by Ella Miles
Milo grabs her right arm, her dominant hand—the fucker. And then he takes his time examining it, holding it in his hands as if he’s never dislocated a shoulder before and doesn’t know how it’s done.
Liesel crosses her arms and stares right at me. She wants me to end this. But I think Kai would kill me for ending this on something easy. She can handle this like the warrior she is.
It’s me who is weak. Kai is my weakness. And I’m not afraid to show it.
“Stop messing around and do it already. Kai’s not fazed by your antics. She’s stronger than you realize,” I say to Milo.
Milo growls and then throws her arm back.
The pop is audible for everyone in the room to hear.
I wince as I stare at Kai, but she just smiles like he cracked her knuckles and not her shoulder.
When he releases her, she cracks her neck side to side in an amused sort of way.
And damn if I don’t get hard watching how much of a badass she is. Why I ever thought she wasn’t strong enough to be Black is beyond me. She’s the strongest person in this room. And my heart is hers completely.
15
Kai
God, my shoulder stings. But I’m not going to let this room filled with men know that. They all look at me with predatory eyes, just waiting for me to show how much of an easy prey I am. But they are sadly mistaken if they think I’m going to show a second of weakness.
I don’t even let myself cradle my arm. No weakness. I feel like a great warrior about to end a battle.
Enzo is strong, so this fight could last forever. But I won’t let it. This game was built for me. My father designed a twisted game and then prepared me in the worst way for it. Enzo’s father was evil, but he has nothing on my sick father.
“Knife,” I say to Archard. I’m tired of waiting. I want this game over.
Archard hands me the knife which I point over my heart. “Going to stab me in the heart again?” I ask Milo, trying my best to sound threatening. This game is as much psychological as it is physical.
Milo takes the knife, presses it close to my heart, but then at the last minute stabs me in the back.
I laugh, not feeling a damn thing. “You would be the kind of man who would stab me in the back.”
“And you are the kind of woman who is going to look good lying on her back while I fuck you,” Milo says, so low only I can hear.
I growl. “Never going to happen.”
“We will see,” Milo says, looking from me to Enzo.
Langston grabs the knife from Milo and jabs it into Enzo’s dislocated shoulder.
“Good,” Archard says, satisfied with the preliminary cuts. I think the sick bastard is enjoying it, until he coughs, struggling to get the next words out.
Archard goes to his bag and produces a hammer, and I know this is when the real battle begins. He hands the hammer to Milo.
“Three hits with this,” Archard says.
“No!” Enzo screams.
“Are you giving up?” Archard asks.
Langston looks Enzo dead in the eye. Of course, Langston is on Enzo’s side. He thinks if I win, it will be more tempting for Milo to trade me for Enzo. Langston grabs his shoulders and turns Enzo away, and I know if I whimper, if I let the pain in, I could win. But I don’t want to win by default. I want to win because I’ve earned it.
“Do your worst,” I way to Milo.
He grabs the hammer and hits me hard in the chest. I’m knocked backward. My ribs shatter beneath the floor.
I don’t bother to get up. The floor will be my home for the next two hits.
But I shut it all out and go to my happy place. I’m back in the dungeon with Enzo whispering my name on his breath, only this time his arms are around me. His lips pressing against mine. His tongue stroking mine. His hands brushing against my face.
I feel warm and safe. His arms wrap around me…wait.
My eyes fly open, and I realize Enzo does have his arms wrapped around me as tears fill his eyes.
I smile up at him, and the tears burst from his eyes.
“God, how are you so strong? I’m so sorry, forgive me,” Enzo says, his voice wavering.
“There is nothing to forgive. I don’t feel anything.”
Enzo shakes his head as tears drip down his cheeks and onto mine.
“Is it over?” I ask.
“Soon, baby. Really, soon. I promise,” Enzo sets me down gently on the floor, and Liesel takes my head in her lap as Enzo reluctantly walks away from me.
“What happened?” I ask, my voice weak.
“Milo hit you more than three times. He got carried away. Enzo attacked and got him to stop. You though—you looked serene. Like you were somewhere else through it all.”
“I was,” I smile.
“Good. You are going to win, no way Enzo allows that to happen again.”
“What happens since Milo broke the rules?”
I look over at a bloodied Milo.
Liesel shrugs. “Archard allowed Enzo to beat the crap out of him and comfort you. I don’t know how else he can make it fair. The damage has already been done.”
I continue to rest my head as Langston takes the hammer. Usually, I would be worried Langston was about to do some real damage to Enzo, but I know after what Milo did to me, Langston could try to hammer Enzo to the ground, and he wouldn’t even feel it. Forget about the drugs already soothing his veins. This new rage Enzo feels is consuming everything in his body.
I barely notice as Langston hits Enzo because my eyes stay on Enzo’s face. His eyes are glued to mine, and he doesn’t grimace or even move as each powerful hit is delivered. He’s a rock, one very pissed off rock, and he’s ready to get his revenge.
Langston stops, dropping the hammer, and I examine Enzo's body for any signs of injury, but I find none. I don’t think Langston put all of his strength behind the hits. He looks over at me as concerned as Enzo was.
