Chapter 12

Something was different today. The bikers who arrived after Maddox and Gray left for a run, seemed agitated as they buzzed around the porch. When Earl White peered up to the window, catching my gaze with a superior gleam in his eyes, my stomach plummeted. I doubted I’d be released today. He had more in store for me.

Earl nodded at Cody who grinned.

My eyes darted to the locked door. A few moments later, I heard steps thundering up. I hopped off the windowsill, then rushed toward the bathroom just when the lock sounded. “You can’t run anywhere, cunt.”

Cody grabbed me by the hair and jerked me backward. I cried out from the sharp pain that shot through my skull. I clutched his wrists, digging my nails in, but he kept dragging me out of the room and down the stairs. My knees bumped against several steps, making me cry out in pain again.

He didn’t stop until we reached the common area downstairs. My already churning stomach turned when the stench of spilled alcohol and old smoke filled my nose. What was happening? Would they exchange me for my dad? The atmosphere was way too tense for that.

“Fuck, the stupid whore scratched me.” Cody shoved me away from himself. I landed on my knees before Earl, gasping from the sharp twinge, but I quickly pushed to my feet. I’d never kneel before someone like him.

He sneered. “Still too proud to bow to your betters?” He shook his head. “Just like your old man.”

“One day my father’s going to make you regret the day you were born,” I said, lifting my chin. A feeling of utter helplessness washed through me, but I didn’t let it take control.

Earl smiled in a way that froze my blood. “I was so close to allowing your old man to exchange himself for you, but something about his voice was just lacking the necessary submissiveness I was expecting in a situation like this, you know?”

I swallowed, not liking the way the bikers were looking at me. I couldn’t blame Dad. It wasn’t in his blood to be submissive. Even if he’d tried to appear that way, it would have never been convincing.

“Today, I’m going to make him regret the day he went against Tartarus and teach him his new place.”

He nodded at Cody who grabbed my neck and pressed me against the bar counter. Sharp pain shot through my hipbones from the impact. He shoved my head down so my right cheek pressed against the sticky wooden surface. The stench of cheap liquor was almost overwhelming. Earl came into view, holding a long knife. I tried to move back but Cody held me tightly, his body pressed against mine in the vilest way. The blade gleamed in the light of the lamps over the bar. Panic worked its way through my body like poison.

Earl held up the knife with a vicious smile, watching my reaction. I wished I managed to look brave and indifferent, but I was too terrified of what he might do. “You are too fucking pretty, whore. That perfect face makes me angry every time I see it.”

Fear choked me as he moved even closer, holding the sharp tip of the knife right before my left eye.

“I wonder what you’d do without those lethal looks.” He smiled in a bone-chilling way, revealing one golden tooth.

“Don’t,” I pressed out. I wanted to sound fierce and threatening but sounded terrified and almost begging, but I couldn’t help it. What if he blinded me? There was still so much I wanted to see, so many things I hadn’t appreciated enough because I’d thought I’d have time to look at them. My heart throbbed furiously, blood pumping through my veins like an avalanche.

“I’m sorry, sugar, but I need a little gift for your old man. He needs to know we’re not playing. We’ll destroy him.”

He moved the knife even closer. Where was Maddox? God, where was he?

When the blade sliced into me, a high-pitched scream tore from the deepest part of my body until everything pitched into darkness.

The moment I stepped into the clubhouse, I knew something was fucking wrong. Ruby, Earl’s favorite girl and stupid enough to think he’d ever make her his old lady, had a satisfied smirk on her face as Earl wiped blood off his knife. Blood also covered the bar. My heart lurched. “What happened here?” I asked, trying to hide my worry.

Earl sheathed his knife calmly, looking bored as fuck. “Taught the Vitiello princess a lesson and her old man too.”

