by Shanna Bell
Ten years later, they were still standing together, having survived several near misses with death, shared countless women, and he couldn’t imagine his life without the surly bastard in it.
Speaking of bastards, he wondered when Morelli would show up. After all, that was the whole reason behind this setup. He didn’t like Carmen being here out in the open any more than she did. As soon as they had marked her as theirs in public, he was gonna put her under lock and key, so to speak. He knew he would have a fight on his hands, with her being used to her newly acquired freedom. No doubt she was going to see it as a way of him trying to control her. Which was partly true. But before he could start their new life together, he had to get through this Morelli deal.
He tensed when it was Keegan who walked up to their table, instead of Morelli. The Irish bastard was flanked by two bodyguards dressed in cheap suits.
“So, it’s true what they say,” Keegan snarled, looking in Carmen’s wake. “You two can’t get it up without sharing a woman.”
Sy stiffened beside him, but Vince knew he wouldn’t act on it. It wasn’t the first time someone tried to draw them out with that comment. Usually they weren’t stupid enough to do it on their turf, but if he’d learned anything about Keegan, it was that the man acted before he thought stuff through. It was how he ended up with four digits on one hand.
“Leave, before I cut off your other pinky,” Vince said. Irish Brian had cut off Keegan’s finger when he’d insulted him about the cross tattoo on his neck.
Keegan turned red. “What’s she like in the sack? The Caruso bitch? I’ve heard some wild stories about her.”
“Fucking leave. Now,” Sy growled.
The bloated idiot didn’t know it yet, but he’d practically signed his death sentence. The fucker probably believed he was safe inside a crowd. The only thing stopping Sy from murdering him on the spot was Kristoff. The Bloody Ones had a chain of command when it came to starting a war.
Keegan and his men laughed, then strolled to a table in the back. The asshole was trying to show he had no fear insulting the lion in its cave.
“He’s mine,” Sy said.
“You calling dibs on that piece of shit?”
“Damn right. I’m going to make him eat his fucking tongue.”
“Last time you did that, the guy passed out before he could finish,” Vince reminded him.
“Not gonna cut him up first this time. Makes them go soft on me.”
Only Sy would take it as an insult when his mark would pass out during torture.
“I feel for you,” Vince said, while eying the entrance.
Just as he was starting to think he’d miscalculated Morelli’s move, the guy showed up on Flux’s doorstep. With his wife.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
“Tell me Viking isn’t in the house tonight.” If he was, their power play situation had the potential to turn into a blood bath quickly.
“Why you ask?” Sy followed his gaze and then started cursing. He jumped up and hauled ass to the backroom.
Vince could only imagine what it would take to keep Viking off the floor. No doubt, the second Morelli had set foot inside the club, he’d been alerted. On a good day, it took a small army to hold Viking back. On a bad one? He didn’t want to find out. Not with Carmen in the building. He looked at his watch.
Before he could decide whether or not to go after Carmen, there was a subtle change in the atmosphere. He could have sworn it became instantly frosty. Next thing he knew, Viking was on the floor, striding toward Morelli’s table.
Judging by his scowl, time was up.
CHAPTER 9
CARMEN
Carmen sprinkled some cold water on her wrists. She was far too wound up and it was becoming increasingly warm inside. After drying her hands, she placed them on her neck. Looking into the mirror, she saw a woman she hadn’t seen in a long time: one with blushes on her cheeks, and in desperate need of some cooling down.
Admit it. Sy’s getting to you.
Dammit, if that weren’t true. Her eyes passed over the bathroom as if someone was going to hear her thoughts. Which was ridiculous because the bathroom was empty.
She didn’t know what it was about him, but he no longer scared her. Perhaps it was because if he’d wanted to hurt her, he would have done so already. Then again, some people showed their true colors when you least expected it.
A nasty memory popped up in her head, but she quickly shoved it away.
Don’t go there!
No, she had a feeling Sy was the kind of man who, had he wanted to abuse her, he would have told her upfront. In a way, he already did. He’d actually had the audacity to claim he was going to hurt her, and she would like it.
A warning she could have used from her late husband. Franco had shown his true face the second they had entered their bedroom. The sheet had been colored red from her virgin blood and tears. The walls had howled from her pleas for him to stop. No amount of begging had stopped Franco from using her body. What Sy said could never be true. Also, like all men, he had told her what he wanted from her: her casinos and her body. She’d handed over the casinos this morning after a call to her lawyer. Sy no longer needed her to stick it to Morelli.
Still, for some reason, he got to her, making her body buzz with heat and a strange need. A desire she had known only with one man before, a lifetime ago. Another topic she wouldn’t allow herself to think about. Nope, Sy would only be trouble. Because, just like all men, he would always place his own needs before hers and therefore could not be trusted.
The door opened and a woman stepped inside. Seeing her emerald green satin dress made Carmen feel a little less overdressed.
The woman walked up to the sink and grabbed a lipstick from her purse.
Carmen noticed something on the floor near the woman’s feet. She grabbed the picture from the floor. It was that of a teenage girl.
“I think this just fell out of your purse.”
The woman stilled and put the photo back. “Yes, thank you.”
