For a few long seconds, silence reigned. Not even a bird chirruped in the trees. No insects buzzed. Nothing but the pulse of blood in my veins as my heart worked overtime, pounding like crazy in my chest.
When I finally dared open my eyes, steam rose from the crumpled front-end of the car. One headlamp had gone out but the other lit a path through the trees.
“No!” My voice was little more than a whisper in the still, humid air. I tried to crawl toward the stricken vehicle, but a burst of movement behind me caught my attention.
“Not so fast, bitch!” A hand grabbed my hair and yanked me backward, locking me in place with a brawny arm around my waist.
“Don’t you touch my Pixie!” Ronan crawled out of the SUV, snarling like an enraged cornered animal, blood trickling down his face. Conal appeared behind him with a gun in his hand.
“Looks like we have an impasse, boys,” Marku remarked in a conversational tone. “Except I have the girl and if you don’t back off, I’ll shoot her.”
“You’re bluffing,” Conal stated through gritted teeth.
“Am I, though? A gunshot to the knee won’t kill her, but it’ll hurt like a motherfucker. Or so I’m told. I don’t need her in one piece for what I have planned.” He chuckled. “In fact, it would benefit me if she could no longer run away.”
I kept my eyes fixed on the car while Marku pressed his gun into my lower back. Declan hadn’t emerged, and from this angle, I couldn’t see him. Was he hurt?Dead?
The fat guard appeared from the trees, red-faced and panting, followed by the tall one, both armed. I wondered how loyal they were to their boss. Were they willing to die for him? Or were they more like my father’s men back in the day, only there for the paycheck?
“Let her go, you cunt!” Ronan demanded. I glimpsed a gun in his right hand, partially hidden behind the car door.
“What’s she worth? A million? Two million? You’re going to have to make it worth my while to break my deal with di Luca, boys.”
“How about you walk away with your life? That sounds like a good deal to me.”
Marku scoffed. “I hear you’re a crack shot, Irish, but if you shoot me, my men will shoot you, so it’s a simple case of mutually assured destruction.”
He was right, but I forced myself not to panic. Marku’s focus remained on Ronan and Conal, not me. He assumed he had me right where he wanted me.
I’d escaped one guard already today. The gun digging into my flesh added an extra layer of complication this time, but unless I did something drastic, we were all fucked.
Marku’s grip on me loosened as he and Ronan exchanged insults. The tension between the two groups increased, and I knew if more of Marku’s men appeared, the guys would be in big trouble.
Then there was my father.
The minute I recalled him casually agreeing to hand me over to this monster in payment for weapons and men, my teeth clenched. I refused to let him steal any more of my life.
He’d stolen my childhood already.
I half smiled at Conal to let him know I was OK. Bruised, battered, but not beaten. He scanned me and nodded before focusing on Marku and his two goons.Finally, I saw Declan crouch down behind the car, a gun in his hand. Blood trickled down his face, but he didn’t look too badly injured.
Had Marku spotted him?
Maybe not. He seemed to be way too busy enjoying the sound of his own voice to pay attention to the various threats in the vicinity.
I closed my eyes for a second, breathed in, and then did exactly what Conal had taught me to do.
Marku grunted when I stomped down on his foot. He wore Italian leather dress shoes, so my heel digging into the small bones of his foot must have hurt like a bitch.
The bastard tried to pistol whip me with his free hand, but I dropped into a squat position and used my knuckles to hit the back of the hand still holding me. The minute he cried out, I forcefully bent his fingers back, trying not to vomit at the snapping sound they made.
He uttered a high-pitched squeal, which was enough to distract his two men. Ronan and Conal took advantage of the chaos, shooting the two idiot guards. Both dropped dead.
“You fucking bitch!” Marku swung the gun around with his one good hand, but I dived forward and punched him in the balls. He dropped to his knees with a low, strangled groan. The gun slid from his grasp, and I picked it up, my hands shaking.
“I won’t let you take me. I’m not a fucking possession you can barter with, you piece of shit!”
Marku tried to get up, but I stepped back and pointed the gun at him.
