Sadie stilled against my chest, and I could practically feel her struggle to keep her mouth shut. “The things I could do with a perk like that...” he trailed off.
“I’m sure your girlfriend would be thrilled to know what a lovely man you were,” Sadie snapped. I bit my tongue to restrain my laughter, hating how much the women talked to each other. Sean’s girlfriend had been part of the plot to lure Calla away from her security with deception and misplaced trust, so that they could use her to arrange a meeting with Ryker.
Why Sean would be stupid enough to be complicit in that, I didn’t know. He was far too dumb to be anyone’s second-in-command, and if Tiernan had a man like Ryker at his disposal? Sean would quickly become redundant.
“She knows exactly what kind of man I am, pretty girl. She’d welcome you to our bed with open arms. She has a thing for helping me teach defiant little girls where they belong.”
“And where is that?” Sadie asked, her voice issuing a challenge even as I tightened my grip on her in warning. The conversation didn’t need to escalate.
Not when I couldn’t tear him limb from limb.
“On your knees for me. Choking on my dick,” he said with a lecherous smile.
“Shut your fucking mouth before I do it for you. I can promise you when I do, it will be a permanent situation. She’s off limits,” I snapped, tucking Sadie behind me slightly.
“Murphy always planned to kill her, but I think I’ll enjoy breaking her down bit by bit. Turning her into my little bitch. Maybe the first time I fuck her will be on your bloody corpse. She does look real good in red,” he sneered, grey eyes glinting as he thought about my woman in a way I’d never allow. “I’ll see you around, pretty girl,” he warned, turning and disappearing into the crowd.
Everything in me itched to follow him and put him down like the rabid dog he was. It was only the reality that I’d be bringing Sadie into a dangerous situation that stopped me. “He talks a big game. Choking on his dick,” she scoffed, grinning up at me playfully to try to draw me back from the haze that threatened the edges of my vision. “I could probably use it to pick my teeth.”
I sighed a slight laugh, turning and guiding her back toward the betting tables to find Massimo and make it clear to him that all his men were to know Murphy’s guys were not allowed on site.
No matter how much she might try to cheer me up, nothing would change one simple truth.
It would be my bullet that ended Sean’s life, after I made him my bitch.
Mike had won his fight, but that didn't mean that his face didn't show the signs of it the next night. To be fair, given the beating he'd taken that had nearly cost him the match, my respect turned up a notch that he'd still turned up the next night to help Sadie with her class.
Women gathered in the gym in astonishing numbers. It made me realize just how many women in the city were unable to afford to pay for private sessions, but needed a way to learn how to defend themselves. I wondered if any of them sensed the danger looming within the city. The growing tensions that were hidden beneath the layers of sudden disappearances. Those same women probably expected the police to interfere to protect them, to investigate to find their missing sisters and friends.
But the police were unequipped to deal with scum like Tiernan Murphy, and their only salvation would come in the form of a Bellandi war. My cell rang as Sadie stepped into the center of the mats we'd laid out to offer more space to the collection of women.
"Okay, everybody grab a partner!" she shouted, turning her attention to Mike. He grimaced at her, looking pained at the prospect of Sadie using him as her dummy. She'd asked me. But as much as I wanted to be the one she put her hands on and threw to the mat, there were too many people in the building for me to be so preoccupied.
I'd had to leave that honor to Mike, so I could keep an eye on the women, and the men volunteering. We knew without a doubt that Tiernan was not above using women to do his dirty work. Not after the way