“Your daughter?” Carmen guessed. “She looks a bit of a tomboy. Reminds me of my sister in her teens. How old is she?”
“She just turned fifteen. Do you have any children?”
“No.” Her eyes started to burn and, to her shame, tears formed in the corner of her eyes.
A painful look of recognition passed between them.
“I’m so sorry,” the woman said softly.
A vice gripped her throat, preventing her from talking. When her head started pounding, she turned the faucet back on and splashed water on her face.
A knock sounded on the door. “Mrs. Morelli?”
Carmen froze, then turned off the water.
Out of all the bathroom of all the cities in the world, she had to walk into mine.
It must be her—Elena Morelli. The gold digger who had sold her soul to Morelli. Whatever truth there was in that story, Carmen knew one thing. Elena didn’t look like a woman who was happy with her life. She recognized the look in those eyes; a woman resigned to her fate.
“I’m almost finished,” Elena called to the door.
The door burst open, startling both of them. A big, bald guy in a black suit stormed inside.
“Toni, what are you—”
“No time,” the man clipped. “We need to get you out of…”
A ricochet of guns being fired filled the air. Then the screaming started.
Carmen ran for the open door. She didn’t know what was happening out there, but she couldn’t just stay here. Before she could reach it, Toni grabbed her by the wrist.
“You’re theirs,” he growled.
She had a feeling she knew exactly who he meant.
“Toni!” Elena sounded affronted. “Let her go right now.”
His meaty paw hurt her arm. That was going to leave a mark tomorrow. Carmen stamped her pointed heel on his foot. He growled and smacked her right against the wall.
Feeling dazed, she fell onto the floor.
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“Toni!”
A kind hand, that of Elena’s, started to pull her up.
“We’re gonna need her as a shield,” Toni said, stepping closer. He winced when something banged against the wall close to them. “Fuck. That Viking is going full-on berserker.”
Carmen couldn’t help but notice Elena turn pale.
“I told the boss this was a fucking mistake,” Toni muttered. Then his menacing scowl turned toward her. “Get up.”
What she wouldn’t give to have her whip with her right now. Maybe next time, she should use it as a belt.
“I’m not going anywhere with you.” She eyed the open door behind him. Screams and shots were coming from behind it. For a split-second, she saw someone running past it.
Toni pulled a gun on her. “Not asking again, Caruso bitch. Get over here.”
Before Carmen could come up with a way to prevent her from becoming a human shield, Elena took control of the situation.
In a surprise move, Elena put her body before Carmen’s, clasping her arms around her from the sides.
Toni scowled and stepped toward them, one unsure step after another.
“You know what will happen if you so much as lay a finger on me,” Elena said.
Her voice was so cold, Carmen could basically see Toni shrivel from the ice in it. The next moment, his jaw set and Carmen knew she was in trouble. Luckily, she had another trick up her sleeve. Hiding behind Elena, she grabbed into her purse and pulled out her pepper spray.
The second Toni made a move toward her, she gave him the full load. Yelling and cursing, his hands went to his eyes. That was the moment she hit him right where it hurt—between his legs. It worked like a charm. Toni went down like a sack of potatoes.
Elena shook against her and clutched her hand.
“Oh God…”
She let go of Elena. “You didn’t have to do that, but thank you.” If Morelli was anything like Franco, she could only imagine what he would do to his wife if he ever found out she’d been protecting the enemy.
More shots were being fired from inside the club. In the distance, a siren sounded. Part of her wanted to run to Sy and Vince. She felt an odd pang in her heart at the thought of either of them getting shot.
In an act of courage, and desperation, she grabbed Elena’s hand and started running. The red light above the door showing an emergency exit was like a beacon in the shaded club.
She yelped when a looming figure holding a gun grabbed her arm. He was tall, blond, and wearing a black tee, with Army tags around his neck. His tight face resembled that of a Greek god statue; handsome and perfectly symmetrical. Where had she seen him before?
“Don’t take that exit.” He pointed to a set of doors. “Take the one from the kitchen.”
His eyes narrowed when he spotted Elena standing behind her. “Crap.”
“Shit, Damon,” sounded from the right. An exact replica of the man holding her arm joined them. “Not the time to save damsels in distress.” He hardly gave them a look. His gun was scanning the area behind them. “Incoming!”
Next thing Carmen knew, she was flung to the set of doors, Elena right on her heels. More gunshots followed.
Adrenaline pumped through her body as she burst through the double doors, right into a massacre.
The once pristine white kitchen was colored red by the scattered bodies of the kitchen staff. A flashback caught her by surprise.
White tiles.
Her bleeding out.
The cold floor.
Her vision swam and she grabbed onto a chair.
“Are you okay?”
The voice seemed to come from somewhere far away.
I can’t go down.
If I fall, the baby will get hurt.
He will kick me again.
Right in the stomach.
He always goes for my stomach.
“Oh, God. Are you okay?”
A sudden fire spread on to her cheek and Carmen blinked. Elena’s eyes, speckled with worry, were sizing her up.
“You slapped me.”
