Chapter 14

Breach of Contract

Dante stayed aware of Echo’s condition as they continued down the hall. His breathing was still unsteady, a bit ragged and shallow. But it did strengthen with each of Echo’s determined steps.

Something deeper was going on with Echo than he’d claimed. Even when they first got out of the car, the normally impeccably collected boy was off-kilter.

They passed a few more observation windows, rooms containing young slaves at various stages of development, from infancy to burgeoning adulthood. Echo pointedly kept his sights ahead. It was the toddler room that had triggered him… And Dante didn’t believe in coincidences…

As they neared their destination, muffled shouting emanated through the office door.

“That would be our disgruntled client,” Dante said. Echo eyed the door with curiosity, and Dante opened it.

There were four vampires and two slaves filling up the modestly sized office. Lord Alexander Wentworth gripped the leash of his slave, while demanding to know where Dante was. Liam O’Shea, Dante’s number two, was yelling at the lord to back the fuck off—Dante hadn’t employed him for his good manners like he had Sawyer. And playing the part of intimidating muscle behind Liam were two of his underlings.

The slaves were crying. Ill-hidden beneath tattered clothes, bruises and marks covered the girl Wentworth held by the leash. Her name was Eve: eighteen years old and sold to the lord less than one month ago. No bite mark indicated he had not made her a thrall. Good, that would make this easier for her. The other slave was Eve’s mother, Lisette, who had stayed on as a teacher at the facility after she had retired. Lisette stood to the side of the room, distressed and helpless to do anything for her child. During the car ride over, Dante had messaged Sawyer to ensure Lisette would be there.

All of them turned when Dante and Echo walked in.

“It about time,” Wentworth spat. “I would never have been kept waiting this long when Isabella was in charge. In fact, that’s the whole problem. The Vittori’s decline of quality.”

And at that, the lord threw his slave to the floor at Dante’s feet. She fell in a heap with a pained gasp. Her mother sobbed and wanted to go to her, but she had been too long trained to act without permission. However, nothing held Echo back, and he ran to the girl immediately. As he tended to Eve, Dante breathed out his nose and looked back up at Wentworth.

The lord watched in disgust as Echo checked Eve over, helped her stand, and moved to the side of the room where Lisette was.

“This is exactly what I mean! Even your own personal thrall behaves this way before us!”

Echo sent the lord a steely glare but said nothing as he delivered Eve to her mother, who looked at Dante first. Dante nodded, and Lisette took her child into her arms.

“I demand a full refund and a new slave to compensate for the defective one you sold me.” Wentworth sniffed and crossed his arms.

“Liam, while Lord Alexander Wentworth explains to me what he finds lacking about our slaves, would you retrieve his contract for me?”

The lord looked between Dante and Liam, his features becoming more twisted with anger. Liam started pulling open the drawers of the filing cabinet. Digital contracts were more space efficient and easier to search through, but Dante found that hard copies greatly enhanced a client’s absorption of the contract’s details.

“I will hear your complaint now, Alexander,” Dante said. He began unbuttoning his cuffs and rolling up his sleeves to his elbow.

Wentworth seethed, then flicked his glare to Eve safe in her mother’s arms. “She fails to follow instructions,” he said, offering nothing more. No matter, excuses wouldn’t help Wentworth’s case anyway.

Liam placed the contract on the desk.

“And so you abused her?” Dante asked, slowing thumbing through the pages of the contract.

“Abused? What utter nonsense. I punished her as I saw fit. As is my right.”

“During the purchasing process, you were explicitly informed of the contract details, were you not? This is our policy, since the contract has undergone changes in recent years. You were to have read and understood before you signed… ah, and I do see your signature here…”

“Of course, I read it,” the lord replied. Some of the anger had been replaced with unease. “A section on abuse was added. But this was punishment. I simply used the most effective method to train my slave.”

“Echo,” Dante said, startling the boy. “Would you please read this? Right here. Out loud for Alexander’s benefit.”

