Chapter 19: Chapter Nineteen

Camila's POV

Sleep deserted my eyes and comfort estranged itself from me, first it was the stench of the patches of bloodstains left by Anthony's bleeding leg which I scrubbed off diligently, hoping it would disappear along with the horrors burnt into my memory but it didn't help so I locked myself in the bathroom, filled the bathtub with water and soaked myself in it.

Alternating In-between the moments my dignity was almost compromised and the physical pain inflicted on me, I survived the night, begging for the day to break. Every inch of me felt dirty, every dick and Harry apparently have access to torture me, courtesy of Marco.

The mental torture lasted the whole morning, I felt so heavy and depressed I couldn't bring myself to exit the bathroom, only when I felt chills did I drag my heavy body and weakened soul out of there.

Famished by evening, I quietly made my way to the kitchen and passed through the grand hall which was a fatal mistake because Marco threw a quiet non-elaborate party with his friends. They paid no attention to me as I quietly walked away but I suddenly stumbled, sending the food flying in the air and me landing face flat on the ground.

A mocking laughter erupted and it didn't take rocket science knowledge for me to realize that one of them had intentionally tripped me but the problem lay before me. The food had spilled on Marco's shoes and the cuff of his pants.

“I'm sorry, I'll have a maid clean it.” I apologized, eyes fixated on him. It was the first time seeing him after he saved my life.

“Go to your room.” He quietly instructed, implying that it wasn't a suggestion, it was an order.

I sprung to my feet and without blinking an eye, I hurried away, laughter trailing behind me. A maid knocked on the door almost five minutes later, and she brought me a tray of food. My stomach twisted with an uneasy feeling as I ate, the devil doesn't become kind overnight.

The answer came roughly an hour later.

“Marco is meeting a client, he wants you to tag along.” A gruff voice which belongs to the man I recognize as the one who handed the gun over to Marco the previous night.

He had knocked on my door and delivered the message, briefly before leaving. No questions asked, I got dressed. When it was time, I was escorted to the car and sat beside Marco. The air was tense but suffocating, it made me prefer the heat of hell.

“Where are we going?” I mustered up courage and asked.

“Somewhere, for business.” The gruff man replied, he rode in the backseat with us.

Marco had his eyes fixated on the screen of his phone and his expression was unreadable, it was as if he was ignoring my existence which made me wonder what exactly is going on in his head.

“I deserve to know where we'll be, I need to be prepared.” I argued.

“Your job is to do as you're told, nothing more or less.” The man snapped, impatiently.

His temper was annoying and he exudes a form of coldness only Marco is capable of.

“Make sure nothing goes wrong tonight Diego.” Marco casually instructed, pretending he heard nothing.

“Yes boss.’

The rest of the ride was in awkward, painful silence and when we arrived at our destination, a dozen men in black professional suits received us and respectfully led us to a private room. The lightning inside was red, almost hiding the faces of those who were inside and it reeked of alcohol and smoke.

Everyone stood up to welcome us, muttering a brief pleasantries. Diego motioned for me to sit beside Marco who lit a cigar immediately as he sat down. The lights changed to a dim shade which weirdly enabled me to see the faces of those seated and I felt very uncomfortable. Girls around my age were there, accompanying men thrice their age, there were about four men there.

“I'm glad you came, Mr Terenzio.” One of the men said, he looks a lot younger than the rest of them.

“I keep my words, business is business. Do we discuss it here or?” Marco strictly retorted.

The man waved his hand slightly and the girls caressing his body gave him some space. I could feel his gaze shift from Marco to me. “Who's the pretty lady? Your lucky charm?”

“Focus on the business deal Mr. Buckley, she's none of your business.” Diego chipped in.

The man clicked his tongue and threw his hands up in the air, chuckling. “No problem, how about we go somewhere more private? There's a lot of…… distractions here.”

Marco understood his message and rose to his feet, I followed suit. As if on cue, a hunky bodyguard with a scary scar entered the room.

“Please, follow me.”

We walked out of the room, took a right turn and arrived at another well lit and decent room. Mr. Buckley stepped inside, then Marco and I but Diego was stopped.

“What do you think you're doing?” He grunted.

