“They want to dance, let’s get ready to tango,” Zarren told him.
If I had never thought Zarren was deranged before, the shit-eating grin he had on his face would’ve convinced me for sure. Here we had someone trying to run us off the road, and he was ready to just stop and what? Fight? Talk to them? When I saw the gun in his hand, I nearly stopped breathing.
“What is that for?” I whispered to him as I pointed at the weapon.
“That’s of no concern to you. I need you to promise that you’ll stay in this fucking vehicle and not move a goddamn inch. Do you understand me, Aurora?”
His voice didn’t hold the same condescending amusement I had come to expect from him in the short time I’d known him. His voice was clipped, and it held an edge of lethalness that made a full body shiver wrack me. From the top of my head to the tip of my toes.
I opened my mouth to assure him I would, but no words came out when I tried. Not sure how much he could see, I nodded profusely, and his grip on my knee loosened a little.
“Whatever happens, you stay inside.”
“Who is it?”
“I don’t know, but I’m about to find out. You juststayput.”
“I will,” I promised, this time able to find my voice. Our vehicle came to a jarring stop, and the one behind nearly ran into us, but swerved to the side at the last moment. I had thrust my hands out in front of me to brace for impact, but thankfully, there was no collision.
Zarren’s door opened and shut quickly, followed by Liam’s and Conor’s doors. I almost thought about crawling up front andlocking them, but I didn’t in case they needed to get back inside quickly.
Zarren had told me that he was in the mafia, but it hadn’t truly registered in my head until this moment. While tense, they acted like this was a normal occurrence, and I suppose in their world, it was.
It almost felt like something in the movies. While I would be at the theater and my heart might skip a beat during the tense standoffs, it had nothing on the nonstop racing of it now. It had quickened to such a high rate that I couldn’t hear anything out of its roar in my ears.Unrelenting... Unyielding... Constant...I brought my hands to my head, intending to cover my ears, when a distinctive and ear-splitting sound pierced the air as my blood-curdling scream split the darkness.
Seconds later, my door was thrust open. Sure it was Zarren, I opened my mouth to scream again when a masked stranger covered my nose and mouth with his gloved hand, then effortlessly pulled me from the vehicle.
Whoever this was had at least four or five inches in height and about fifty more pounds than me, most of which seemed to be muscle. I struggled, however, especially when I saw Zarren pointing his gun at the other guy standing over what looked to be Conor as he writhed on the ground in pain.
I knew in that moment that the one who’d been shot had been the right-hand man of Zarren’s, who actually seemed to tolerate my presence. He’d been the most understanding of my plight, and he’d constantly tried to make things less scary for me.
Tears sprang to my eyes, especially because I knew it would also devastate Zarren if he didn’t survive. He was extremely close with both Conor and Liam. A sob escaped me, and when Zarren turned in my direction, his facial expression changed instantly.
I struggled to break free from the hold on me, and Zarren’s eyes conveyed for me to be still. It was easier said than done, especially when the man holding me hostage started to back away with me still in his arms.
My hands were trembling uncontrollably, and despite the winter air, I could feel the beads of sweat on my forehead. My heart rate quickened even more from what it had been back in the vehicle, and I tried to calm myself so I didn’t have a panic attack.
Another gunshot pierced the air, and I tried to scream, but the hand over my mouth muffled most of it. I tried to stand firm, but the man was much too powerful for me, and he began to drag me toward his vehicle.
“Abbiamo la piccola troia,” the one man currently treating me as a ragdoll said to the other man holding a vehicle door open.
“Don Barganella owes us extra for this bitch,” he replied.
I knew then that the other man had called me a little slut. I wasn’t very fluent in Italian, but one of my favorite doctors at the hospital spent several years in Rome, so I’d picked up a few things from her during our time together.
Another flurry of gunfire erupted, and this time, the man holding the door open fell face-first onto the ground, nearly falling on top of my foot. Blood quickly soaked the ground around my feet, and I could feel how thick it was as it coated the bottom of my sneakers.
A second vehicle arrived, and three men joined the others who had ambushed us. Ahead of me, I could see Conor on the ground with Liam tending to him while Zarren was approaching us with his weapon drawn.
My newest captor’s breath reeked of stale cigarette smoke and garlic as if he’d just finished eating before trying to kidnap me as his post-meal entertainment. I couldn’t stay still anylonger, and using the self-defense moves I’d learned in high school from an instructor at my parents’ country club, I reared my arm back and elbowed the asshole.
He growled in my ear and his grip tightened instead of loosening. The cold exterior of the vehicle sent a fresh wave of adrenaline rushing through me. Grabbing onto the sides of the frame, I started to kick wildly at my captor as I refused to let him stuff me inside.
I might’ve been stupid once and gotten willingly inside of a car, but I wouldn’t make that mistake again. I kicked him again, and this time the man did release me moments before his blood sprayed onto me.
This time, I did scream, especially as he crumpled into a heap at my feet. I looked over at Zarren, who walked over to me and pulled me to his side. Two men approached us and Liam said something, but I couldn’t hear what it was. Zarren turned suddenly and pushed me behind him. I nearly fell but was able to maintain my balance as Zarren put himself between me and danger. Before he could even try to defend himself, an anguished growl pierced the air.
I watched as Zarren staggered backward and collapsed just as Liam emptied his clip into the two men. Then, there was nearly silence other than the groans coming from both Conor and now Zarren. Liam watched Zarren try to stand and quickly swatted his boss’s hand as if to tell him to stay put.