“I had to. This isn’t the time for a nervous breakdown.” Elena took a deep breath. “Believe me, I want to crumple and hide in a corner as well, but we can’t. I have a daughter to return to.”
Elena was right. She had to get a hold of herself. Avoiding the dead chef that was plastered against the freezer door, they went for the exit.
Only when they burst through the door, out into the night, did she feel like she could breathe again. On their left, was a multi-layered parking lot. It was eerily silent outside, as if the turmoil in the club was happening on another planet. The street they were on was empty, aside from a line of cars that no doubt belonged to the employees of Flux. Who knew how many of them were even still alive?
She pulled out her phone, only to remember she had left it at home. It hadn’t fit in the tiny purse Vince made her carry.
“Do you have your phone with you?”
“Sorry, it didn’t fit in my purse.”
Elena was shivering, her satin dress all crumpled up. It wasn’t a cold night, so it had to be the adrenaline leaving her body.
“Let’s go. There has to be help somewhere.” Finding any help, deep in the night, with Flux being the only nightclub in the area, was a challenge though.
That’s when she spotted three men walking toward them. She breathed a sigh of relief when she recognized Sy. Splatters of blood covered his shirt, but other than that, he seemed fine. When he neared her, he pulled her against his side as if he had every right. She was too tired to protest and, truth be told, it was nice to be able to lean on someone.
Then his gaze settled on Elena. “Look at that,” he drawled. “We’ve got Morelli's woman. It’s gonna be a good night after all.”
Carmen pushed his side until he let her go. “No, it’s not.”
“She’s on Bratva territory. Her asshole of a husband just started a war with that bastard Keegan inside. You think we’re just gonna let that slide?”
“That’s exactly what I think,” she said, as she pointedly positioned herself in front of Elena.
They were being surrounded by hulking warriors now. One of them being Sy, who scowled at her. The two men with him covered his flank. Then, as if the Red Sea parted, another man stepped through the circle.
Viking.
If rage could turn corporeal, it would look like him. He looked like the embodiment of an ancient Norse god, hellbent on exacting retribution. Gone was the drunk, miserable heap of a man she’d first encountered. This pile of muscle on top of muscle looked ready to kill anything that was stupid enough to cross his path. And right this second, his rage was aimed at Elena.
“I’m not going to let them hurt you,” Carmen said, trying to calm Elena down. She wasn’t sure how she was going to protect the woman, but she’d try. No one had tried to help her and she refused to be one of those people, just standing by to watch.
Elena didn't utter a word. She just stared at Viking with eyes filled with pain. Like a woman starved for his attention. The sad thing was that none of the men surrounding them got that.
“You can’t let him hurt her,” Carmen said, turning to Sy and sending him a pleading look. “She saved me when her bodyguard tried to take me with him. I owe her. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
Judging by his condescending cocked brow, he didn’t give a crap.
“Didn’t you promise to protect me? The way I see it, you’ve failed.” When his lips thinned, she knew she got his attention. “Elena did help me, though. If I owe her, it means you owe her. I’m not going to let your brother kill her.” In all honesty, she had no idea how to stop him. All he had to do was shove her aside.
Sy sent her an annoyed look. “He’s not going to kill her.”
She sent him a dubious look. Didn’t he see the way his brother looked at Elena? He seemed on the brink of wanting to strangle and hit her at the same time.
Elena wasn’t any help either. She was
just standing there instead of running away. Obviously, the poor woman was petrified. But then, she raised her chin and looked Viking straight in the eye.
“Viking won’t hurt me.”
Carmen yelped when Sy pulled her against his chest, right before Viking grabbed Elena by the throat and pushed her against the wall.
“Don’t say my name,” he hissed. “Don’t you ever fucking put it on your poisonous lips again.”
Then, all hell broke loose.
CHAPTER 10
CARMEN
Keegan’s men had found them and opened fire. Everything happened at lightning speed. One second, they were standing outside, the next, Sy was dragging her along, dodging bullets, into the underground parking lot. By then, she’d lost sight of the rest.
She yelled when a man jumped up from behind a car. Carmen stared right into the barrel of a gun and froze. A red dot appeared on the man’s forehead and he slumped down.
Sy pushed her against a van. “Stay behind me.”
His one hand was holding a gun, the other snaked backward on her hip, keeping her shielded. Little electric shocks kissed her body every time they touched skin-to-skin. She shivered, unable to control her treacherous body. It was the most inappropriate of times to feel even a hint of desire, but she couldn’t help herself.
Must be the adrenaline.
Sy didn’t seem to notice. His eyes were scanning the rows of lined-up cars, looking for an ambush.
A shiver racked through her body. The satin bandeau dress wasn’t any kind of protection against the sudden cold that got a grip on her.
Big hands took her face in between them, giving her much-needed warmth.
“Listen to me, doll. You can’t go into shock. Got no time for that.”
She nodded. “I’m okay.”
“Good. We need to get downstairs, to my car. If they close in on us here, we’re dead.”
“So much for Keegan and Morelli not starting a war on your turf,” she murmured.
A wicked smile formed on his face, making him look much younger. His light hair only gave him a bad boy appearance. One that gave her the confidence he would get them out of this mess.