Page 40 of Ferocious Nightmare

"This girl is a menace--" Nero pointed to me, talking about me like I wasn't even in the room, "she's ruining our yard, driving a horrendous truck around downtown like some country bumpkin, and the house smells like a Mexican kitchen. She needs to be taught that Kings don't behave like that. We have a reputation to uphold."

Coulter shrugged a shoulder. "So?"

"You could always send me back home," I said, reminding him that it was his fault I was here.

Nero ignored me like I hadn't spoken. "Apparently she needs a stronger hand to teach her how to behave.”

“And I suppose you're the one to do that?" Coulter went straight to the jugular.

I straightened in horror. "What?"

"Exactly." Nero pressed his elbows on his desk, leaning forward. The phone on his desk rang but he ignored it. "It makes sense. I am the head of the King family. I deserve to marry mafia royalty." He shook his head in disgust. "I never should've married your mother, she was nothing but a whore, and not good enough for the family name."

"Well, it looks like you got rid of the trash anyway."

It horrified me not only to hear how they were talking about women in general, like we were as disposable as Styrofoam coffee cups, but how they were talking about Coulter's mom.

"Why would you even want to marry again?"

"For posterity."

Coulter scoffed. "And four sons aren’t enough?"

Finally, the phone stopped ringing, but only for a brief moment before it started up again.

Benny stood. “I’ll answer it.”

“You won’t,” Nero picked up the phone, then slammed it back down again, seething. He picked it up again and slammed it down, over and over until finally both he, and the phone, stilled. “Three sons. I have three sons.”

It twisted my stomach by the hatred he exuded for Bourbon. His eyes were moving back and forth, manic.

"Whatever," Coulter responded nonchalantly. “What makes her any different?”

“She’s got fire.” For the first time since I entered the room, Nero looked at me, his body finally calming as he assessed me. “I think the bloodline will be stronger, once she’s been trained properly.” His eyes roamed my face, then moved down my body. Even Benny had stopped typing to stare at me.

"What are you willing to give me in exchange for her?"

Another chill skated up my back, and my heart froze. Coulter couldn’t seriously be thinking about trading me from him to Nero, could he? The pressure in my chest expanded; I couldn’t breathe. I sipped in a breath, trying to calm the fear crawling up my throat. The only thing grounding me at the moment was Coulter's promise in the elevator. He silently tracked his thumb over my skin in a soothing manner. I clung on to that like a life ring in an ocean of turbulence.

"That depends,” Nero leaned back, a knowing smile gracing his stubbled face, “on what you want."

Coulter was quiet, not offering anything, and silence fell over the office, the only sound was of the air conditioner kicking on.

I began to speak, to stand up for myself, to tell them both to fuck off. As soon as I opened my mouth, Coulter's fingers clenched on my ankle, silently telling me to shut up.

I snapped my mouth shut, obeying him, even though I itched with the need to tell them off and stomp from the room like a diva. Assholes.

“I’ll call my own men off finding Bourbon,” his father finally snapped after a long period of stifling silence. “I’ll spare his and his wife's life, in exchange for the other Bratva princess."

Coulter pushed my legs off him and stood up, holding out his hand to me.

What was he doing?If it were my choice, I didn't know what I would pick. My sister's life was on the line.

Maybe I should even offer myself.

If I could save her, wouldn't it be worth it?

I blinked up at him, fear freezing me in place. Was he going to do it now?

“Let’s go,” he said. I stood, relief making my fingers tremble and my knees shake. I leaned on the desk to help put my heels back on, swiping the ceramic woman and pocketing it in the process. Coulter led me out, throwing over his shoulder. "I'll think about it."

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