Xander Vittorio POVWhen the room becomes unbearably cold, Anya begins to shiver.I push her away from my chest, and taking off my shirt, I struggle in the darkness to make sure it’s the right way around before I tug the fabric over her head.“It’s not much, but it will help,” I say as I adjust the fabric around her torso and hips.“Thank you.” Her voice sounds hollow and fragile.I pull her back against my chest and soak up the heat from her body. “You okay sleeping like this? It will help us generate some heat.”“Yeah.”It’s the middle of fucking winter, and if we don’t use our bodies to keep each other warm, there’s a possibility one or both of us will get sick. The old radiators I saw in the hallway and the heat from the building pipes might keep away the worst of the winter, but it’s still going to be cold as fuck in this room.Minutes pass before I ask, “How are you feeling? Physically.”“Sore,” she admits. “It didn’t hurt as much when I lost my virginity.”Christ.Guilt rears i

Xander Vittorio POVAnya thinks it’s only been three weeks, but I’m sure we’ve been here for over a month.Because we’re only fed every three days, I’ve lost most of my weight and muscle mass. Anya’s face has become hollow, and when she tries to share her food with me, I have to use all the strength I have to deny the scraps so she can get some nourishment into her body.I still haven’t seen Marc Vincent since the first day, and my worry for my brother is eating me up alive. For all I know, Marc Vincent is already dead.We also haven’t been taken from the room to be tortured since Ponti forced us to have sex. But that doesn’t mean we’re not suffering.My worry for my brother and watching Anya fade away is a different kind of torture that nothing in this world could prepare me for.Melody and I sit side by side during the day, and at night I pull her onto my lap so we can help keep each other warm while we try to get some sleep.Sleep. It’s not something I’ve had much of. I only manage

Alexander Vittorio POVComing to, I’m confused as fuck. My body feels like it’s been torn apart, and I struggle to pry my eyes open. For a blissful moment, I don’t remember what happened as I glance around the sterile room, seeing Maryo sitting on an armchair.My best friend glances at me, and instantly a smile spreads over his face. He rushes to the doorway, and leaning out into the hallway, he shouts, “Xander’s awake!”My parents and Tanya come barreling into the hospital room.Mama looks like she’s aged ten years, a shock of white streaks in her dark brown hair. Her face has new lines, and her eyes are dull with heartache.Tanya starts to cry and comes to grab my hand.Then my eyes land on my father’s stern face.Marc Vincent. Anya. The moment of bliss splinters, and every shard flays my soul to shreds.My brother’s head falls forward, and blood trickles from the gunshot wound to his temple.NONONONONO!My body fails me, and as I drop to my knees, three shots echo into the night. M

Alexander Vittorio POVIt’s been a month since my world came to an end.This time I’m a prisoner in my bedroom because every time I lay eyes on my father, I lose my mind.I begged Maryo to go to the field. I at least wanted Anya to be buried so she wasn’t just lying out in the open.Christ. My heart. I grip the fabric over my chest, the pain too intense to breathe.Maryo didn’t find Anya in the field, which means someone already discovered her body. It’s not comforting at all. Strangers are handling the body of the only woman I’ll ever love. She didn’t even get a funeral.I can’t. I can’t deal with this. It’s too much.Standing in front of the window, I stare at nothing as my mind is tortured.I have no will to live.“Xander,” Maryo whispers behind me.“Hmm.”“Talk to me.”“About what?”He takes hold of my shoulder and turns me so I’ll look at him. “Anything…everything.”Everything. The beating, the whipping, the knife through my hand. The starvation and hunger pains. My body witherin

Xander Vittorio POVSitting on a private jet with my boss, I stare out of the window. I’ve completed my training at Palawan, and Viktor Koslov’s decided he wants me in New York with him. During my first year of training, I put up an act so people would fear me and stay the fuck away from me, but with time I became the person I was pretending to be.I don’t care about anything but Maryo, Armani, my mama, and Tanya. I have no conscience and will kill without thinking twice. After losing Anya and Marc Vincent, I never got my sanity back. With every passing year, it’s gotten worse, and now I’m nothing more than a monster who’ll kill and maim at command. My relationship with my father is volatile as fuck. Our lives hardly cross paths, which is a good thing.Viktor Koslov knows everything about my past, and he feels I’m a loose cannon he needs to keep an eye on.Honestly, I think Viktor is just as insane as me. I almost chuckle when I remember the incident earlier this year. Maryo, Armani,