Leo pulled the blindfold from her eyes, unsurprised to find a luminescent green shining out at him. She was so young it made his heart hurt. Obviously legal, but at least fifteen years his junior. Probably more. Too young to lose her whole life.

There was a muffled scream from behind the gag as she tried to escape his touch. His hand pressed against her cheek. “Shhhh. I’m not him. Look.” He motioned toward his brother. “We’re twins.”

Leo was always conscious of his scar, but perhaps it wasn’t that obvious. Or maybe she was so scared that the idea of a twin hadn’t occurred to her.

She was perfect in every way. The right thing was to take her to the police where she’d be protected and turn his brother in, but that was never going to happen. Family came first.

His attention went back to her feet. They were long and delicate with raspberry polish on her toes. The blood dripped steadily. It must have happened moments before he arrived.

“Get me a first aid kit. Why the fuck didn’t you clean this, Angelo? It could get infected. What kind of gift is she if you break her before I arrive?”

“I didn’t want to waste my time if you weren’t taking her. Are you taking her?”

“I don’t have much choice, do I?” Leo didn’t bother hiding his disgust.

Angelo smiled. “Well, if you don’t find her appealing, if she’s not everything you’ve ever wanted to tie up and dominate, then all you have to do is say the word and she’s gone.”

The girl flinched at that. Whether her reaction was about the tying up and dominating or the implication of her death, he couldn’t be sure. Likely equal parts of both.

“Just get the first aid kit.” He couldn’t bring himself to remove the gag. Not with an audience. Later, alone in the car he would, but not here. Whatever words would pass between them wouldn’t be witnessed by Angelo and his lover. From here on, what happened between them was private.

His brother returned a moment later with the kit, and Leo pulled the girl’s legs onto his lap. He didn’t care about the blood getting on his pants. All he cared about was getting her bandaged so he could get her out of here.

* * *

Faith was glad to escape Angelo, but now she had another man to fear. She tried not to look at the brutal, angry scar on his face. As if she needed more evidence this man had known violence.

A new bruise formed on her wrist, chastising her for her escape attempt. She couldn’t see it in the dark, but she knew it bloomed and burst across her flesh like an erupting volcano.

“I untied your hands as a kindness, and you try to attack me as soon as I start the car?”

“What the hell did you expect?” Was it not normal to try to save yourself from enslavement?