Fuck. Earl must have used his spare key to get inside my room. I shoved past a grinning Cody and stormed upstairs, my pulse pounding. What the fuck had he done? I thought Vitiello was ready for the exchange? I unlocked the door and shoved into the room. Blood splatters covered the ground, leading into the small bathroom. Blood had never bothered me. After the carnage Vitiello had caused before my eyes as a little boy I was too hardened to be bothered by it. And yet, the sight of these few blood splatters made my heart race.

I followed them into the bathroom then came to a staggering stop in the doorway.

Marcella perched on the edge of the toilet, face ashen, shoulders and wife beater covered in blood. She pressed a towel over the left side of her face. “What happened?” I asked, fearing the worst. Earl had been like a father to me, but I knew what he was capable of. Over the years, his obsession with revenge had grown rapidly, even worse than my own.

She lowered the towel that her trembling hand had been clutching against the side of her head. Seeing her blue eyes intact, relief washed over me, but then I registered her ear, which was bleeding profusely. It took me a moment to see that Earl had cut her left earlobe off.

My vision turned red and I whirled around and thundered down the creaky stairs. I could barely breathe from fury. My ears were ringing, my temple throbbing. I stormed into the common area. Earl and Cody sat on barstools and downed bourbon as if to celebrate their success.

I charged toward Earl and grabbed his cut, jerking him off the stool. “We agreed not to torture her! You swore it.” I’d never talked to my uncle like that, especially not in front of others.

Earl’s eyes narrowed and he grabbed my wrist in a bone-crushing grip, trying to unlock my fingers but I didn’t release him. He’d grown old, but not less vicious. “What have you done?” I seethed. For the first time in my life, I wanted to kill him.

“Don’t forget who’s pulling the fucking strings in the club, Maddox,” he muttered, his expression full of warning. “And don’t forget who took you in when the little whore’s old man slaughtered your father.”

Cody had stood from his barstool and was ready to interfere. He’d had an eye on the position as second in command for years, always saying I was too young for the position. Killing me would make his day.

I unfurled my fingers, took a deep breath and stepped back. “You shouldn’t have done it. You went too far. I never agreed to this shit. I want to torture and kill Luca Vitiello, not Marcella.”

Earl tilted his head, stepping closer and regarding me with a challenging smile. “Is she getting under your skin? Where are your loyalties?”

“With the club,” I said.

Earl’s lips tightened. In the past they’d always lain with him but after what he’d done today, I wouldn’t follow him blindly ever again. “I am the club, don’t forget that, Maddox. If you want revenge, you better stop getting into bed with Vitiello’s spawn. She’s making you lose focus. Maybe it wasn’t wise of me to allow you to take her into your room. Maybe we should all share her.”

Cody’s face lit up like a fucking Christmas tree. I’d cut his dick off before I’d let him anywhere near Marcella.

“I’m not losing focus,” I said in a much calmer voice. “But provoking Vitiello like that could lead to rash actions on his part. You know what he’s capable of.”

Earl smiled grimly. “This time, we are in control. He won’t catch us by surprise like last time. With his daughter in our hands, he’ll think twice before acting.”

Up until this point, I would have agreed with my uncle’s assessment. Luca wouldn’t risk Marcella’s wellbeing, but now that my uncle had started torturing her… my blood boiled, my chest constricting. Earl didn’t take his eyes off me. “With your actions, you forced Vitiello’s hand. He won’t wait for you to cut off more pieces of his daughter, Uncle. I thought he was ready to exchange himself.”

“He won’t find us. We’re well hidden. And if he attacks another of our brothers, we’ll send him another piece of her until he learns his place.” He climbed back on the barstool and emptied his bourbon. “He wanted to exchange himself but I didn’t like his tone when we talked. He still thinks he’s better than us. Until he learns his place, his daughter stays with us.”

I’d secretly wished for more time with Marcella, but not like this.

“The longer this takes, the higher the risk for all of us,” I said, fighting to keep my voice under control.

“I’m in control,” Earl said, his voice laced with spite.

