Chapter 15: You Didn’t Fuck Her, Did You?

Vittorio’s POV, At Vittorio’s Mansion

“Don’t fucking touch her.”

My voice split through the marble hall like a whip. Ghost had already stepped forward, fingers twitching at the sight of her lunging at me like a wild animal.

But I didn’t flinch.

Katarina's teeth sank into my shoulder like she wanted to rip the flesh from my bones. She was sobbing, clawing at my chest, screaming something about Mateo.

Her Lover

She thought I killed him but She didn't know shit.

"You bastard! YOU KILLED HIM!" she screamed, pounding her fists into my chest, her nails leaving angry red lines. Her voice cracked. Raw and Broken. That sound dug into places I didn’t like to remember existed in me.

I let her.

Let her swing. Let her curse. Let her crumble.

One punch. Two. She was weak. That hoodie barely clung to her body, soaked in sweat, blood, and dirt. Her hair stuck to her face in clumps. Her legs wobbled like a newborn fawn.

But for a second, just one, when our eyes met, she froze. Her breath hitched. She looked me up and down like she couldn’t help herself. Recognition flared behind her pupils.

Fuck.

She remembered me. From the club. Her jaw clenched like she hated it, but her body... her body didn’t lie. Her nipples hardened beneath the hoodie. Her thighs clenched together. I saw it all. Her shame. Her ache. Her fury.

And I wanted to devour her whole.

Then her face twisted into something wild. Hurt. Rage. She looked like she was about to say something, think something through, but instead, she lunged at me again, this time biting my neck.

Hard.

“FUCK!” I growled, shoving her back just enough to meet her eyes.

She cried out, sobbing. “You killed him! You killed him! Mateo—”

Her fists pounded against my chest until she lost her balance and crumpled forward. I caught her by the waist, pinning her against my body, locking her in.

She tried to squirm. I wrapped one arm around her neck, not choking, just enough to keep her still.

“You don’t want to end up like your lover, do you?” I hissed into her ear.

She stopped moving. I felt her body go still against mine. Then she went limp.

Her voice came out, confused. Small.

“My... lover?” she whispered. “Mateo’s ... not my... what, what are you saying? Liam? No, I... I don’t understand...”

She pulled away, dazed, staring at the floor like her world had just cracked open.

I released her slowly.

She staggered back and dropped to her knees. Her breathing was ragged. Her face was pale. She looked like she was trying to make sense of too many things at once.

I stood over her, breathing heavily, fists clenched.

I wanted to crush her. I wanted to kiss her,

I wanted to fucking destroy every man who had ever touched her.

The idea that she'd loved someone that idiot this much made me want to put my fist through the nearest wall. He died by being foolish, and she still wore that pain like a brand.

“OUT!” I barked suddenly.

Every man in the room stiffened.

“Everyone. OUT.

Ghost hesitated; he stayed behind to protect me. The door slammed shut behind them.

I paced in a slow circle around her like a predator.

She was still, shaking, trying to hold herself upright. I saw the way her hoodie clung to her breasts, the curve of her ass in those dirty pants, the raw beauty hidden under all that grime and blood.

I didn’t move until her knees finally gave in.

She collapsed into my chest, fists still trembling against me. I caught her by the waist and held her there.

“That’s enough,” I whispered into her hair.

She jerked back, and I let her go just enough to watch her glare up at me, hate boiling behind her tears.

“You don’t get to touch me,” she spat. “Not after what you did.”

I stared down at her, jaw tight. “Your lover was a fucking idiot. Brave, maybe. But stupid. He walked into the lion’s den thinking he could get away with borrowed blood money.”

Her hand flew up, shaky, but fast, and she looked confused every time I mentioned the word lover.

I caught her wrist midair.

“You wanna hit me again?” I growled. “Go ahead. But it won’t bring him back.”

She sagged. Broken. Silent. Her body trembled as if it couldn’t hold itself together anymore. Her breaths came out in sharp bursts, like she was drowning.

I held her by the jaw, forcing her to look at me.

“Where were you hiding?” I said low. “Who else touched you?”

Her eyes flared with new rage. “No one!” she screamed. “I was running! I was trying to stay alive while men like you were out hunting me like fucking meat!”

She turned with me, eyes wide, scared now. She should be. But her chest heaved, her nipples poking through the thin fabric of that hoodie, her mouth red and swollen from the gag. Her pain made her glow. And fuck, I hated that I noticed.

I hated the tightness in my pants. I hated the chaos in my fucking chest.

She stumbled, legs giving out again. She dropped to her knees, curled into herself.

“Please,” she whimpered, her voice barely there. “Please, just let me go.”

Her words hit like bullets.

I grabbed her by the jaw, tilting her face up to me. Her lips were trembling. Her eyes were rimmed with red.

“I want the truth,” I said.

She laughed. It was bitter. Cracked.

“I don’t even know what the truth is anymore.”

She shoved at my chest again, but it was weak. She hit me once with her fist—feeble. Then again. She didn’t even have the strength to make it sting.

I caught both her wrists and held them. She sagged against me.

“Kill me,” she whispered. “Just... finish it.”

I stared down at her, hating the way she looked so breakable in my arms.

I let her go.

I turned my head and barked toward the door. “Bring me Aunt Malva.”

Ghost’s brows lifted. He didn’t say shit, but I saw it. The surprise. I never brought women to Malva.

Never.

The room stayed silent until her footsteps clicked on the marble. Then the rustling of beads.

Aunt Malva entered, her presence thick with incense and power. Beads clinking. Dreads tied high. Her eyes went wide when she saw the girl on the floor.

“Mi Amor,” she chided me. “What have you done now?”

She rushed to Katarina’s side, knelt beside her, and cradled her cheek.

Katarina flinched.

“Shhh,” Malva whispered. “You’re safe now.”

I crossed my arms.

“She smells like blood and fear,” I said coldly. “Clean her. Feed her. Make her...presentable.”

Malva shot me a look

“You didn’t Fuck her, did you?””

I gritted my teeth. “Not yet.”

Ghost tilted his head like he wanted to speak.

He didn’t. Smart man.

I stared down at Katarina one last time.

“She has to pay for her lover’s debt,”  I said with venom, hating how much it burned to imagine her fucking someone else.. “And I have a war to plan.”

Malva rose slowly, helping Katarina up. She groaned, her body limp.

And just as they turned to go, I stopped them.

“Malva.”

She paused.

“Don’t leave her side. I want her bathed and treated.”

Katarina looked back over her shoulder, barely holding herself upright.

And me?

I just stared.

She was finally under my roof..

And this time, she’d stay—on her knees, in my bed, or in my chains..