, placing a soft kiss on the top of my head.

“Hmm,” I smile into his chest as I think of the things he had to take care of.

“Is he dead?” I ask.

“Who?”

I pull away from Luca so that I can look into his eyes.

“Alexander. Did you kill him?” I ask.

Luca looks briefly at the monitor before looking back at me.

“You were watching?” he asks.

I smile. 

“Of course.”

Luca doesn’t react, but I can tell his mind is racing as he looks down at me. He gently runs his hands over my arms, pulling me with him.

“Let's get you to bed,” he says as he tries to lead me out of his office, but I stop him.

“Luca. I need to know if he’s still alive,” I say firmly.

Luca watches me carefully, and I don’t know if it’s because he doesn’t want to tell me or if he fears my reaction.

“Barely. He should be dead by morning,” he says.

I look at the window.

“Why wait?” I ask.

Luca doesn’t respond, so I turn to look at him, reaffirming my sentiment.

“I want him dead now, Luca,” I say.

Luca’s expression finally changes, and he takes a step toward his door.

“Your wish is my command.”

We don’t speak as he takes me to the annex. I’ve only ever seen it from the outside. I’ve heard the screams of the men dragged to their deaths. And once, I was in them, after Luca managed to track me down after I escaped and left him for dead.

It feels like a full-circle moment as we approach. In the beginning, I couldn’t stomach it. In the middle, I was threatened with it. And now, I enter of my own accord, desperate to see the death of a man who tried to break me. But he could never break me. Not when Luca Pasquino is my husband.

The annex is large and partly underground. And as we enter, I see that each room has a torture chamber attached to a control room. I keep my eyes down until we reach the room I’m dying to see.

Alexander’s.

Luca continues to watch me cautiously while leading me into the room that observes the torture. It has a two-way glass so I can see as Alexander sits on his blood-soaked cot, bleeding profusely, his body swaying lazily back and forth. Luca was right. He’ll be dead by morning.

And still, being this close, I feel no disgust.

My heart beats slightly faster as my breathing speeds up. The fear I feel in his presence is something I’ve become accustomed to due to the torture I endured. But he can’t hurt me. Not here. Not anymore.

Luca gently wraps his arms around me, holding me close.

“Just breathe, Elise,” he coaxes.

Alexander slowly lifts his head, his face barely recognizable. He’s missing an eye, and his teeth are all but gone as he smiles.

“I was wondering when you would come to see my death sentence,” he says.

The microphone relays his voice perfectly to us even though we are in a separate room, and I fight the chills from hearing his voice so close.

He can’t hurt me.

Luca steps forward, pressing a button on the control panel before he speaks.

“Was it worth all of this? You had a decent life. And you threw it all away for what?” he asks.

Alexander chuckles, spitting blood out as he looks past Luca to me.

“You know what’s worth all of this? That even the powerful Luca Pasquino couldn’t protect his wife. He couldn’t keep her safe from any of us. You don’t know how fucked you are, Pasquino. Your wife means nothing in the grand scheme of it all. They’re coming for you. They’re going to fuck your family worse than I fucked your wife,” he laughs maniacally.

My flesh crawls hearing his voice speak this way—hearing him taunt these lies. I shift my attention over the room, a pair of garden shears catching my attention in the pile of torture tools in the corner.

I quickly walk to it, ignoring the sound of Luca calling my name. He doesn’t stop me as I make my way into the room, ignoring the fresh stench of blood and waste as I approach Alexander. He still has a smug grin on his lips as he wheezes to speak to me.

“And what do you think you’re going to do with that? Your husband has already tortured me. Nothing you do will take away—”

I open the sheers, holding them over his exposed cock, violently closing them. The sick sound of severed flesh is drowned out instantly by Alexander’s screech. He has nothing to say now, no smug remark, and no laughter as he screams, his body convulsing in agony.

I smile as I watch him, delighted at the feel of getting my revenge for the first time in my life.