Saving Simona (Alone In The World Trilogy) by Rebekah Blackmore Page A

can we?” Gia said nothing, looking away. Raymond let out an angry sound, gripping the brunette’s chin between his thumb and forefinger tightly. “You will answer me when I speak to you, trollop.”
    Gia bit back tears. “No, we do not want that, sir,” she said quietly. Raymond nodded before releasing Gia’s face from his grasp.
    “Do you know what we must do about this situation then?” Gia shook her head, fear filling her gut. “Leander mentioned that if he cannot have you forever, then no one can.” Raymond pulled her tighter, whispering in her ear, “Looks like it’s time to die, pretty girl.”
    Gia let out a terrified gasp as Raymond laughed and pulled out his knife. He dangled the blade in Gia’s face. “What a shame it is, too,” he commented, leaning forward and biting at her ear again. “What a nice bite you have. It is a shame that Leander never got to experience it as fully as he desired.” He gave a nonchalant humph before looking down at the knife and shrugging. “Oh, well.”
    Gia’s breath caught as a spearing pain launched through her side as Raymond thrust the blade through the boning of the corset and in between her ribs, the serrated ridges slipping between her intercostals and shredding them as the blade was ripped back out. Gia’s hand flew to her side as she crumpled to the ground, Raymond stepping back to wipe the blood off against his handkerchief. He looked back at the whimpering girl, taking a moment to dig his boot into the tender hole in her side . He spat at her before kicking her again. “Have fun in hell, bitch,” he murmured as he laughed, his eyes flashing at Gia glanced up at him before he hopped back on his horse and rode away.
    Gia let out a strangled cry as the sound of hooves against the dirt dissipated until Gia was left alone in silence, her side throbbing. She pressed her hand against the wound harder as she struggled to sit up against the tree, the cuts on the back of her legs beginning to sting as they filled with dirt and the dust that had blown up her skirt during Raymond’s attack of her. Tears began to stream down her face as she breathed in gasps around the pain, which was steadily growing more and more intense as the adrenaline wore off and her body began to slip into shock.
    The brunette glanced down to see her red and blue dress had turned purple as the blood began to seep through the boning into the blue sides. She pressed her hand tight against the spot before pulling it back to see the danger that she was in. She felt herself grow woozy as she looked at the dark red that coated her fingers, making them shiny and bright in color. The dizziness began worse until Gia’s head began to spin, the loss of blood finally getting to her as she fell unconscious.     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    4
     
    Gia opened her eyes to the sun-streaked room, groaning in pain when the light met her pupils. She rubbed her eyes, pressing hard against them in hopes of relieving some of the pressure building up behind the lids. It was to no avail, and she began to feel worse the harder that she pressed. Nausea bubbled in her stomach, and her surroundings began to spin once she finally found the courage to peel open her eyes and try to see where exactly it was that she was lying.
    Gia groaned again as the light proved to be too much, making her head pulse with every beat of her heart, each shuddering breath she took causing her to feel like her brain was being slammed against her skull. She rolled onto her side and curled into the fetal position, drawing her knees as close as she could to her chest. As she pulled her legs in, Gia realized that she was on a bed. Whose bed, she did not know, but she could tell by the mattress that this bed belonged to someone who was neither poor nor wealthy, as the bed did not feel as though it was made of either hay or feather. However, compared to the thin mat that Gia was used to, this mattress could have been made of clouds, and Gia