Page 47 of Kiss of Ruin (Brutal Empire)

His eyes are wide in terror. He’s been watching men die all around him. Now he’s hiding behind his mother like she can protect him.

“Get out of here.” She hisses when he begins to cry and hold onto her.

“Why would you bring him here?”

“I wanted him to see when I took out the last person standing in the way of him taking control of the Romero empire.” She shakes him off her arm, while he continues to cry. “But I know now he’s just a small, useless child. He doesn’t deserve to be the head of two great empires.”

She’s never wanted Frankie. She wanted a way to keep Luis. To get her hands on the Romero family empire. She’s abused this poor boy before from the moment he was. born and I’m about to scar him for the rest of that life. But it needs to be done. I can’t let her leave this alley alive.

“I’ll just take both.”

She aims her gun at my chest. Time slows down. I hear Nico screaming from behind me, “Move Scarlett.” His footsteps growing closer. I don’t waste another second and pull the trigger.

The shot is loud in the night. The bullet hits her square in the chest, sending her flying backward. A bullet leaves her own gun as it flies up into the sky. Elena lands with a thud. Frankie’s wails hit my ears instantly. I see the blood seeping through the fabric of her dress.

My ears ring and I cover them to keep the sound out. I take a step forward trying to get to Frankie, but I’m stopped mid-step. Nico wraps his arm around my waist and drags me back to the car waiting farther down the alley. Gunfire continues to ring out into the night, along with the sounds of other fighting. It’s sounds far away, the ringing in my ears drowning out everything else.

The door slams behind Nico.

“Get us the fuck out of here.” He orders the driver.

I can’t stop the tears as they fall down my cheeks. Even though Elena needed to die, never once in a million years did I believe that she would bring her son with her. Who brings a child to a gunfight with a rival family.

“What about Frankie. We can’t just leave him,” I protest.

“If we take him now, that’ll start an even bigger war. We’ll have to go back for him and hope Elana’s security team does their job, this time,” Nico mutters.

For all the time I spent trying to save Frankie, I know that if he survives, he will never see me the same. I will always be the woman who murdered his mother.

Nico roves his hands all over my body. “Are you hurt? Did that bullet hit you?”

“No.”

He doesn’t take my word for it. He continues to check every inch of me. I grab his hands and hold them on my sides. When he finally looks into my eyes, I slip my hand behind his neck and bring my lips to his. I don’t want to think about what happened in that alley tonight.

I want to forget.

“Help me forget,” I whisper against his lips.

It takes me some time, but I finally realize where Nico has taken me. He must have planned this on his flight here because the plane is already waiting with the stairs down. The car comes to a jarring stop, throwing us both forward.

Nico wastes no time getting me out of the car . He scoops me up into his arms and carries me up the stairs of the plane. I don’t fight him when he lays me across the seat of the sofa.

He takes my lips in a kiss. It’s hard, punishing. More like the kisses we shared back in New York. I force the thought from my head. I don’t want to worry about anything. His lips are on mine. That’s all that matters.

He doesn’t bother removing my dress. He slips the little bit of fabric up over my hips, revealing the little black thong I’d worn with it. He looks up at me and I realize his eyes are wild.

He grips the fabric in his hands and rips it from my body, tossing it to the other side of the plane. His hands are rough when he slips a finger inside of me while using his thumb to rub over my clit.

The combination sends me reeling. I can’t focus on any one sensation. It’s all too much. Exactly what I needed to forget.

I reach for his neck bringing his mouth back to me. Our tongues tangle with each other. His tongue darts into my mouth in the same pattern his finger sinks inside of me. I want to come but the orgasm stays just out of reach.

My head moves fitfully on the sofa. “Make me come. Please,” I beg.

The muscles all over my body are tight with a tension I can’t release. I feel like I’m being driven crazy. That if I don’t come, I’ll die. Nico continues his assault on my body.

He yanks the top of my dress down and takes my nipple into his mouth, biting down hard. My hips thrust up, almost dislodging his fingers. That’s when I feel a second finger enter my pussy. It’s back out as quick as it went in.

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