He Wanted A Submissive

diecisiete.

The next morning Valerie was woken up by the pounding of her head.

Slowly, but surely righting herself up and walking towards her vanity. When she looks at herself, she doesn't even recognize her reflection. Gaunt eyes stare back at her with no expression, her make up from last night is smudged beyond recognition of what was. Her neck was incredibly stiff, and when she lifted her hair from the skin of it, dark purple bruising crept around her throat.

What the actual fuck?

Was all that came to mind.

The memories of last night flooded back to her like a wave crashing against a jagged shore.

The way KJ cornered her and assaulted her, the way he was the Armata's way of staking their claim on her—

"By next week you'll be sporting a python..."

Jordan's words rang clear in her head, and what made her sick to her stomach was that they were beginning to ring true as well. The phone that KJ stuck to her was sitting on her nightstand and for some reason it felt like she'd been given a bomb to store in her house.

There was only a matter of when it would ring, not if and what the hell would happen to her if she didn't answer?

Michael was still alive.

He knew her face and he knows Luca. She's now a wanted woman, by one of New York's most powerful businessmen.

How could life get any fucking worse?

"Valerie! Are you up?!" Nicki shrieks from her bedroom, her voice telling nothing but complete awe.

"Yeah! Be right there!" Valerie rasps as loudly as she could with her throbbing throat. She shrugs a huge hoodie on to cover her half naked body and prepared herself for the cold in their apartment.

Stepping into Nicki's room she saw her sitting on the edge of her bed rapidly scrolling through something on her phone.

"What do you want?" Valerie griped, announcing her presence. Nicki immediately turned to face her, but the surprise on her face melted into a deep frown as she appraised Valerie's appearance.

"What the fuck happened to you, babe?" She asks in disbelief, absently touching her own neck letting Valerie know exactly what she was referring to. Instantly she felt tears begin to prick her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. At least not right now.

"I can't remember. What's up?" Valerie just sadly shrugged off the question. Nicki's weighty gaze lingered on her for a few moments longer before she looked down at her phone again, then without another word she just handed it to Valerie.

"See for yourself."

Was her only answer.

It was not surprising that Nicki was reading a trashy gossip magazine, but who was on the cover made Valerie weak in the knees.

Giovanni Gone Wild plastered above Luca's visibly wasted face as he punches a man in the face. As she gawks at the photo, all Valerie can think of is how different he looks from the last time they spoke face to face. His hair had grown out considerably, he had a beard, and most of all he just looked tired.

His eyes bloodshot, which honestly could have just been him being high out of his mind. The guy he was beating to a pulp no doubt was one of his colleagues, the clash of expensive suits was the give away. In the very corner of the picture there was a woman, holding onto Luca's shoulder for dear life her profile just barely concealed by his towering frame.

It was Margaret. Wedding ring on.

It was as if all the dominoes fell into place at that one second, Luca was fighting Margaret's husband. But why?