Page 98 of City of Wind and Lies

"C'mon," Trey shouts, rushing closer and shoving Belluci in the shoulder. "Just let her go."

Belluci whips the gun around, pointing it at Trey, "When the warehouse was reduced to ash, so was my need for you. If I don't have drugs to sell, I don't need dealers."

BANG!

I flinch back, a scream ripping from my throat as I watch Trey's body slump to the floor with a thud. His gray eyes stare lifelessly up at me as blood pools on the concrete around his head.

Panic claws at my insides, shredding my nerves and ripping away my breath as Belluci tucks away the gun and grabs my face. His thumb and fingers dig into my cheeks harder and harder until my mouth pops open. "Let's try this again, shall we?"

"No!" I try to shout, pushing against him as fresh tears careen down my face. "Fuck off!"

He surges forward, shoving past my lips and bumping the back of my throat with his cock. My tongue recoils as the vile taste of his skin fills my mouth and I gag around him. I snap my jaw, teeth sinking into him, scraping across his repulsive flesh as he tries to pull back. “Ow! You fucking stupid whore,” he groans, driving his fist into my cheek and I release.

Stepping back, he stares down at the bite mark on his disgusting dick and growls, "So, that's how you want to play?"

A sinister smile splits his face as he jerks me by the feet, my back slapping against the concrete and knocking the air out of my lungs. My body cries in pain and I struggle to take a breath. I lay there frozen in fear as he grabs a knife from his pocket. Flicking out the curved blade, he drives it down, and I watch in suspended disbelief as he slices through the zip ties around my ankles to free them, repeating the action on my hands.

"I love it when they put up a fight," he murmurs, his voice a callous tone as he tosses the knife aside and pins me against the floor with his body.

Pure disgust weaves its way through me. I thrash beneath him, bucking my hips and kicking my feet as his hands snake between us and work my pajama bottoms down. With each gulp of air I take in, I force it back out in a shrill cry, hoping that someone will hear me.

Even though he's twice my size, I keep fighting. I shove at his shoulders, nails clawing at his face as I try to squirm myself free. He chuckles, his warm, stale breath skating across the sweat beading on my skin, sending a wave of chills racing down my spine.

My hands scrabble against the concrete for anything to help me. He lines himself up, cock nudging at my entrance, pausing before he starts to push inside. His head jerks to the side as the heavy metal door crashes open, headlights spilling in from outside, and a flash of silver catches my eye. My fingers curl around his knife and without a second guess, I embed the blade into his neck. His blood sprays across my face as I pull it out and slam it back in. Belluci's mouth rounds in soundless shock as crimson spurts out from the wound. Warm, sticky blood gushes out of him, streaming down his skin and pouring onto me. His hands shoot to his neck as his body is pulled from mine and thrown to the ground beside me.

I scramble back, shaking and panting as I pull up my pajama bottoms, drawing my knees to my chest as I watch Bowie avenge me. His fists smash into Belluci's face over and over again, blood flying up each time I hear the sickening crunch of bone on bone.

"Bowie," my lips quiver as I whimper his name.

His fist freezes in the air above Belluci's caved-in face, head whipping to where I sit. His hazel eyes soften almost instantly as they lock with mine.

"Passerotta," he croaks.

One word; that's all it takes to transform the beast back into my prince. Bowie pushes to his feet and closes the distance between us in one large stride. His warm hands cup my face, guilt flickering in his eyes as he tours the bruises. The muscle in his jaw feathers with tension at the sight of my bloodied shirt. His fingers quickly work open the buttons of his own before he shrugs it off and offers it to me.

I’m shaking as I peel my top off, throwing it aside so Bowie can help me into his. His warmth and familiarity engulfs me, helping to calm my racing heart. His strong arms wrap around my trembling shoulders, threading under my knees as he scoops me up and cradles me into his chest. "I've got you, Wren," he soothes, comforting lips brushing my forehead.

The crisp night air washes over my balmy skin as he carries me out of the building, making me shiver and ache. Bowie pulls me closer, holding me like I could disappear at any second. I nuzzle my face in the crook of his neck, drawing in a greedy breath of his heady scent, letting it anchor me in the moment. I’m safe.

"Dallas, you're driving. Rhodes, help Rocco clear the place. Everyone else, start clean up and damage control," Bowie barks out orders as he carefully slides us into the backseat of Dallas' Range Rover.

The doors slam shut, the engine revving as Dallas speeds away from the little slice of hell I've been kept in.

"Northwest Memorial, or…?" Dallas asks.

Bowie shifts me in his lap, hand gliding along my chin as he tilts it up, and I watch the way his brows furrow together with the question he doesn't want to ask. "Are you hurt anywhere else?

“No,” I say with a shaky breath.

Relief floods his features as he tells Dallas that the hospital closer to home is fine. "You're so strong," he says resolutely, kissing my forehead. "Just know that no matter what happened, it doesn't change how much I love you." His hand rests on the crest of my tiny belly. “The both of you,” he whispers in my hair.

His words pierce my soul, my pulse slowing, body recognizing the security of his hold. I curl against his ink-covered chest, idly tracing the lines of his tattoos as my eyes grow heavy. “What’s Sempre per la famiglia mean?”

The corner of his lips pull into a faint smile as his thumb strokes my bump. “Always for the family.”

Feeling the certainty in his words and the steady beat of his heart beneath my palm, promising me safety and so much more, I give into the exhaustion and let my eyes slip shut.

32

---