Enzo looks right at me and says, “This ends, now.”
I brush my bloodied hair from my face with my left hand. My right shoulder is dislocated, my lungs are shattered, my shin is most likely broken. I’m a mess, but none of those injuries bother me. Not like how I know my heart will break again when Enzo leaves with Milo until the next game.
I need this to end. I need Enzo to be safe, but I won’t be the one to end it.
“Help me, Liesel. Help me. I can’t let Enzo win,” I whisper into her lap.
“He won’t win, not in the end,” Liesel says.
“But we will save him, right? In the end?” My voice is heavy as my eyes grow foggy. My body can’t handle too many more rounds of this.
“Yes, stingray, we will save him.” My eyes drift closed, and I don’t know if I was listening to Liesel’s voice or Zeke’s.
16
Enzo
I am not waiting. I will kill Milo Wallace. As soon as he gets me back to Italy. I will kill him.
I don’t care how many of his enemies will come for me. I will take down every single one. I don’t care who is second in command is, I’ll kill him too.
I’ll make Langston take Kai far away, where no one can find her. Maybe Alaska or Nebraska or something, no one would ever look for her there.
But I can’t let what Milo did go unpunished.
He could have killed Kai.
How stupid was I to think the only way to save her was to take a deal with this monster?
It was still a good plan. I got more information on the inside than I could ever get on the outside. I’m prepared to take Milo down now.
But in order for me to get to Milo, this game needs to end. And I have to win. I can’t risk Kai winning and Milo thinking she’s the better competitor. I can’t risk him trading me for her.
He will never touch her.
Archard hands Langston the knife to start the next round—the final round if I have it my way.
“End this,” I command Langston.
I need him to hurt me so much this round
Kai won’t have a choice but to surrender.
Langston twirls the knife, considering his move. He gives me a warning look as his lips tighten.
I don’t brace myself for the cut. I look over at Kai still lying on Liesel’s lap on the floor. Whatever pain I’m about to experience is for her. To save her.
And then Langston jabs the knife into my throat.
My eyes water at the sudden intrusion. Then Langston breaks the rules: he lets the knife slip and cuts my carotid artery.
The blood starts spirting, and I feel cold instantly.
I don’t have much time. Maybe only a few minutes before I pass out if I’m lucky and the cut isn’t too deep. Somehow I remain standing.
It was a risky move on Langston’s part. But I’d rather die and keep Kai safe, than stay alive to watch her be taken.
Although, if I die, Langston is the only person left to keep Kai safe.
So I can’t die. I trust Langston with my life, but not with Kai’s. Kai is mine to protect, to save, to love.
“No!” Kai screams when she realizes what Langston did.
She scrambles off Liesel’s lap. Her injured leg and dislocated shoulder do nothing to stop her from getting to me.
But then Milo moves into her path.
“Move,” she says, with a tear-stained face.
“Not until you surrender. Or should I give you the same treatment with the knife?” Milo asks.
Kai looks directly at me with so much pain dripping from her eyes. “I surrender.”
She shoves Milo out of her way and then grabs my neck. “Get a doctor, now,” she looks at Langston.
He presses a button on the wall, and doctor Patten runs down the stairs.
“Fuck,” he says, as I fall to the ground and he reaches for my wound. My eyes grow heavy, and the images of Kai get fuzzy.
“He doesn’t even feel that…why?” the doctor asks as he presses into his neck.
“I think he pumped him full of drugs,” Kai answers and points at Milo.
“What kind?” the doctor asks Milo.
“What fucking kind?” Dr. Patten repeats.
Milo mumbles something back, and then the doctor is looking at me. “The drugs may have just saved your life.”
Kai gasps when she hears him say Milo’s actions saved my life. I feel really weak, I feel cold like her, and I want to tell her that I’m not saved yet. I could still die.
If I died, she might just kill Milo herself. And then Langston would hide her away. The Black empire would finally fall, but that doesn’t matter as long as she’s safe.
She grabs my hand in hers and squeezes hard, realizing just how cold I am.
She stops crying, trying to focus on feeling me. On feeling how much I’m here or not with her.
“Enzo, don’t you dare die. You haven’t even given me a chance to convince you are in love with me,” she sobs, kissing my hand.
“I—”
“Shh,” she strokes my face.
I already love you. But I realize now isn’t the time to say it. If she thinks I love her back, she would never let me go.
“I need to pump some blood into him,” the doctor says.
“Go get the blood, asshole,” Liesel says to Langston.
Langston cringes. “We haven’t restocked after—”
“You fucking idiot! Then why did you slice open his neck and spill his blood everywhere if you weren’t sure how to replace it?”
Kai’s eyes look at the doctor, and I know he’s worried.
“Then we need to get him to a hospital, immediately,” the doctor says.
“What about my blood?” Kai asks.
The doctor freezes. “If you or anyone else is a match, then yes, I could use your blood. What is your blood type?”
“O negative.”
He smiles. “Give me your arm.”
Kai immediately sticks out his arm.
“Is her blood a match?” Langston asks.
“Type O is a universal donor. Anyone can receive her blood.” The doctor pulls out a needle and shoves it into Kai’s arm. He connects it with a tube and then pushes a different needle through my arm. I watch as the blood leaves her body and travels through the tube to my arm.
