by Mia Knight
“I love my husband,” she said.
He closed his eyes as if her words physically hurt him. She felt a resounding pang in her breast. She had been trying to spare him this, but there was no getting around it.
“I can’t tell you about his business because I don’t know much about it. You need to let me go, Jonathan, for your own good.”
He stared at her. “You’ve changed.”
She tilted her chin. She wasn’t going to apologize.
“You killed a man today.” His eyes searched hers and softened slightly. “But you’re still the girl I knew. I don’t care what you call yourself. You still feel something for me. I can see it in your eyes. You saved my life today.”
“You saved mine,” she said and felt the prick of tears.
He gripped her arms. “Are you in trouble? Do you need to get away from your husband? I can make you disappear.”
“I should have made sure Blade took care of you after I located her in Maine.”
Lyla whirled and saw Gavin standing in the doorway. His suit was splattered with blood, but he was standing without assistance, which meant the blood wasn’t his. Her burst of happiness and relief disappeared as he raised a gun.
“Time to rectify my mistake,” Gavin said in a quiet voice that scared the crap out of her.
Lyla stepped in front of Jonathan and spread her arms wide so Gavin wouldn’t get a clear shot. “Gavin, don’t!”
“Get out of my way or I’ll prolong his death,” Gavin said softly.
Lyla set her teeth. She had been through a bloodbath today and wouldn’t allow him to create another. “Jonathan’s going to leave. I’ll never see him again.”
“You promised you wouldn’t talk to him again.”
“I didn’t ask him to come, Gavin!”
“Move, Lyla.”
He shifted to get a clear shot and she went on tiptoes to cover Jonathan, “Gavin, stop!”
He holstered the gun and pulled out a knife already stained with red. Gavin advanced with lethal intent. She knew what he was capable of. Jonathan didn’t have a chance in hell. Lyla’s heart threatened to beat out of her chest. This was spiraling out of control.
“He’s done nothing wrong,” she said.
“He touched what’s mine and he’s trying to take you from me.”
She took two steps forward with a hand up. “I’m not going to leave with him. I told him I love you.”
Gavin shoved her to the side. Lyla pivoted as Gavin raised the knife for a killing strike.
“Gavin, no!”
Fear gave her the speed she needed. She launched herself at Jonathan, causing him to stagger back as she wrapped herself around him, shielding him with her body. She closed her eyes and waited for the blow, but nothing happened. She raised her head and looked behind her. Her skin prickled as she looked into Gavin’s eyes, which were incandescent with rage.
“Release him,” Gavin said.
“Gavin, please!”
“Blade,” Gavin bit out.
Blade advanced into the room and ripped her away from Jonathan. She clutched at Jonathan with desperate hands, pulling him with her. Blade squeezed her wrists, causing her fingers to contract and release him.
“No, Gavin, don’t!” The scream came from her gut. “Please don’t! He hasn’t done anything wrong!”
“Get her out of here,” Gavin said.
Blade lifted her into the air and she fought savagely, all to no avail. She caught a glimpse of Gavin advancing towards Jonathan who wasn’t going to raise a hand to defend himself. She couldn’t let Gavin wipe Jonathan off the face of the earth. The only crime Jonathan committed was befriending a woman who belonged to Gavin Pyre.
“Gavin, you kill him, I’ll leave you!”
Blade froze. For a moment, she wasn’t sure if Gavin heard her and then he turned slowly. His face had been wiped of all emotion. Blood dripped from the knife that had already seen unspeakable horrors today. The room was so quiet, Lyla swore she could hear the drops hit the carpet.
“You’re choosing him over me?” Gavin asked.
“He’s done nothing wrong,” she said, breathing hard. She shoved against Blade who dropped her. She walked up to Gavin, eyes never leaving him for a second. Gavin was capable of taking on six men at once. One move and Jonathan would be lost to her forever. “Don’t do it, Gavin.”
His stillness scared the shit out of her. She stopped a foot away and tentatively reached out. Her fingertips wrapped around the hand that held the knife. His skin felt like warm iron beneath her fingertips.