Echo came forward, his expression unreadable, his walk across the office graceful. He looked where Dante was pointing at the document and nodded.

“Abuse is categorized as the mistreatment of the slave, using violence, cruelty, or harm whether physically or emotionally.”

Echo’s voice did not waver, but when he stopped reading, he looked at Dante with simmering thoughts behind his eyes and a slight frown marring his lips.

Dante inclined his head toward the other slaves, and Echo returned to stand beside them. Dante then focused back on Wentworth and the matter at hand. “Abuse as punishment is not allowed on Vittori slaves. Our return policy should also have been explained. We would have offered a full refund or additional training options here at the facility, if you had come to us with your complaint before abusing the slave.”

Wentworth clenched his hands at his sides. “If Isabella could see this—”

“Donna Isabella is dead, and the Vittori line of slaves is of higher quality than ever,” Dante said, keeping in control even as the second mention of his mistress turned his insides aflame. “Lisette, you may take the girl to the infirmary.”

“What?” Wentworth moved toward the slaves. Dante looked at one of the underlings beside Liam, and the bigger than average vampire immediately planted his hand on Wentworth’s shoulder, keeping him in place.

“But I’m not returning her!” the lord shouted.

Wentworth couldn’t move as Lisette took Eve out of the room. Echo watched them go, then turned his eyes back on the vampires, riveted by what was happening. Dante stood tall, the muscles flexing in his forearms as he flipped through more pages of the contract. He was also bigger than the average vampire.

“When you signed, you agreed to all my policies, including the reclamation of mistreated slaves. And the other penalties incurred for breach of contract.”

The underling vampire pushed Wentworth toward the desk. He looked at Dante with wide eyes, then down at the document, sweat beading his brow. And it appeared the lord finally understood his situation.

“Here,” Dante said, stopping on the right page. “Responsibilities of the buyer—I think you missed this part. Read it.”

Wentworth bent slightly to get a better look at the tiny print. He opened his mouth to begin reading, and Dante grabbed the back of his head and slammed his face into the surface of the desk. The sound of cracking bone made Dante smile. Wentworth didn’t scream, the motion too quick and the pain too sudden. He stayed slumped over the desk, moaning.

The second underling came forward, and the two hauled him up and held him upright for Dante. Wentworth’s head bobbed in a daze. His nose was angled unnaturally, and blood trailed down to drip over his expensive clothes.

“You can’t,” he groaned with significant effort, “do this… to me.”

“The terms of our business exchange were clear, Alexander. I do not tolerate violations. Of course, you are welcome to air any grievances to the prince, or the king.”

He wouldn’t. All knew how close Dante was to the royal family.

Dante picked up the blood-sodden contract and aligned all the papers into a neat and tidy stack. “You are no longer welcome at any Vittori establishment, you and all the members of your clan.”

“No, please,” the lord begged.

“How many more of our slaves are own by Wentworths?” Dante asked Liam.

“Two,” Liam said, looking down at a pad.

“They’ll be sent for,” Dante said, turning back to the sniveling lord. “Should their conditions prove similar to Eve’s, you will be hearing from us again.”

The bleeding stopped, and his nose had already healed crooked. It would have to be rebroken to set it right. Though it would never look quite the same. Dante took too much joy in breaking vampire noses.

“Get him out of here. The back way. Sawyer doesn’t need to worry about blood on the marble.”

The men dragged Lord Alexander Wentworth from the office. He could only stagger along, groaning. Dante handed the bloody contract to Liam.

“I’ll file this at the downtown office,” Liam said.

“Thank you, Liam.”

Liam nodded, heading for the door. He gave one fleeting glance at the figure standing in the corner before leaving and closing the door behind him.

Then Dante finally turned to check on his thrall. Echo was staring at him, leaning against the wall. Flushed cheeks and eyes darkened to a deep gunmetal gray. He had watched Dante work, drinking in every single moment of it. And it had left him breathless.