Chapter 19

Aria POV

The faint sound of sirens jolted Aria awake. She looked around the room. The man with the dark hair stood up immediately. He walked over to the door and opened it a crack. He was whispering to someone on the other side. Aria assumed it was Maria. She tried to listen in but they were being too quiet. The man slammed the door closed and breathed heavily without turning back to Aria. Aria swallowed the huge lump in her throat as she began to get nervous.

What was this guy going to do? The cops were on their way. He turned toward her with blazing eyes and strode over to her. He leaned down and kissed her roughly on the lips. He stepped back and reached into his back pocket. He pulled out his pocket knife and his dark gaze stared down at Aria. She understood that look. She shook her head frantically as tears formed in her eyes. This time she didn't bother hiding them. She let them fall as her breathing became ragged.

"Don't do this. Please, don't do this. I-I will do whatever you want just please don't hurt me." Aria could have sworn she saw guilt and regret flash in the man's eyes but in a blink it was gone. She must have imagined it. He slowly began leaning down. Aria closed her eyes tightly and let the tears slip down her cheek. She bit her lips to conceal the scream the pain was going to bring on.

He breathed in deeply and ran the tip of the knife lightly over her face. "I think it'll take the cops a little while to get in here. I can have a little fun first." He smiled wickedly at her. He pressed the knife into her skin along her jaw. Aria panted in agony. He lightly ran the tip of the knife across her chin and then did the same thing to the other side of her face. The salty tears that escaped her eyes hit the scars and caused them to sting profusely. He gave her a couple more cuts but she somehow managed to keep the screams from being released from her throat. He ran the knife down her chin, over her throat, down the center of her breasts, and over her stomach. He traced her bellybutton lightly as she whimpered.

She watched him as he licked his lips and concentrated on her stomach. He looked up into her eyes. She gazed back into them and thought that maybe he would let her go without harming her. The searing pain to her abdomen a few moments later demolished that thought. She cried out in torment as the knife penetrated her skin. He dug the knife deep into her. He looked down at the wound and licked his lips. As Aria was trying to deal with the pain, she noticed that the wound was turning him on. Her pain was a turn on for him. He clenched his jaw and smiled as he pulled out the knife. Aria screamed out. Aria panted and tried to distract herself from the pain. She watched him. Disbelief filled her, as the man brought the knife to his mouth and stuck out his tongue to lick the blade. He smiled at her when he saw her watching. He raised an eyebrow and brought the knife back down into her abdomen. This brought out another wave of torture to Aria's body.

Just as he was pulling it out, the door swung open. Aria's vision faded but she managed to catch a slight glimpse of the person at the door. She smiled and whispered, "Ezra," before darkness consumed her.

Ezra POV

Ezra's eyes widened when he saw Aria. He rushed to her side as the cops tackled the man. His eyes never left Aria since he opened the door. He was cupping her face and lightly smacking her cheek to get her to wake up when he felt a rough pull on his shoulder sending him backward into a wall. He leaned against it to keep himself from falling as he watched the paramedics tend to Aria's wounds. He looked to his right and saw Clarissa standing frozen in the doorway with wide eyes.

Taking one last glance over at the paramedics as they heaved Aria onto a gurney, he walked over to Clarissa. He placed a hand on her shoulder. Her gaze never faltered. Ezra removed his eyes from Clarissa and looked over to where she was staring. He stopped breathing when he met the eyes of his brother. Nathan stared over at Ezra with shame filled eyes. Ezra clenched his jaw and flared his nostrils. The cops had sat him in a chair with his hands handcuffed behind his back. Ezra stomped over to him and grabbed him by the collar lifting him out of the chair and slamming him against the wall. The cops went to subdue Ezra but Clarissa stopped them.

Nathan's eyes shown with nothing but fear as his younger brother got in his face. "Ezra…" he whispered but Ezra slammed his fist into his gut causing him to grunt. He hunched over in agony as he tried to catch his breath but Ezra grabbed his collar and slammed him against the wall again.

"Why? Why would you do this?" Ezra whispered roughly through clenched teeth. Nathan remained silent. Tears glistened in Ezra's eyes. He faintly heard the paramedics wheel Aria out of the room and up the stairs hurriedly. Ezra shoved him against the wall again. "You were doing better. You were getting help. Why would you do this to Aria?"

Nathan looked down. "Mom and Dad gave it all to you," he whispered. Ezra furrowed his brow and narrowed his eyes.

"What?" he exasperated.

Nathan sighed and looked into Ezra's eyes. Ezra was surprised to see nothing but coldness in his stare. "All of my savings. They gave it all to you."

Ezra's jaw dropped in disbelief. A new wave of anger flowed through his body. His breathing became ragged. "You did this because of money? Money?" Ezra grinded out. He spun around and threw Nathan onto the floor. He reeled back his fist intending to land a punch square on his brother's face when someone grabbed him by the crook of his elbow. He looked back at the officer who shook his head and lightly pulled on Ezra's arm pushing him against the wall. Ezra leaned against it as the tears silently fell from his eyes. He watched as the cops took his brother away. Clarissa stared straight ahead.

"Clarissa?" Ezra breathed out. Clarissa wordlessly moved her eyes to look at Ezra. "Are you okay? You're scaring me." Clarissa barely nodded. She fell into the chair that Nathan had been sitting in and hid her face in her hands. Her body trembled as she silently sobbed into her hands. Ezra bit back a sob as he walked over to her and bent down in front of her. He reached for her hands and pulled them away from her face to hold them. Clarissa looked at him.

"How could I have been married to this monster?" she cried out. "I'm an FBI Agent. I should have seen the signs." Ezra shook his head.

"You couldn't have known. None of us did." Ezra whispered.

Clarissa released one of her hands from his grip and wiped the tears from her eyes. She sniffled once and gave a soft smile. "You should go to the hospital. I should go back to your apartment and get my son so Ella and Byron can go to the hospital." Ezra's jaw slackened.

"I should probably call them." Ezra took out his cell phone and stared at the screen. Clarissa looked from him to the phone then back to him.

"Ezra?"

Ezra looked up at her. "What do I say?" he whispered shaking his head. "You're daughter is in the hospital because my brother stabbed her? I don't know if she's okay?" Tears formed in Ezra's eyes.

Clarissa reached up and wiped the tears that fell from his eyes and cupped his cheek. "It's not your fault Ezra. Just tell them to meet you at the hospital." Ezra nodded and dialed.