Spitting and snorting, his eyes watering, sweat coating his skin, he slammed his teeth together harder in defiance.
I prodded more, fresh blood soaking his badges. He looked ready to pass out from the pain.
“Fuck. You.Bitch,” he seethed, saliva spewing down his chin. I heard a very slight accent in his voice but couldn’t place it.
Warwick moved, cutting in front of me, his hand choking the man, yanking him to his face.
“She is theonlyreason you are alive. I wanted to watch the hyenas tear into you—strip the flesh from your bones while you were still breathing.” His teeth bared, the man of death came alive. “You are going to tell her whatever she needs to know, or I will be using your veins to floss your teeth. You know who I am, and the rumors... they’re all true.”
A flicker of fear danced in his eyes before he hid it, his own lip curling. “I’m not telling you shit, asshole. Kill me.”
Fury pumped through Warwick, his shoulders swelling. He would.
My mouth opened to stop him as the door swung open. Rosie stepped in with a bowl of water and bandages.
“Kitty asked me to rebandage—” She stopped dead in her tracks,her eyes landing on the man in the bed. The bowl in her hands crashed to the floor, splintering in pieces, her alabaster skin blanching. Her face was a mask of terror and shock, her blue eyes swimming with fear.
My stomach sank, my gaze going back to him. His attention was no longer on Warwick, but entirely on her, disbelief widening looking as if he’d seen a ghost.
“Vincent...” she whispered so quietly I almost missed it.
“Ni-Nina?” His voice stumbled and croaked.
As if the name had slapped her across the face, she jerked back, her chest heaving, her head shaking.
“Nina, what are you doing here? I-I can’t believe this... They told me you were dead.” His arm lifted, reaching out for her.
His gaze was full of adoration and confusion.
Hers was full of fear and hate.
“Rosie?” I touched her arm, jolting her focus to me. “What’s going on?”
She took in a staggering breath, her shoulders rolling back, her eyes meeting mine.
“This man...” She swallowed, her mouth pressing together. “Is my husband.”
Chapter
Twenty-Two
“What?” I gaped, my memory reeling back to when she told me about him.
“He saw me in a play, came to the back door every night for a week with flowers and promises. He was charming, and I was young. Thought it was love. I was looking for an escape from that penniless life and thought he was it. He was the opposite.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“No worries, luv. He’s long gone, and I couldn’t be happier.”
“He’s dead?”
“One can hope. He disappeared years ago after one of his business deals went bad. He was into a lot of shady shit, always trying to find the quick, easy way to make money, which usually went the opposite way. Had a lot of enemies. Left me with a lot of debt from really bad men.”
The same man who forced her into a life of prostitution to pay off his debt was a gunman in the most feared gang in the Savage Lands.
“Nina?” His voice cracked as he still reached for her.
The shock and terror were gone; the strong woman I knew lifted her head.
