Devotion (#1) | ✓

39. Sign of Surrender

I blink continuously, trying to adjust to the light. Finally, my eyes capture a head of ginger hair stationed behind a man I'd never seen before. He has blond, buzz cut hair, green eyes — well, eye. The other is an intimidating opaque ball.

Thomas steps forward and takes the spot the other man had. Except he closes the distance between us a bit more. I want to back away but I know that's not possible with the position I'm in.

He exhales, nostrils flaring as he scans my face. Suddenly, he lifts his hand and begins to trace circles on my face. I squeeze my eyes shut. Don't touch me, don't touch me, don't touch me...

"You're prettier up close." His words make me shudder in disgust. "I remember the first time I saw you, Farrah. It wasn't at the hospital when your naïve self told me all I needed to know about you. No, it was at the restaurant — Karma if I remember correctly." The restaurant? The first night I met Domenico... he was there. He grips my face, squeezing my cheeks together and I feel tears well up in my eyes at the pain. "I knew I wanted you, I knew I was going to get you. Everything just fell into place when Domenico wanted you too."

He pulls his hand away aggressively, squeezing even more as he releases me. There's blood on his thumb from where it drips from my temple when he knocked me out.

"I'm sure he's told you about Nazar Kravets. Yes, we began to work together when we found out Domenico had wronged us both." I can understand Nazar but Thomas has no reason to go after Domenico if all he wanted was me. That just sounds like a shitty excuse, "The deal was, I get you, he gets him. Seems it worked out pretty well, wouldn't you say?"

My eyes widen in shock — is this why Nico sent me back? So he could give himself up to the man that wants to kill him?

With that, I open my mouth for my first words in however long it's been. My throat is dry and when I try to swallow, it hurts but I push that aside long enough to ask, "Where is he?"

The blond-haired man chuckles and in a thick accent speaks, "She speaks."

Thomas shushes him but keeps his eyes on me, "Don't worry about —"

"Where is he, Thomas?" My volume increases as I meet his eye, trying to give off the facade of being undaunted.

He doesn't care to answer. Instead he puts his hand on me again, only lower this time. He caresses my stomach and a shudder rushes through me. Don't touch me. His fingers inch closer to the waistband of my panties and dip below the material. I turn my head away and gag internally.

"I've always wondered how you taste."

"Please don't —" I whisper but he doesn't fucking care. Instead he holds the back of my head and pushes me closer to his face, planting his lips on mine. All while his finger runs over my slit.

A flash of energy heats my body and I reach my leg out to kick him back with as much force as I can muster.

"Don't fucking touch me!" I scream, trying to keep the tears at bay but failing immensely. They run down my face as I try to keep my composure.

Thomas looks offended and turns to the man behind him with a nod. He steps forward and without warning, punches my side. Pain shoots through me and it feels like he cracked a rib. My eyes squeeze shut in response.

"Please, I'm pregnant." I sob, feeling it rack through my body, "Don't hurt my baby, please!"

Thomas's eyes widen as he looks me up and down. "Pregnant?" He huffs out a scoff of amusement, "Seems Domenico has run you through. Maybe it's time he sees that."

He walks over to the wall that has a mirror in front of me — one I didn't even notice in most of my focus being on the two men in front of me.

He flips a switch and suddenly the mirror becomes plain glass. And right behind that glass is the man I love, seated in a chair, bloodied and bruised as he stares right at me, anger clear in his gaze. Not at me — but toward the familiar man standing behind him and the men on my side. I'd seen the photographs, it's Nazar.

"Did you hear that, Nico lad?" Thomas reiterates with a wild smile on his face, "She's pregnant! Guess that's two things to lose in one."

"You seem to think I won't be able to touch her..." He continues, "Or your mother who has been sick for months or your brother, Luca, who has been spiraling since that one night in Moscow. As far as I am concerned, Farrah Samuels is the least of your worries."

He knows too much. I don't have much time to figure out how nor care to figure out who told him. They'd get their due.

But he answered my unasked question.

"That female friend of yours that works for the government — seems she has an extensive resume."

Of course, it's Alessia.

I remain still, trying to figure out what to say that will throw him off the scent but I'm also well aware that there's no way to do such a thing. I'd rather not chance shooting him in the face and starting a war against mafias in which I'd lose a lot of the men I swore to protect.

Instead, I have to bury my pride and do what I have to in order to keep my family safe — Farrah included.

I would give all the money in the world, kill as many people as I'd have to in order to make sure Farrah is alive — even if it means she leaves and forgets all about this life I lead.

I know it's never that easy, but technically speaking, I'm worth more than she is to him. At least, I'm willing to wager that he'd prefer to take my head off than hers.

That's why the next words that leave my mouth are a sign of surrender.

"I am willing to give myself up." I say, "With my written word and your written understanding, you will not touch anyone in my family — especially Farrah Samuels. You can torture me, kill me, I don't care. Just do not touch her. If it comes to be that you break your word in any way, shape or form, I will not hesitate to wage a war against you and I'm sure I have more men willing to fight than you."

loophole tingz: nazar didn't touch farrah, thomas did 👀

thoughts?

one more chapter then the epilogue then we ouuttttttt