Page 67 of Guarded By Them

“That way.” One of the Capellos’ men gave me a shove from behind, sending me stumbling toward the rear door of the building.

We were all herded into the dark restaurant. Metal shutters on the doors secluded the interior from the street beyond, and someone reached out and flicked on a light.

“What are you going to do to us?” I demanded of Frankie.

He smirked. “Since when have you started to talk to me like that? Seems these last few weeks have made you forget your place.”

“It’s a perfectly reasonable question,” Kodee said, stepping in. “You’ve brought us all the way back here, so now what happens?”

“The girl stays with me.”

Kodee’s jaw tightened. “We want her with us.”

Frankie chuckled. “Do you really think I’d trust you with her again after all the problems you’ve caused us? Not going to happen. She stays with me, and you can get to work, but in the meantime, I also need a little insurance policy.”

Frankie jerked his chin toward the man closest to Dillon. He returned the nod then lifted the butt of his gun and slammed it hard against the side of Dillon’s head.

A scream peeled through the room, and it took me a moment to realize it was coming from my mouth.

Dillon dropped to the floor like a sack of flour, and his head hit the parquet tiles with another sickening crack. I whimpered at the sound, tears filling my eyes. Dillon lay facedown, motionless. I stared at him, desperately trying to see if his back and shoulders were moving to show he was breathing, but I couldn’t tell.

“No!” Kodee roared, lunging toward Dillon.

But the two men holding onto his arms held him back, and the one on the righthand side lifted his gun and pointed it at Kodee’s head, just in case Kodee hadn’t gotten the message.

Ryan struggled in the grip of the Capellos’ men, too. His face was pale, his blue eyes grayed over with worry for Dillon. All of our attention was fixed on Dillon now. Nothing else mattered.

“Relax,” Frankie scoffed. “He’s not dead. He’s just unconscious. Should stop him running that mouth of his for a few minutes. He’ll wake up soon enough, and I’m sure he’ll only have a pounding headache as an injury.”

“Since when did you have a medical degree?” I snapped.

A palm cracked around my cheek, sending my head rocking. One of the Capellos’ guys had hit me.

Kodee roared again, and that was the only thing that made me clamp my lips shut. If they kept hitting me in front of the guys, they’d end up getting themselves hurt on my behalf.

“Take that one away,” he said, nodding toward Dillon.

My stomach lurched. “What? No! Leave him alone. This isn’t what we agreed.”

“He’s going to be our insurance policy.”

“What kind of insurance policy?”

“He’s our way of making sure you show up at court and do your absolute best to get Joe Nettie sent away.”

My mind boggled. “I already said I would! I can’t do anything more than show up in court and tell the truth.”

“You already ran once. You’ve shown us you can’t be trusted.”

“You can trust me now,” I begged. “I swear it.”

He shook his head. “You’re only saying that because you’re worried we might kill one of your boyfriends. Which is kind of the whole point.”

“What if I refuse?” I blurted. “What if I say I won’t testify unless you let Dillon go?”

Frankie shrugged. “If you won’t testify at all, then there’s no need for us to keep any of you alive.”

My stomach plummeted. “No, you don’t have to do that. I’ll testify. I swear.”

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