The Marriage Debt (De Vos Mafia #2)(6)

Her side of the family gets up to watch us leave, mournful looks adorn their eyes, but none of them dare to say a word, let alone act. They know their place.

Their family owes ours, and this is the price they’ll pay.

I don’t care about their judgmental looks.

All I care about is that I’m going to make her pay for what she did … and mark her as mine.





Chapter 3





Jill



* * *



A reception has never felt like a prison party until the day I got married.

Everyone is huddled in their own corner in the De Vos mansion, clutching their champagne glasses while eerily staring at the opposite side of the room where the other side of the family is standing. It’s a sullen, bleak party with no semblance of festivities whatsoever.

Lights are flickering all around us as the music blasts through the speakers, but no one is dancing. It’s like they’re all waiting for something … or someone to start.

I stare down at the drink in front of me and all the delicious food that’s going untouched. My stomach can’t handle a single bite. All I can think about is running away through the door in the back leading out into the forest beyond.

Maybe if I run hard, I’ll make it out.

But then I look at my family and at Jasmine, who’s standing in the corner, watching me every other second to see what I’ll do. And it reminds me of the reason I came here.

If I go, he’ll take her instead.

I can’t let that happen.

The De Vos family has a vendetta against mine, and they won’t rest until the debt is repaid, whether it’s with a ring or by blood.

I jolt up and down when a hand suddenly lands on my shoulder. “Jill. Or should I say Mrs. De Vos.” It’s Lex, Luca’s father. “Come walk with me. I’d like to show you something.”

I swallow and put down my champagne to follow him into a hallway and out of that snore-fest. But the longer I walk with him, the more the silence begins to overwhelm me. There’s a clear tension between us, especially when he stops to gaze at me.

“I wanted to show you something,” he says, opening a door. “In here.”

A staircase leads downstairs into the dark basement.

The mere thought of going down there gives me the creeps.

Why does he want me to go down there?

Is he planning to do something to me?

I look back at the party, where Luca is standing with a champagne glass in his hands.

“Don’t worry. My son knows,” he says. “I’ll go first.”

He goes down the stairs and looks back up at me until I finally decide to make the first step. I follow him down into the grimy-looking basement. It’s too dark to see anything.

Until he switches on the light.

Revealing a cage right in front of me.

There’s a giant, muscular, half-naked man hiding in the corner behind the bars.

“What … What is this?” I mutter, unable to look away because of all the scars on his body.

Lex grabs an iron poke and stuffs it through the bars, prodding the man.

Lunging up from the ground, he growls like a beast, fisting the bars while shaking the cage. I jump back at the size of him so close to me, wild eyes penetrating my soul as my heart races.

“That,” Lex says as he fishes something from a mini fridge, “is the Beast.”

The beast?

What in the actual fuck?

“He works for me and me alone,” Lex says, putting actual raw meat on the iron poke and shoving it inside.

The man snatches the raw meat off and stuffs it into his mouth like it’s nothing, and the mere sight makes bile rise in my throat.

But then Lex turns to look at me. “And when I tell him to catch someone, he will do it.”

Chills run up and down my spine.

He steps closer. “Do you understand what I mean, girl?”

I shudder in place. “Yes.”

He leans in to tuck a hair behind my ear. “Good.”

And then he passes me and goes back upstairs, leaving me with the Beast.

I’m too stunned to move.

Who would do this to a fellow human being?

Then again, the De Vos family is vile enough to do just this.

When the Beast looks up at me, my pupils dilate, and I make a run for it up the stairs.

Lex laughs as he turns off the light from upstairs. “C’mon, let’s go back to the party.”

And when he places a hand on my back, I try hard to fight back the tears.

Because that wasn’t just a warning … it was a threat.

I go back to the main hallway where the party is while Lex disappears into the bathroom. I don’t want to be anywhere near him for the rest of the night.

I grab my champagne glass and chug it back in one go.

Luca approaches me from the side, his hand barely grazing my shoulder. He leans in, his bristly shaven beard prickling against my neck as he whispers, “Dance with me.”

I close my eyes and put my resolve away as he tugs me toward the middle of the floor. My gown barely allows for movement, but he guides me through every step, one hand firmly clutching my hand while the other rests on my waist. There is not an inch of a smile on either of our faces.

Why are we doing this?

He twirls me around and pulls me back into his arms so hard I almost fall, but he catches me and leaves me dangling on one foot. With a simple push, he has me back on my feet, drawing circles on the floor in slow-motion. One misstep, and my heel lands on his toes. His face scrunches up, and he drags me in and whispers, “I know what you’re trying to do, but it won’t work.”