I gave a terse nod, seething. Cody gave me a superior look that made me want to smash his face against the wall. I could imagine how he’d gotten off on seeing Marcella being tortured. Just thinking about it made me want to put a bullet through his and even Earl’s head. Fuck.

I stalked back to my room, my mind reeling for a solution to the predicament I was in. Marcella was no longer safe in this place. Now that my uncle had begun torturing her, he wouldn’t stop. He enjoyed it too much. Fuck. I, too, wanted blood, but not Marcella’s. I wanted her father’s brutal end, not hers. I found Marcella still in the bathroom. She hadn’t moved from her spot on the toilet seat and was watching blood drip from her ear, drop after drop, and landing at her bare feet. By now, most of her nail polish had peeled off, but what remained of it had the same color as her blood.

She ignored me and peered down at her feet. Then slowly she lifted her head but she still wasn’t looking at me. I stared at her profile, trying to sort through my whirlwind of emotions.

Even in a tattered and bloody wife beater and my old boxer shorts, Snow White looked more regal than any queen on a throne of gold and diamonds ever could. She carried her invisible crown with unabashed pride. Fuck, this woman had been born to be a queen and she fucking owned that title.

I kneeled down beside her but she didn’t look my way. Instead, she kept staring straight ahead, her eyes distant.

“Snow White,” I murmured. She didn’t react. “Marcella.”

Her eyes dragged down to mine, as cold and impenetrable as ice. She couldn’t hide the traces of her tears. “Let me take a look at your ear,” I said in a beckoning voice.

“At what’s left of it, you mean?” she said hoarsely, her eyes full of hatred and accusation, but beyond those obvious emotions, emotions she wanted me to see, I detected her pain and fear, and those emotions cut me deeply. Maybe I should have seen it coming. From the first moment I spotted her, she hadn’t left my mind. What had been in lust in the beginning had morphed into something more. I enjoyed talking to her, teasing her. Fuck, I even enjoyed watching her sleep. Whatever I felt and I wasn’t ready or willing to analyze my emotions yet, was at odds with my pure hatred for her father.

“I didn’t know. I wouldn’t have allowed this to happen. It’s not part of the plan.”

Her lips pulled into a tight smile. “And what’s the plan?”

“You were meant to be exchanged for your father, like I told you. It was supposed to happen this week.”

“But what’s the plan now?”

I wasn’t sure telling her would make things better but I knew Marcella was too clever not to realize what was going on. “Earl wants to punish your father through your suffering.”

She nodded as if it all made sense. She jerked her head away again, her shoulders stiffening. I shifted, trying to get a glimpse at her face. I could see the struggle in every perfect inch of it but finally the tears tumbled out. Restrained at first but then her walls came crashing down.

“Snow White, I’m sorry, fucking sorry,” I murmured, touching her cheek.

Her eyes flashed. “This is not a fairy tale. And it’s your fault this is happening.”

She was right. It was irrelevant that Earl would still have gone through with the plan even without my help.

“Let me treat your wound,” I said.

She glared. “It’s your fault. Go away.”

But I didn’t leave, not with her crying openly in front of me, vulnerable like I had never seen a Vitiello before. I took out bandages and disinfectant before I started cleaning her wound. The cut was fairly clean and I was sure there were ways plastic surgeons could replace an earlobe, but that wasn’t the point. Marcella sat quietly as I took care of her, and I wished she’d say something, even if it were words of spite. Anything was better than this sad, quiet version of her.

“Done,” I said.

Finally, her gaze returned to me. The smile she gave me was bitter. “This is what you wanted, huh? Bringing a Vitiello to tears.”

“The wrong Vitiello. Even if I’ve never seen a woman who can cry prettier than you, I never wanted your fucking tears.”

For some reason, this caused a new wave of tears, which only seemed to make her angrier. I slid my arms under Marcella’s knees and her back and lifted her into my arms. She didn’t resist, instead, she sagged against me. What this did to me caught me by surprise. I felt a wave of protectiveness and affection that almost knocked me over.

