hear her bang against the trunk. Again. I keep hearing her muffled screams and it’s pissing me off. She doesn’t listen for shit. The cold sweat that I can’t kick runs through my body as I gently move the car through the intersection, past the familiar weathered stop sign. She can keep kicking and screaming for all I care. These back roads are deserted this time of day. No one is going to come save her. For now, she’s mine. And that means no one’s going to hurt her either.
I’ll take her to the safe house in the country. It’s a good 30 minutes away from here, and at least a 10 minute drive to civilization. I used to go there to hunt. Back when I thought I’d like that shit, anyway. Turns out waking up before the crack of dawn is not my thing. So now it’s the familia’s. Only Dom and Pops know about it though. She’ll be safe there. I run my hands through my hair and let out a heavy sigh. I’ll keep her there until I know what to do about this. Until I know for sure I can save both our asses.
I wish she hadn’t woken up. If she’d just stayed asleep it would’ve been so much better. I would’ve been alone, maybe told her she hit her head. I have no idea. I’ve never been in this situation. But I wasn’t going to let them kill her. It was my fault. My fuck up. And I’m going to fix this.
The memory from earlier flashes before my eyes. Her shrill scream as she saw my cousins Anthony and Tommy hovering over the brutalized body. Blood covered nearly every inch of that poor bastard’s exposed skin.
My grip tightens on the steering wheel, and suddenly her relentless banging is more annoying than it was before.
I grind my teeth remembering how they came in to the office while I was trying to calm her down.
I drag her back to the room, her small body pushing against mine. Her feet barely touch the ground as I lift her squirming body to hold her tighter to my chest. Her nails dig into the skin of my forearm that’s pressed hard against her chest, until I can pin her up against the back wall in the office. Her breathing is heavy and so is mine. Adrenaline courses through my blood. One hand covers her mouth to keep her screams muffled.
Fuck! I grit my teeth and keep my voice low as I speak through clenched teeth. “Stop. Screaming.” She doesn’t listen. She keeps it up as though I haven’t said a damn thing. I slam my body up against hers, then move my hand to her throat and squeeze.
“Listen real good, you had better fucking stop.” That gets her attention, but then the office door opens and two sets of heavy, even strides are heard in the silence. The door closes and locks with a loud click.
“I thought it was locked, Vince.” Anthony speaks, but I don’t turn around. I keep my eyes on hers as they dart to my cousins behind me.
“You want me to do it quick, Vince?” Anthony asks. “I’ll make it painless.”
My blood chills as I watch her eyes widen in fear. My poor sweetheart. I can’t. I can’t let that happen.
“No.” It’s the only word I can say. I don’t want to explain it to them. Because I’m their boss, I should know what to do, but I haven’t got a clue.
“You need her to talk or something, Vince?” I can hear the confusion in Anthony’s voice. She should be dead by now. I shouldn’t be toying with her like this. Thing is though, I don’t want her dead. She whimpers and her eyes finally meet mine. I know I must look like a cold-blooded killer. My jaw is clenched and my eyes are hard.
She struggles again in my grasp and then I remember my forearm on her neck. Her head is pushed back in an unnatural way and she’s taking in ragged breaths. I let up on my grip.
I place my lips at her ear and whisper, “Don’t you make a fucking sound.”
“Vince?” At Anthony’s question, I turn my shoulder to Elle. And she acts like a fucking idiot and takes off behind me. My hand reaches out to snatch her but I miss. Tommy’s right fucking there, though. Did she really think she’d make it? Watching Tommy wrap an arm around her waist, bringing