“Please,” she whispered, “don’t do this.”
Gold eyes bored into hers. His energy pulsed in the air, raising the hair on the nape of her neck. The promise of violence swirled around him.
“He’ll leave and we’ll never see him again,” she promised. “I’m not going to run away with him.”
“You promised you would never leave me,” Gavin said.
“I can’t let you kill him.”
“Because you love him?”
“No, because this isn’t right.”
Gavin’s hand flashed out and gripped her chin. “He wants you. He loves you. I can’t allow him to live, Lyla.”
“You can,” she insisted as terrified tears coursed down her cheeks. “You have to.”
Her hand trembled as she cupped his face. When he didn’t move, she stroked. She was very aware of their audience and how precarious the situation was. Anything could incite Gavin to attack.
“Please,” she whispered.
Lyla took a risk and moved in closer. The breast of his suit was stiff with blood, but she didn’t care. She wrapped herself around him, silently pleading with him not to do this.
Gavin’s hand touched her hair and a moment later he picked her up. Lyla collapsed against him and shuddered in relief.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
Gavin carried her out of the room. Over his shoulder, she saw Jonathan sag to his hands and knees. Now, he knew all of his suspicions about her husband were correct. Gavin wasn’t civilized or rational. He was a crime lord who did whatever he wanted. Jonathan was lucky to be breathing.
Lyla lost sight of him as Gavin strode down the corridor. Blade and two guards followed.
“You won’t kill him?” she whispered.
Gavin didn’t look at her.
“Gavin?” She stiffened when she realized he was going to come back and finish the job later. “Gavin, promise me!”
No response.
She shoved against his shoulders. “Gavin, you can’t—”
Gavin slammed her against the wall, knocking the breath out of her and raised the knife she didn’t realize he was still holding. He pressed the slick blade against her cheek and she stopped breathing.
“Do you want me to bleed him dry in front of you?”
Her heart stopped. “No.”
“Then don’t fight me.”
The monster that lurked inside of him was in control now. Her husband was nowhere in sight. She was very aware of cold steel pressing against her cheek and his charged body caging her in.
“You betrayed me,” Gavin hissed.
He tipped his head back and let out an angry roar before he brought the knife down. Lyla screamed and raised her hands to protect herself as the knife sank into the wall six inches from her head.
She felt a whoosh of air as Gavin’s body disappeared. Lyla lowered her arms and saw Blade standing in front of her, facing off with Gavin.
“Get out of my way.”
“I’ll take her home and give you some time,” Blade said calmly.
Gavin bared his teeth. “Get the fuck out of my way, Blade.”
Blade reached into his pocket and pulled out a syringe. Blade sedated Gavin several times after Manny was murdered. It was clear Blade thought he needed another dose.
Gavin stepped up to his second in command. “Are you threatening me?”
The guards took a reflexive step back, but Blade di
“It’s my job to keep her safe, even from you,” Blade said.
He was putting his life on the line by defying his employer. Lyla opened her mouth to intervene, but she was too late. Gavin snatched the needle and plunged it into Blade’s neck. Blade flinched, but otherwise, didn’t try to protect himself. Gavin emptied the syringe and Blade dropped to the floor.
“No one comes between me and Lyla,” Gavin said.
He stalked towards her. She tensed to make a run for it and blinked when Blade shot to his feet and put Gavin in a chokehold from behind. He produced another syringe and before Gavin could react, deployed it into his neck. Instantly, Gavin swayed.
“You fucker,” Gavin wheezed.
“I have to save you from yourself,” Blade said grimly as Gavin dropped face first on the carpet and didn’t move.
She and Blade stared at one another.
“Call the elevator,” he ordered.
Lyla nodded, stumbled towards the button and pressed it. Blade pulled the knife out of the wall, handed it to one of the wary guards and hefted Gavin over one shoulder. The elevator arrived with a merry bing and they all got in.