I put her down on the bed and stroked her back. Certain that she didn’t want me close, I stepped back, wanting to pace the woods to clear my head and figure out a plan.

Her arm shot out, grabbing my hand. “No, stay with me.”

“Marcella, are you—”

“Stay.”

I stretched out behind her and wrapped my arms around her. I’d never hugged her like that, simply to show affection and give consolation. I didn’t remember the last time I’d hugged someone at all.

“It’s only going to get worse,” she whispered. “Your uncle wants to break my father, but my father can’t be broken, so he’ll break me.”

I knew she was right. Maybe I should have seen it coming but I had been too desperate for revenge. “I’ll protect you,” I swore. This oath would be my downfall, I could feel it deep in my bones. Yet, I had no intention of taking it back.

When I left my bedroom to a sleeping Marcella an hour later, my mind was still reeling. I wasn’t sure how to convince Earl to go ahead with the exchange, especially after our argument. He was probably still pissed at me. The common area was filled with guys. Word about my reaction to Marcella’s torture must have gotten around judging by the curious and sometimes even questioning looks I got. I just nodded at them and stalked outside, not in the mood to justify myself.

I paced the forest when I spotted Gray. He hunched on a fallen tree, smoking, his hair falling down his face. Like me, he had been in the club since he was fifteen, even though prospects usually needed to be at least eighteen years old.

“Hey, why are you hiding out here?” I asked as I went over to him and sank down beside him. Looking up in surprise, he offered me a smoke, which I took.

He didn’t say anything, only squinted at the glowing tip. I inhaled deeply but noticed a bit of blood from Marcella on my fingers. A new wave of anger mixed with despair over the hopeless situation crashed down on me. This was such a goddamn mess.

“I heard about what happened to the girl,” Gray said eventually.

His expression made it clear that he felt sick to his stomach about it.

“It was a mistake,” I said.

Surprise crossed his face. I rarely criticized Earl’s decisions.

“I thought you wanted the kidnapping.”

“Not at first, but then I figured it was the perfect way to get our hands on Vitiello.”

“And now you don’t think it is?”

“I still think we should let him exchange himself for Marcella. But Earl wants Vitiello to crawl and beg, and even then, he probably wouldn’t be satisfied.”

“The guy will go crazy if he sees his daughter’s earlobe,” Gray murmured. “Earl had me sent it off to him.”

I shook my head. “Fuck. This is a fucking mess.”

“How is the girl? She’s in your room?”

“Yeah, she’s sleeping now. Of course, she was freaked out. Who wouldn’t be after what happened?”

Gray sighed. “I hope this is over soon.”

“The kidnapping?”

“The kidnapping, the revenge. All my life, I only heard Earl and you talk about revenge on Vitiello. I just want us to move on and really focus on making Tartarus stronger.”

A life without revenge as a focus seemed impossible. It had become such an integral part of the club. Revenge was the reason why Earl’s authority had never been questioned. Fights within the club just weren’t an option while in war with the Famiglia. Maybe that was why Earl suddenly wasn’t too keen on ending Vitiello.

“Maybe you can talk to Earl, ask him when the exchange will happen, and convince him to hurry the fuck up.”

Gray gave me a look as if I’d grown a second head. “You know Dad doesn’t listen to me. He thinks I’m incapable. You are his favorite son.”

“I’m not his son,” I said firmly, surprising myself. In the past, I’d often caught myself longing for Earl to be my father, but this desire had disappeared completely after today.

“Someone has to talk to him and make him see reason. The club needs to move on like you said. And that can only happen when we finally kill Vitiello.”

“Sometimes I think killing Vitiello will only be another step of the war. After that his family will seek revenge, and then we’ll seek revenge on them again, and so on.”

Deep down I knew Gray was probably right, but I didn’t care what happened after, I just wanted to get rid of Luca. But first I’d make sure Marcella was safe. Whatever came after was irrelevant.