Page 16 of Psycho Sinners

“I love you, you know that, right?” I whispered, surprised that Cristian had gone silent outside the door.

“And I love you, Scar. Now, I’m going to find a way to get you out of there.”

“Just don’t risk yourself. I’m going to hang up now. I need to call Tommy.” I didn’t want to hang up, but my gut was churning, and not just from last night’s wretched decisions.

“You call me straight back, Ray and I will figure something out.” Noms was stressed, and I wished I’d not made the disastrous decisions of the past twenty-four hours. I was paying for them now.

I hung up, my thumb smashing onto Tommy’s name hard, as if I could force him to pick up by sheer will. I hated him for what he’d done to me, but it didn’t mean I wanted something truly bad to happen to him.

All I got was the cold shrill of a ringtone, and my stomach sank.

Please don’t be dead, you prick

Once, twice, thrice—the ringing cut through the silence of the room, each trill a laceration in the ominous quiet. Then nothing. Not even the damned voice-mail I knew all too well, commanding me to leave him a message that he may or may not get back to. Just the dead air of a line cut short.

I may have wished him dead yesterday, but I hadn’t meant it.

“Fuck,” I hissed as I stared hard at the screen.

“My brothers will be here soon, kitten, and I daresay they’ll want a taste of you as well. Why not shower while you’re in there? And no more calls, sorry, sweetheart. We own the law.”

“Fuck you,” I snarled, hating his sharp laugh on the other side of the door.

“Oh, please do. And let those claws back out. I do love it when you fight.”

“You sick fuck,” I muttered as I tried to call Noms back. Too bad my signal had dropped out, and the pit in my stomach grew.

I opened up my social media to no avail, my phone not connecting to anything. Had this psycho jammed the signal? What the actual fuck?

“Breathe, we got this,” I murmured to myself as my heart rattled around inside my rib cage.

“Why not shower, kitten? Calm your nerves?” Cristian’s mocking voice had me bristling. Calm my fucking nerves? This man intended to keep me prisoner here and use me as a damn sex toy for him and his brothers.

I turned on my heel, eyeing the tiny windows up high and cursing inwardly. Even with a decent footing, there was no way I could get through those tiny things.

Would Naomi come through for me? What if they hurt her or Ray? I couldn’t shoulder that knowledge, but I also knew I’d do the same for her. We were family.

I closed my eyes, wishing the sickness churning in my gut would pass. It was a mix of unease and hangover, but at least the shakes had eased. I’d have to thank the adrenaline pumping through me for alleviating some of it, enough that I could function.

Voices out in the living area caught my attention, and I slunk closer to the door, wanting to make out what they were saying. I heard Cristian’s receding footfalls, and my heart lurched to my throat.

So his brothers were here, I guess this was going to be a family affair then.

I pocketed my useless phone after checking the service once more, and then moved to the cabinet in search of a weapon.

This little kitten had claws, and I wasn’t about to go down without a fight.

5

TYRONE

Of course Cristian had found himself a pet. He really loved acting like a knight in shining armor, too bad the women he’d claimed would be terrified and they’d cower before him, making him lose interest. He’d send them on their merry way, and they’d never speak out, knowing the price they could pay for sullying our name.

Then again, fear was something we reveled in. It was what our entire business structure and family was built on.

Fear was a weapon in this life, a means of controlling those who would dare defy us.

“He never saw what was coming for him.” Julian sniffed as he inspected his bruised knuckles.

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