Fear still shook her body. Tears still blurred her vision. But rage had finally found somewhere useful to go.
She spun to face him, her other wrist still secured to the desk. Veronica drove her foot upwards. Her heel connected sharply beneath his jaw.
David’s head snapped back, his teeth clacking together as the force sent him stumbling back. Luca waited but his expression had transformed. The helpless husband was gone.
What remained was the man David should never have brought within reach. Luca watched him stagger and smiled.
"Bring him here!" Luca yelled.
Veronica seized the edge of the metal table and spun it with every ounce of strength left in her body.
Adrenaline roared through her veins, drowning out the agony in her dislocated thumb and the raw burn around her restrained wrist. The table legs shrieked against the concrete as she swung it into position with a scream ripping from the deep recesses of her soul, then drove it straight into David’s midsection.
The impact forced the air from his lungs. David folded over the edge before the table knocked him backwards, sending him stumbling towards Luca.
Exactly where Luca wanted him. Luca lifted the chain connecting his ankles and caught David around the neck as he fell. With one violent jerk, he dragged the chain tight across David’s throat.
David gagged. His hands flew to the metal biting into his neck, fingers clawing uselessly for space. Luca braced himself against the iron bar and pulled harder, every muscle in his body straining despite the blood gushing from his wounded arm.
His face held no mercy but it had the satisfaction of finally having David within reach. Veronica’s gaze snapped towards the drawer she had thrown earlier.
The keys.
The fucking keys had been inside it.
"Fuck!" She twisted towards the floor, dragging the heavy table with her because one wrist remained cuffed to it. The furniture scraped loudly behind her as she searched.
Naturally, the keys had chosen this exact moment to become invisible. David continued struggling behind her, choking as Luca tightened the chain.
"Vee..." Luca grunted, "I really don’t want to make his death easy."
David’s face had begun to redden. His movements became more frantic, his nails digging into his own skin as he fought for air.
"Find that key now!"
Veronica shot him an incredulous look over her shoulder. "You try finding anything with one hand cuffed and one dislocated thumb!" she snapped. Her free hand swept beneath the desk. Nothing. She searched beside the overturned drawer.
Behind her, Luca’s grip slipped for half a second. David sucked in a ragged breath. Luca immediately hauled the chain tight again, his expression promising that oxygen had merely been a temporary error.
"Take your time, darling..." Luca said sarcastically.


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