CHAPTER NINE
Lyla
Lyla stood in the corner of the elevator, staring at Gavin draped over Blade’s shoulder. How Blade was able to handle his weight was a mystery. The guards stood as far away from Blade as possible, as if they expected Gavin to wake and kill them.
She shook from head to toe. Gavin almost killed her. He was inches from—
The elevator opened on the ground floor. Blade dug in Gavin’s pocket and tossed one of the guards a set of keys. The guard instantly jogged towards Gavin’s Aston Martin while Blade dropped Gavin in the trunk of the SUV as if he was a piece of luggage. He closed the back and pointed at Lyla.
“Get in,” he barked as he rode shotgun.
The driver floored it. Lyla hastily belted herself in as the SUV careened out of the lot. She glanced in the trunk and saw Gavin roll from his back to his front.
“Marcus, it’s Blade. Expect some visitors,” Blade said on his phone. “Yeah, Gavin and Lyla are fine. We’re taking them home. Expect Gavin to be absent from work for a while. Who? Carmen? Yeah, she left before the shooting. I don’t know who with. Some fucking actor or some shit. I gotta go.”
Lyla closed her eyes and willed this day away. She was physically and emotionally maxed out. All she wanted was to lay in a quiet, dark room with her baby and pretend the outside world didn’t exist. No matter which way she turned, disaster was inevitable.
Blade spoke rapid, furious Spanish on the phone. Lyla understood enough to realize he was filling in for Gavin, speaking to his men who were in clean up and contain mode. They would erase or disturb surveillance cameras at the hospital and parking garage and even the hotel where Jonathan was. Gavin had the power to erase a person’s identity and could kill in plain sight without being caught.
Lyla looked back at his large, lifeless body and shivered. When he woke, there would be hell to pay. Not only would she have to answer for Jonathan, she was the reason he had to be sedated. Didn’t he realize the difference between justice, self-defense and outright murder? Lyla clutched the door handle because she needed something to hold onto. How could her life go so wrong in so little time?
When they pulled up to the mansion Lyla opened the front door and was greeted by Beau who barked and licked her hand. She smoothed a hand over his head and then looked past him to Aunt Isabel who had Nora on her lap. Nora babbled excitedly when she saw her.
“How was your day, dear?” Aunt Isabel asked.
Before Lyla could think of a response, the guards walked in with Gavin. Aunt Isabel’s face went ashen with fear. She leapt to her feet.
“Is he hurt?” Aunt Isabel asked.
“Sedated,” Lyla said and took Nora from her.
Aunt Isabel opened her mouth and then shut it. As the widow of a former enforcer, she knew not to ask.
“Where’s Carmen?” Aunt Isabel asked.
“She went out with Kody Singer.”
“The actor?”
“Yes.”
Lyla held Nora close and kissed her on the forehead. The smell of baby powder clashed horribly with the stench of cold sweat and dried blood.
“Here.” Lyla handed Nora back to her aunt. “I need to see to Gavin.” She looked up the stairs, but the guards were nowhere to be found. “Where’d they go?”
Aunt Isabel pointed and her stomach clenched. Lyla headed towards the basement. She had been here twice in her life. The first was to witness Gavin beat a traitor to death and the second was to find her father tied to a chair, also beaten to a bloody pulp by Gavin Pyre. Lyla felt a sense of déjà vu as her damp hands slid over the iron railings. Unforgiving fluorescent lights revealed a concrete room with suspicious splotches on the floor and Gavin sprawled on a cot with a thin mattress. The guards nodded to her as they passed.
Blade stripped off Gavin’s bloody jacket, revealing his double shoulder gun holster and guns in his waistband. Blade lifted Gavin’s pants leg to reveal two more guns and his empty knife sheath. Blade removed Gavin’s shoes and socks and investigated them thoroughly.
“In his shoe?” Lyla asked skeptically.
Blade held up a thin switchblade. “Gavin’s always prepared.”
“No kidding.” She wrapped her arms around herself as she watched Blade systematically disarm Gavin, even taking his belt. “What was in the first syringe?”
