Protecting my enemy

Chapter FIfy Nine

Bella’s POV

The house they took me to was a shabby three-story building close to the tracks, located in the industrial part of Nirvana. When we stepped inside, my eyes registered Rapehal first. He had his arms crossed and was staring at a screen on a table against one wall. Beside him stood my uncle My uncle , as usual dressed in a suit, but his jacket was already slung over a chair that sat in front of the screen, and he had rolled up his sleeves.

My stomach turned. I’d never seen him with rolled up sleeves, and I knew why. I had never been around when he’d tortured someone. There was another man, one of Dad’s soldiers, who was working at a laptop, probably establishing the Darknet connection. They turned when we entered, and all eyes zeroed in on me. I wasn’t supposed to be here

.

My uncle frowned and came toward us. Rapehal stayed where he was, but he, too, watched me. I wasn’t his fiancé anymore. I was nothing to him. My sister was promised to him, and now she was as precious as I had been. And yet he would be part in the Heavens evenge because lord Erik had insulted Rapehal in the worst way possible: he had taken me from him.

My uncle stopped before us, his cool eyes resting on me. “Bella , this is a bloody business. You shouldn’t be here.”

“It is my business, Uncle. The Dragon Lords held me captive.” I met his gaze head-on. After months in lord Erik ’s company, I didn’t feel the urge to lower my gaze despite my uncle’s own scary vibe, especially today. There was something predator-like about him, about them all. Eager to tear into their victim, to hear its screams and taste its blood.

He inclined his head. “It will be brutal and bloody. You are free to watch on the screen.”

He turned and walked back to Rapehal, followed by Dad. Gabriel squeezed my shoulder. “If it’s too much, go sit there.” He pointed at a sofa behind the table with the screen. “You shouldn’t leave the building. I don’t want you outside without me or Dad.”

I nodded. Gabriel released me and joined the other men. Slowly, I moved closer and when I reached the table, I caught sight of the screen. My breath caught in my throat. It showed Ibash in an empty room, bound to a chair, his head hanging down.

“Ready?” My uncle asked. Rapehal, Dad, and Gabriel nodded. My uncle turned to the man at the screen. “Are we live?”

“All set. The camera in the torture room is sending.

”

“Good,” My uncle said coldly. With a last glance at me, the men disappeared through a door. A few minutes later they appeared on the screen, entering the room. I sank down on the chair beside my father’s soldier, who gave me a quick curious glance. I could imagine what he thought, what they all thought. Since I had been kidnapped, I was only known as the woman lord Erik Falcone sullied. The broken one.

Gabriel held something under Ibash ’s nose so he jerked upright, eyes flying up in shock. He had changed since I’d last seen him. His face had become harder, older, and he had grown and become more muscular. He wasn’t wearing a shirt, and a few scars littered his chest but not nearly as many as lord Erik had. The distant resemblance to lord Erik sent a stab through my heart.

Ibash ’s gaze wandered over my dad, Gabriel , Rapehal, and My uncle , and for a second fear flashed across his face. Then he controlled his features.

My uncle stepped forward, and the look on his face sent a chill down my spine. “Ibash . Welcome to nirvana territory.”

Ibash smiled bitterly. “I would have won the race if you hadn’t shot out my tires.”

My eyes grew wide. Provoking my family in a situation like that was madness.

My uncle ’s expression became harder. Gabriel had already taken his knife out, and Rapehal looked ready to plunge his dagger into Ibash as well. Only Dad remained back. He was a restrained man but his stance was off.

“You share the same arrogant disposition as your brother lord Erik , I see,” My uncle said pleasantly. “It’s only fair that he gets to watch you pay for his sins.”

Ibash shook his head. “No matter what you do, lord Erik won’t care. lord Erik is crueler than all of you combined.”

My uncle tilted his head. “We will see.” He took a knife from a table to the side and moved back toward Ibash , who tensed and leaned back. My uncle reached down and cut Ibash ’s right arm loose.

Confusion drew my brows together. My uncle grabbed Ibash ’s arm and turned it over, displaying the Dragon tattoo. “How long have you been a Made Man?”

“One year and four months,” Ibash muttered, glaring up at my uncle. “You will be judged as a Made Man, not a boy, Ibash .” Ibash grimaced. “I don’t give a shit about all this. Do what you have

to do. It won’t change a thing.”

My uncle stepped back and gestured at the other men. “Who wants to go

first? You are the ones who are closer to Bella .”

Ibash winced and looked at Gabriel , who took a step forward. “I want to go first.”

Tears stung in my eyes. Please don’t, Sam.

Gabriel moved toward Ibash and punched him hard. Ibash ’s head fell back, blood spraying out of his nose as it broke. I rose slowly from my chair, ignoring the stare from the man beside me. Gabriel brought his knife down on Ibash ’s stomach and left a long cut. Ibash cried and lashed out with his free hand, but Gabriel grabbed it and twisted the hand back, breaking it. I took a step back, my hand covering my mouth. I had never seen Gabriel like this. I knew what he was, what they all were. This wasn’t right. I had to stop them somehow.

“See, lord Erik , your brother will bleed in your stead. We’ll tear him apart piece by piece for what you did to my sister. He will suffer for you,” Gabriel snarled. In that moment, little of my twin was left. A Made Man, a monster. Just because I never saw his monstrous side didn’t mean Gabriel was less of a monster than any other of the men in our world.

Dad pushed away from the wall, gripped Ibash ’s free arm, and jerked it back with a sickening crunch. He had a look on his face I had never seen. Ibash ’s screams blared through the speakers, and I began running.

Ibash didn’t deserve this. And with their actions, they would make everything worse because lord Erik would seek retribution. He would attack viciously, would maim and kill, would leave nothing in his wake, and whatever the outcome, I would lose someone I cared about. Either my family members or the father of my children

.

I followed the screams to the last door and burst through it then froze as the smell of burning flesh filled my nose. Ibash was screaming as Rapehal was holding a lighter to his forearm, burning away the dragon tattoo

.

“Enough!” I cried. I stormed forward and pushed him aside before either of them could grab me. Rapehal’s eyes flashed with fury, and all the men stared at me.

“Enough!” I screamed. “Enough!”

Ibash groaned and I turned to him, kneeling before him. Only a small part of his tattoo had been burned away, and the skin was blistered and red. I touched his shoulder and he flinched. “Ibash ,” I whispered.

He raised his head a few inches, teary eyes meeting mine. A weak smile pulled at his lips. “Bella .” How he could still sound friendly after what had been done to him was a mystery to me.

A shadow fell over me and I looked up. Gabriel .

“Bella , you should leave. He gets what he deserves.”

“He is a boy,” I said. “And he always treated me with kindness.”

“He is a dragon lord,” Rapehal said, stepping forward with the lighter still in his hand. His eyes were hard and merciless. “You were punished for something Outfit soldiers did. Ibash will pay for something his brother did.”

“I suffered for your sins,” I spat at them. “And he suffers for lord Erik ’s. I’m sick of it. This ends here. Ibash won’t suffer any more pain under your hands.”

“That isn’t your call to make,” My uncle said firmly.

I looked back at Ibash , who looked resigned and had begun shaking. A phone rang and My uncle picked it up. “lord Erik .”

I jerked, my eyes widening.