When Stan hollered my name, my eyes closed as I realized he was close by.
My eyes burned as I realized I didn’t want to punch him anymore.
My eyes flooded as I realized I just needed him to take me away from here.
“KITTY!”
SEVEN
STAN
Playlist recommendation:
Slither - Velvet Revolver
When an asscunt lumbered out of a room, one hand dragging on a pair of boxer briefs, the other with a loaded gun, I didn’t hesitate—I raised my weapon and shot him in the head.
As blood and brain matter exploded, raining down on the hall like a nightmare come to life, I ducked my head through the doorway, praying that the fucker hadn’t left Kitty behind.
That he hadn’t?—
Gésu.
I couldn’t think of it. If I did, I’d want everyone in this godforsaken building to suffer an excruciating death at my hand—one where their blood boiled in their veins, where their eyes bled toxic tears. No death was violent enough for these bastards.
When I saw the poor creature on the bed, the sheets clutched to her chest, mouth parted yet too terrified to scream in the face of an armed man, I held up my hands to show her I meant no harm.
It took me too long to realize that I was staring at an actual child.
She slurred something that my brain struggled to translate. The hindbrain had taken over, which meant my IQ was a fuck ton lower than usual. But her tone alone told me they’d drugged her.
Shaking my head, hoping that’d make it work, I finally tuned into what she’d said:
“Don’t hurt me. Help me. Please. Help me get out of here. They won’t let me leave. I just want my mama?—”
Well aware that I had to help but that she was no longer in immediate danger, unlike Kitty, I turned to Luigi. “Take her away from this place. And be careful. She’s only a child.”
“Se, Capo,” he replied, expression darkening with rage that immediately faded as he held out his hands in front of him and stepped into the room.
“He’ll keep you safe,” I told the girl in Albanian. “And if he doesn’t, I’ll cut off his balls.”
Though she gulped, she nodded in relief. “They took her to the back.”
I narrowed my eyes. “How do you know that?”
“You think men start a fight for any random girl in here?” Her mouth twisted. “No. This one was special. I heard Armend Bakalli… the man you just… he was talking to someone on the phone before you…” She shuddered with revulsion.
Which meant thefigghiu ri buttanaI’d killed had been raping her while we besieged his base!
I pointed to him. “High-ranking?”
“One of the highest.”
Filing away that information, I asked, “Where is the back? This place is like a maze.”
“If you go right, you’ll see a set of steps. You need to go down a floor, and then when you’re at the foot of the staircase, turn left.”
Fuck.We’d been going the wrong way.
