Little Broken Bird

Chapter 16

Nate

We all cringed and felt nauseous as we watched the video of Carlos sexually assaulting Mattie. I glanced at Tori, wondering how many times in her life had she been on the receiving end of his vile actions. A loud crash brought us all out of our shocked states as Marc threw a chair across the room. Emilio sat shaking, his hands clutching the note, while the rest of the Toma men wore similar expressions of shock and outrage.

"What is Devil's Breath?" Sean asked.

"It's a drug that makes people more compliant. I...I used it when I forced her to marry me, on Tori too," Emilio said, shame covering his face.

Sean quickly searched it on his phone and let out a sigh, "Okay, it's based off of Scopolamine. In limited amounts, it won't impact the pregnancy or her permanently. Does Carlos know she's pregnant?"

Emilio shook his head, "No. After her...her attempt, we didn't tell anyone. She didn't want people to think she had tried to kill the baby."

"Victor, anything?" I asked as he worked with the footage.

"I have water and birds in the background, maybe an ocean. It's faint, but still there. Does that help?" he asked.

"I'll have my men start with small areas near the ocean. If they're wanting Violet, they won't have gone too far," Alberto said and left the room.

"The cuts aren't deep," Tori said hesitantly. "They won't scar."

"That's good, isn't it?" North asked.

She shook her head, "No, that's bad. It means he doesn't plan on letting her go even if the exchange is made. He's keeping her."

"The fuck he is!" Brandon roared. "I'll kill the bastard myself if I have to."

Tori threw up her hands, "You men don't get it! Kuso baka yarō! He means to deal her. A clean canvas sells higher, right Emilio?" She looked at him with daggers. "I made you six million in a single night, didn't I? Now imagine how much Carlos can get for the Reina? He'll auction her off piece by piece."

Emilio's face paled, while ours contorted with rage. "You fucking sold her," Gabe seethed in a deadly calm voice. "You're no better than that piece of trash that took your wife." He moved faster than I'd ever seen and where the fuck did he get that knife? In seconds, he had Emilio pinned against the couch, the blade pressed against his throat. "How about I show you how skilled I am, Emilio? Perhaps you'd like to wear the scars Tori wears? I'd be more than happy to do it," he growled.

We all were frozen in place. I'd never seen Gabe like this and it was downright terrifying.

"Blue eyes, don't," her voice said softly. "It won't make my scars go away, and all it would do is hurt Mattie. Please, Gabriel."

He turned to her and his eyes lightened instantly. He flicked the knife back and walked toward her, pulling her into his arms. Her eyes filled with tears as he whispered to her where we couldn't hear, then they left the room.

Gabe

When she said he'd sold her, I saw red. I wanted to paint the damn walls with his blood. Her voice broke through the haze of my anger instantly.

"Blue eyes, don't," she had said softly. "It won't make my scars go away, and all it would do is hurt Mattie. Please, Gabriel."

Hearing my name on her lips had stopped me cold. I kept my face nuzzled in her neck as I walked back to her room. I gently helped her into the bed and climbed next to her. "May I?" I asked. "I just need to be near you, please."