Melody stared down the dark barrel of the gun that Enrique had pointed at her and waited for the fear to come. But it never did.
She’d been right. She wasn’t going to let fear rule her ever again, and she certainly wasn’t going to let Enrique. Never again. She would never let him have that power over her, not now, not ever.
Melody tilted her chin up in the air and forced her shoulders to stay ramrod straight. She took a step towards him, deliberately drawing his attention away from the others and hoping they would use the chance to get out of the line of his weapon.
“It’s me you want, Enrique. You don’t care about them.”
Melody tried to make her voice strong, but it came out more breathless than she’d have liked. She just hoped that he took it for something other than the anger that was pumping through her veins.
“Let them go. They don’t matter.”
“Nice try, angel,” Enrique growled as his gaze focused in on something just beyond her right shoulder.
No, not something. Someone. Melody barely held back a gasp as she realized that Enrique’s black gaze was focused on Christian, who was still supporting Bianca’s injured form.
“But I know who this is,” Enrique said, stepping past Melody as if he didn’t see her at all.
He pushed her out of the way, and Melody stumbled down the step. Amanda stopped her from falling, but her eyes never left Christian and Enrique as he stalked closer and closer to her husband.
“This is the bastard that thought he could take what was mine. She belongs to me.”
Enrique punctuated every word by shoving the barrel of the gun against Christian’s chest, and Melody couldn’t breathe. Oh, there was the fear again. Not for herself. But for the man she loved. For the father of her child.
“Please, don’t hurt him.”
Melody knew it was a mistake as soon as the words slipped out of her mouth, as Enrique turned to look at her and then back at Christian with absolute rage twisting his handsome features into the monster that always lurked beneath.
All that Melody could see in her mind was that moment in the office. When Enrique had lost his mind and shot his man standing right beside her. The blood had splattered across her body, her face, filling her nose with its awful metallic scent. Only, this time, it would be Christian’s blood. The thought paralyzed her.
“She doesn’t want me to hurt you. Isn’t that sweet,” Enrique crooned, his voice so soft that Melody could barely hear it, but it still sent shivers of dread tripping down her spine. “You do think it’s sweet, don’t you? But she doesn’t understand. You do, don’t you?”
Enrique cocked his head, his black eyes never leaving Christian, who was still standing stoically, trying to support Bianca and hide her behind his larger body all at the same time.
All Melody could do was watch on in horror as Enrique took another step towards her husband, examining him like a bird watching its pray, waiting for the moment to pounce and destroy it.
“She belongs to me. I own her. She’s my property. And you touched what belongs to me. I can’t just let that go without… punishment.”
Enrique spoke almost as if he was a teacher, explaining something to a particularly dense child. His voice took on a lecturing tone as he spoke to Christian, patronizing him, condescending. Pushing him with every word. But Christian refused to take the bait, and once more Enrique was enraged.
Melody had to force herself to remain still as Enrique held up the gun, pointing it so hard against Christian’s forehead that it left a mark from the barrel. Amanda still held on to her, holding her back. Enrique’s cousin shot her a look of warning, but all Melody could see was her husband in danger. The father of her child, staring down the barrel of a madman’s gun.
But Christian didn’t flinch.
It made Enrique smile, and it was the most terrible expression that Melody had ever seen in her life. Melody shuddered, barely biting back a cry of warning, but Amanda squeezed her arm hard enough to leave a bruise, drawing her back from the edge.
“No, I’m not going to make this quick for you,” Enrique was saying, still talking in that soft, razor sharp voice of his that always spelled trouble. That trouble was shortcoming. Enrique raised his hand, coming down hard with the butt of the gun against Christian’s forehead.
“NO! Christian!”
Melody couldn’t hold back the cry this time, and only Amanda’s tight grip on her arm, holding her back, stopped her from rushing to Christian’s side, to do something to try and help the man she loved.
Enrique didn’t look back at her outburst. It was as if he hadn’t even heard her as he kept talking in that quiet hissing voice. A snake twining around its victim, playing with its pray before going in for the final blow.
“It’s not going to be quick for you. I am going to kill you slow and painful, until you’re nothing but a broken puppet of a man. I’m going to make you beg for me to kill you. But I won’t. Not yet.”
Enrique leaned forward, his words barely a whisper, but Melody still heard them, and they made anger and fear and bile mix terribly in the pit of her stomach.
“I’m going to take Melody right here in front of you, over and over again. And I’m going to make you watch. Then I’ll kill you. But it won’t matter. There won’t be anything left of you to care by then.”
Christian snapped then, lunging towards Enrique in rage, but the other man was too fast. Enrique stepped back, levelling the gun once more, but this time it was pointed straight at Melody.
“If you move again, I’ll shoot her,” Enrique growled.
Christian immediately froze. He cast her an agonized look, and she tried to put all the words she could say in her eyes. There was nothing either of them could do. They were both trapped, and this time she couldn’t think of a single plan to get them out of it.
“That’s what I thought,” Enrique sneered, walking close once more to Christian, disgust painted on his handsome face. “You’re a little fucking bitch. You think she would ever want you when she could have me? She’s mine! Do you understand that! I own her!”
Enrique punctuated every word with another blow from the butt of the gun, and Christian did nothing to fight back, nothing to protect himself from Enrique’s wrath. He just stared at Melody, his eyes never breaking contact with hers until he was finally driven to the ground.
Melody gasped as she saw him mouth three words. I’m so sorry. And then Christian was moving again, lurching to his feet, reaching towards Enrique, but it was obvious that the blows were starting to take their toll as Christian stumbled forwards.
Enrique easily stepped out of the way, a terrible joy stretching across his face as he gestured to his men.
“Hold him,” Enrique ordered, watching as his men leapt to obey.
He smiled again and Melody bit back a cry of despair.
“Now it’s time for the real fun.”
Melody wanted to close her eyes. She wanted to look away. Somehow block her ears so that she wouldn’t have to hear the grunts of pain or the slap of flesh against flesh or the sharp laughter of Enrique’s men.
But she couldn’t.
She couldn’t even blink, no matter how bad she wanted to. This was her fault. It was all her fault.