Without warning, I reached down and gave her ass a hard smack.
"That's for spray painting my car," I said.
Her breath hitched, and she bit her lip, trying to suppress a smile. "You're such a caveman."
"Caveman? How about this?" I said, smacking her...
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ESMERALDA'S POV
The world tilted violently as Nathan yanked me further into the alley, the sharp scent of damp concrete and stale cigarettes clogging my senses. My pulse pounded so hard it echoed in my ears, drowning out everything except the sickening sound of his laughter.
I thrashed, my nails clawing at his arm, my heels digging into the ground as I struggled against his grip. But he was too strong, his fingers like a vice around my wrist.
"You're just going to love this, princess," he taunted, his breath hot and rancid against my cheek.
"Let me go!" I gasped, my voice breaking as I kicked out wildly, desperate to make contact with anything. "Please!"
My cry bounced uselessly off the towering walls of the alleyway. The realization that no one could hear me—or worse, that no one cared—made panic coil tighter around my throat.
Nathan only laughed, a sharp, mirthless sound that sent shivers racing down my spine. "You really think it's that easy?"
With a brutal shove, he slammed me against the cold brick wall, the impact knocking the breath from my lungs. My vision blurred for a second, but I forced myself to stay upright, to fight through the daze clouding my mind.
"Your brother's made some powerful enemies, and you're going to be my bargaining chip," he continued, his tone sickeningly casual, as if this was just business to him. "I'm going to make sure he understands that he can't just walk away from his obligations."
Trevor.
This was about Trevor.
I swallowed hard, pushing down the wave of nausea that threatened to overtake me. If this was about my brother, then I wasn't just a random target—I was leverage. A means to an end.
That meant I still had a chance to get out of this.
I had to keep him talking, buy myself time.
"What do you mean?" I demanded, forcing my voice to steady even as my hands trembled. "What do you want from Trevor?"
Nathan smirked, stepping closer, his dark eyes glinting with amusement. "Oh, it's not what I want from him," he murmured, his fingers brushing against my jaw in a mockingly gentle caress. I flinched away, my stomach twisting with revulsion.
"It's what I want him to suffer for."
My breath hitched, fear crawling up my spine like ice.
"You're going to get to see firsthand how much pain he's caused," Nathan continued, his voice dropping lower, more sinister. "And then, when he comes for you, we'll see just how tough he really is."
I stiffened, my mind racing.
Nathan wasn't just here to send a message—he wanted to break Trevor.
