Page 53 of Ferocious Nightmare

Sixteen

I now understoodwhy the floor was concrete.

Angel’s head jerked back as the bullet slammed through him, his body collapsing. Blood drained onto the floor, the concrete floor. Clean up on aisle nine, so easy to wipe away.

I stared at it in shock, unable to speak.

It wasn’t the first time I’d seen a dead body. I’d seen some bad stuff in Mexico, especially since my dad was the governor, but seeing it actually happen was different.

Stepping back, Coulter turned towards the rest of the men. His eyes had that dead look that I hated. "Anyone else?” They all shook their heads. "Who's next in power?”

"Yo." The elderly man stepped forward. "So yo."

Coulter’s jaw flexed, just now realizing what I already understood. This man was the one who’d been in charge this whole time. American culture had long discarded their respect for the elderly, but not so in the Hispanic culture.

"You speak English?" Coulter asked him.

He looked Coulter in the eye, his posture regal. "Yes. I speak English."

"Then tell your Jefe that if he ever tries to fuck me over again, I will take every single one of you out."

The elderly man nodded, his gaze made of steel. "I will tell him."

“And tell your crew that they will be at the disposal of whatever we demand,” I interjected, purposely not looking at the dead body at Coulter’s feet. “You owe us for this.”

The elderly man nodded, reaching to pull Lola out of Marie’s arms.

“No!” Marie screamed, trying to reach for the little girl, but several men stepped forward, holding her back. She struggled against them, falling to the floor. The girl began to cry, collapsing into the elderly man’s arms.

“You know it must be this way,” he said to Marie, “or El Jefe will come for her. She is safer with me.”

I knelt next to her. “Marie, you know if you take her now, he’ll send men to kill her, just to assert his power.”

“Everyone out,” Coulter demanded, interrupting us. “And take Angel’s fucking body with you. Go out the back hallway; it will lead you to the parking lot. Dante, get Marie back to her husband.”

Tears still streaming down her face, and with my help, Marie stood. Dante came to her, pulling her from me. “Come on, Marie. Your husband has noticed you’re missing.”

She nodded, going with him, until they reached Angel’s body. Screaming out, she gave it a swift kick, then another. “You bastardo!”

“Come on,” Dante insisted after a moment, and she reluctantly let him guide her towards the door.

More men entered the room, gathering the weapons and herding the cartel out the back door. I began to follow Marie out, but a hand wrapped around my arm, jerking me backwards, pulling me up against a firm body. "You're not going anywhere, nightmare."

My heart lurched into my throat at the ferocity of Coulter’s words. He wrapped a hand around my stomach, gripping me to him tight, and his dick, which was thick and hard, pressed against the crack of my ass. The hair at the back of my neck prickled, my whole body strung tight, anticipation making me hold my breath.

I closed my eyes, waiting for everyone to leave, and everything around me fell away. The adrenaline shooting through my veins from everything that had just happened shot all my focus onto one thing.

Him.

His strong body, pressed against my back, one arm clamped around me in a vice-like grip.

His breath, the expansive movement of his chest with each inhale. A deep breath in, then out. It moved over my bare shoulder, the sensual feel of it flowing over my skin like silk, reminding me of the times when he held me at night, my body tucked into his.

His scent, the smell of cedar and suede. It filled my nose, and I thought of the night in the club, when that prick wouldn’t take a hint. The scent had made me feel safe, when I was edging towards a panic attack.

The man behind me had just killed another man. These same fingers, clasped tight into my side, had flickered only minutes earlier on the trigger of a gun. The small flutter of movement, had brought a permanent darkness to another soul.

And yet, the same skin, strong bones and ligaments, blood rushing through veins, brought life to my soul.

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