“Water.”
“You knew he would use it on you.”
“I suspected.”
“You know him well,” she said and swallowed. “Do you think he would have...?” She couldn’t finish her sentence.
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know and sedated him anyway?”
“All I know is you can make him do anything.” He fixed her with a piercing expression. “You should have let Gavin kill him.”
“I can’t—”
“He’s a dead man walking. Gavin will kill him. There’s no getting around that.”
“I can’t let him kill Jonathan. He didn’t do anything wrong.”
Blade shook his head. “You’re not in Kansas, Dorothy. You’re in the underworld where men mark their women by carving or tattooing their initials on her face. I’m surprised Gavin hasn’t pressed you to do it.”
Lyla stared at him. “Tattoo my face?”
Blade shrugged. “Tattoo something. It doesn’t have to be your face.”
“Gavin’s not a thug.”
“Don’t kid yourself. Gavin survives in the underworld because he’s as ruthless and cruel as they are. He understands them because he is them. He just has money, power and a legit company to run.”
Lyla ran a finger down Gavin’s rigid, menacing face. “What are you going to do when he wakes up?”
“See how he reacts.”
“You know he’s going to be pissed.”
“Yes.”
“Locking him up is going to make it worse, don’t you think?”
Blade flipped the switchblade thoughtfully with one hand. “You didn’t see him after Manny died.”
Lyla watched the switchblade tumble through the air before Blade caught it and wove it through his fingers. Blade never took his eyes from Gavin.
“Gavin hasn’t been himself since Vinny and Manny were killed. He’s on a hair-trigger. He calmed down once he got a ring on your finger and got you pregnant, but what you did today...” He shook his head. “It would push any man over the edge.”
“I can’t let him kill Jonathan!” Lyla shouted.
Blade wasn’t impressed by her outburst. “Gavin demands unwavering loyalty from everyone he does business with. Why should you be the exception?”
Her mouth dropped. “I am loyal to him! What are you talking about?”
“You chose your ex over Gavin.”
“Not letting Gavin kill him was choosing him over Gavin? That doesn’t make sense!��
Blade shrugged. “When he wakes, you’re the one who has to face him. You have about four hours to figure out how you want to handle him.”
He walked out of the basement, leaving Gavin barefoot in slacks and shirt. Lyla knelt beside the bed and looked at her husband. Even unconscious and unarmed, he was a scary bastard. They had been through too much for this to break them. How could she make him understand that she wasn’t in love with Jonathan? She had feelings for him, of course, but she wasn’t going to leave Gavin for him. Killing Jonathan because of Gavin’s insecurities was crossing the line. She accepted that he killed, but she couldn’t let him do this.
“I love you,” she whispered before she left the basement. She had four hours before he woke and all hell broke loose...
Aunt Isabel stood in front of the TV, which played live footage of the chaos at the hospital. Lyla paused behind her aunt as a reporter spoke.
“The fire alarm activated. No one is quite sure why. Some witnesses say they heard gunshots, but so far the police have not been available to confirm or deny that there was a shooting incident. It’s going to take a while for everyone to be accounted for, but right now, all seems to be well. The Pyre Foundation was here today with several celebrities spreading a little joy and hope.” The reporter turned to Janice who stepped forward with her million dollar smile. “Janice here is one of the organizers for this event. Can you tell us what happened here today, Janice?”
“I didn’t hear any shots fired or see anything suspicious,” Janice said. “When the fire alarm went off, we all pitched in to make sure everyone got out safely.”
The reporter nodded. “And can you tell us about this event you had today?”
“Of course,” Janice said.
Despite the events of the past hour, Lyla’s lips curved a little. Janice always managed to spin everything into a positive light for the Pyre Foundation’s image.
When would they find the hospital coordinator’s body? He was dead, along with some of her security and a bunch of gang members. Did Gavin have cops in his employ that would cover up the incident? The parking garage was far enough away from the hospital that the isolated incident had gone unnoticed, but what happened when everyone found their cars decorated by bullets?
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