“Oh, I'm so sorry Mr Terenzio but business is to be done without your assistant.”

“He's not my assistant Buckley, you know that.” Marco calmly replied.

“Yes, we've been business partners for almost a year now and I prefer to deal directly with just you and of course the pretty lady will lessen the tension, don't you think?”

It was obvious Buckley had a sinister plan but Marco gave Diego a knowing look and the latter backed down. The door was shut firmly behind us and Buckley offered us a seat.

“You look well Mr. Terenzio.”

“Don't butter me up Flynn Buckley, I don't have time.” Marco snapped.

Flynn chuckled a forced a smile that didn't reach his eyes. “Very well then, shall we talk about the price of our goods in the market?”

I sat there for God knows how long, listening to all sorts of absurdities and their illegal exchange of means to get rid of the obstacles to their business which I couldn't tell if it was legal or not.

All I prayed for was that it should be over soon, my presence there baffled me as all I did was just listen to them, just when I thought things couldn't get worse, Marco abruptly rose to his feet.

“Something urgent came up, I need to attend to it, I'll be back in less than twenty minutes, stay here and wait for me Camila, don't move an inch.”

“What?” I blurted, immediately panicking. “You can't leave me here, what do you expect me to do?”

“I don't care, just wait here.”

“But you can't-” I was beginning to protest but he was already at the door, disappearing from my sight.

I knew something urgent came up which made him live in a hurry but with my experience lately, I'd rather be stuck with a bear than another man and my fear got justified because as soon as he left, I felt a cold touch on the exposed part of my thigh.

“Oh, God please, not again.” I grumbled then shot myself further away from Flynn.

“You're one pretty lady, has anyone told you that?”

Choosing to ignore the subtle lewd passes he's being making towards me the entire night was simple but now that we're alone, my guts told me maybe Marco isn't the kind devil I thought he was.

“Please don't touch me. I am not a call girl, I am not interested in your advances and no, I don't need anything from you like freedom from Mr. Terenzio or a better life.”

“You'll be better off with me.”

He was leaning in and the stench of alcohol in his breath almost made me puke, my eyes darted to the door, already planning my escape, no one is coming to save me, not this time, as if he read my my, he grabbed my arm and reeled me in like a puppet. “We're going to have a nice time together.”

My brain went into a frenzy and desperation kicked in like crazy. “Mr. Terenzio will be annoyed if he sees this.” I lied, hoping this will scare him.

“We've been partners for a long time now, I don't think one little provocative vixen will destroy that relationship.”

‘Shit!’ I internally cursed, the bastard already calculated the whole thing in his mind.

He threw his weight on me, his brittle hands fumbling for my dress as he tore through the slit at the thigh region, his breathing became ragged with impure desire. I tried to push him away but he positioned himself in such a way that my movements were restricted. Screaming was of no use, my salvation is in my own hands and it came to me in the form of a bottle.

The bottle of whiskey sat idle on the glass table just inches away from us, I needed to reach it. “Stop!” I yelled, pretending to be convinced. “Okay, I'll give in, but only if we do it my way.”

Maybe it was fascination or his raging hormones I don't know but he actually bought the lie and got off me. “I knew there was a sexy little vixen behind that facade of naivety.”

“Of course.” I drawled, putting on my sexiest look. He relaxed and willingly lay on the couch.

“Show me what you've got.” He growled.

“Oh, you have no idea.’ I purred, teasingly. I unbuckled his belt and got on all fours hovering above him, without raising suspicion, I reached for the bottle and as hard as I could, I smashed it on his head, by the time he reacted it was too late as he let out a cry of pain.

Without thinking, I made a run for it, dashing out the unlocked door and out of the building. I didn't dare look back, the fear of being captured was far too paralyzing so I ran as fast as I could.

‘Run Camila, run!’

Into the street I ran with reckless abandon, feeling the wind on my face and the next month, I felt light; my body levitating from the ground as my life flashed across my eyes then a loud pitch rang in my ears as I hit the ground. I had run into a moving vehicle that hit me.

The pain numbed me and I could feel my blood trickle down my face. Then it all stopped and all I heard was deafening silence before I gave in to the darkness that wooed me.