Our eyes meet. I have her heart; now I’ll have her blood. She’s every part of me that matters—all the good.
She kisses my forehead gently as more of her blood pours into my body.
“How do you feel?” the doctor asks.
“Cold,” I say.
He frowns.
“And happy, and content, and so much more.”
The doctor’s eyes flicker to Kai’s. “I always run cold; I assume my blood does too.”
The doctor touches Kai’s skin, and she doesn’t flinch. He nods understanding when he feels how cold she is.
We all stay silent as more of her blood drips into my body.
Even Milo stays silent. I assume he would be giving orders to get me the hell away from here as soon as possible to protect his asset.
But he doesn’t say anything.
Eventually, the doctor checks my pulse and blood pressure again, and the look of relief on his face tells me I’m going to make it.
“I think you’ve gotten enough blood,” the doctor says looking at Kai more closely. “And I think I need to check out your girlfriend next.”
Kai shakes her head. “I’m fine.”
“You are not fine,” I say.
She gives me a stern look that says, don’t argue with me.
I smile, but it’s my job to argue with her.
“I’m going to disconnect this tube now. And then I’ll have you moved to a bed to rest, and we can work on your shoulder after you’ve rested a bit, and I have a chance to check out your girlfriend,” the doctor says, reaching to disconnect the tubes connecting us.
“Wait,” I say, reaching up to pull Kai’s lips down on mine. I may not get to be inside her when I kiss her, but she gets to be inside me, and I won’t waste this moment. Our tongues push into each other’s mouths, tasting the blood we are both still oozing. It should be the least sexy, unromantic thing, but in some twisted way, it’s perfect. This is us. And it gives me the desire to mark her with my blood more often.
Slowly, Kai pulls away, and it feels like a goodbye. But I see Milo out of the corner of my eye. He’s not going to take me until he knows for sure I can survive the trip.
“This isn’t goodbye, not yet,” I say, as I stroke her cheek.
She smiles, weakly.
The doctor removes the tubing.
“I’m going to need help carrying him upstairs,” the doctor says.
Langston jumps in. “I can help.”
He puts his arms under my good arm and helps me stand, but I’m weak. There is no way I can walk. So instead, Langston scoops me up like I’m his girl.
It causes the room to smile for a second.
“We’ll be back for you,” Langston says to Kai as he carries me upstairs with the doctor trailing.
My eyes grow heavy and tired as I’m being carried. But my mind is still on Kai. Beautiful, sexy, broken Kai. My love.
Fuck—
It takes a minute for my mind to realize my mistake.
I left her alone with Milo.
17
Kai
Tears threaten my eyes again as my heart aches at watching Enzo be carried up the stairs and away from me.
Goodbye.
My heart breaks and shatters again, causing far more pain than either my dislocated shoulder or broken leg.
How many times am I going to have to say goodbye to Enzo?
At least once more…
He saved my life. He kept me from enduring whatever task my father had planned next and Milo from beating me to a pulp.
Now, I owe him my life.
Milo has a huge army of allies ready to take us down so they can continue on with their twisted way of life. But Langston contacted our allies, and they are ready to fight.
N
ow is the time to attack. I’m not good at fighting. I don’t know how to lead an army, but Enzo does. There are dozens of Milo’s men upstairs ready to fire if Milo is touched. He can’t be touched here. But I will not let Enzo go back with Milo. Not while he is hurt. Not ever. This is my chance to make the trade. And hope Enzo heals quickly and can gather his army fast.
“Now’s your chance,” Liesel whispers to me, while pretending to examine my shoulder. She slides me the knife that was used to cut Enzo and me. I slide it in into my sock.
I nod.
“Are you sure about this?” she asks, but I can see the need in her eyes. She may be my friend, but she needs Enzo to be safe.
“Yes,” I say.
She squeezes my shoulder tightly. “I’ll do what I can to help.” And then Liesel runs up the stairs after Langston and Enzo to do what she can to keep them occupied.
That leaves me alone, with Milo.
I use my uninjured arm to push myself up off the ground. Everything hurts. Every little nerve in my body is screaming at me to stop. Every blood vessel is crying for rest. My lungs are burning with sharp shrapnels of my ribs poking them. Not to mention my dislocated shoulder and broken leg.
But none of that matters. Saving Enzo matters. Protecting the Black empire matters. Because without Enzo or the Black empire, women running from men like Milo will never be safe. No one will ever come for them. Enzo is the only man strong enough to face the worst evil, and instead of letting it demolish him, he absorbs it.
“Take me, not him,” my voice trembles as I say the words.
Fuck, I’m stronger than this.
Milo cocks his head with his hands in his pants. “What?”
I swallow down the pain. “You heard me. Take me instead of Enzo.”
Milo’s lips turn upward inching closer to a grin as he stares at me intently. “And why would I do that? You lost, and Enzo did exactly what I told him to do.”
“Because you can’t take Enzo now. The trip would be too much for his frail body.”
Milo’s heated gaze, runs up and down my broken body. He wants me more now than ever before. He likes his women broken.