And then something crashes from within.
A woman screams.
∞∞∞
Nikki Love
“Boss wants me to get you to him before dawn. But we got a couple of hours till then.” The brute’s smile is wolfish. He’s drinking in my fear like a twisted aphrodisiac, and my eyes are wide, fixed on his face.
But my head is racing, thoughts coming a mile a minute as I take stock of my situation. I’m not entirely paralyzed with fear. Even now, my fingers inch toward the surface of the bedside table. Stopping as I feel the cool grip of the pistol.
Cocked, locked, and loaded…
It’s as if I can hear Dario’s voice murmuring into my ear as I slide the gun closer. The bastard in front of me slants a glance down, scowling as he catches sight of the weapon. Then he grins again.
“What are you planning to do with that, little girl?” he asks mockingly, still advancing as if I’m not even holding a loaded gun in my hands. I’ve raised my arms now, amazed at how steady my grip is.
And he’s still grinning when I aim it at him. The sight of that grin fills me with pure rage. Rage at his arrogance. Rage at what’s happened to me and my sister, and my life that’s been completely fucked up.
“I’m going to blow your fucking brains out,” I say, flicking the safety off. He smirks. The motherfuckersmirks!
Breathe out…both eyes open, choose where the bullet will go…squeeze…
The explosion knocks the breath from me. Not from the force of the gun…the sheer astonishment of what I’ve just done leaves me winded. He’d almost reached the end of my bed when the bullet hit him…right between the eyes. There’s no moment of alarm or realization from him in that split second. He simply drops like a stone, then tumbles backward, blood and gore spewing out across the plush carpet behind him.
I drop the gun on the mattress as if it had just burned me. It’s still lying there as I scramble off the bed to where my attacker is lying. I stare down as his body twitches and then stops moving.
As the blood rage begins to ebb away, I clasp a hand over my mouth, biting back bile. It doesn’t matter that this was a hideous beast intent on doing me harm. I just killed a human being…someone’s son…maybe a brother… No matter how bad he was, someone must have loved this man. I feel a sob bubbling as I bend over him, looking for some sign that maybe it’s not too late.
Of course, it’s too late. The man’s brains are all over the floor.
“Oh…oh my God!” I choke out, appalled at what I’ve just done.
He deserved it, Nikki…he deserved it, he deserved it…
It’s not helping, though. I feel sick to my stomach. I cover my face with both hands and suck in a shuddering breath…and then feel it whoosh out as an arm clamps around my waist, and I’m being hauled backward.
“No!” I scream sharply. Oh God, it hadn’t even occurred to me that there could be more than one of them. I thrash wildly against the crushing grip, feet kicking, arms flailing. I feel my elbow hit home, and there’s a surge of satisfaction as my attacker gives a grunt of pain from behind me.
“For fuck’s stop fighting me,” Dario growls into my ear.
Chapter 12
Nikki Love
Ifreeze and then go limp as I recognize his voice. For a second, I feel relief flood me. Until I realize his hand is painfully tight over my mouth, and he doesn’t remove it, even though I’ve grown still.
Oh, Jesus…he’s come to kill me!
Of course, he would. I ran away with his mother’s diamonds. Priceless to him. I’ve pushed too many limits with a man who doesn’t tolerate such things.
I’m too stupefied to struggle as he hefts me roughly over his shoulder, dimly aware of another shape moving into the room.
“Clean up this mess,” Dario says to the second man who’s joined us. Then he turns to the door, still carrying me like a sack of potatoes. The hallway is silent as he moves swiftly to the stairs. I hear a muffled thump, and my heart catches.
Andy! Oh, God!
“Dario… Please!” I choke out. “My friend…”
