Page 116 of King of Obsession

‘Fuck off, Nichols,’ Franco snarled. ‘I’mnow back, and I still run this freakin’ town. You don’t tell me what to do.’

Bill, however, was no coward.

He stepped forward, lifting his hands. ‘Get the hell out.’

Without warning, Franco’s firearm went off, the loud sound cracking through the room.

I jolted as Bill groaned in agony and dropped to one knee, clutching his thigh.

Franco advanced on the fallen man, gun smoking. ‘You dare spew your shit?’ he screamed. ‘You attemptin’ to order me around?’

The voice I remembered from all those years ago triggered ice-cold fear in me, my heart erupting and shaking, praying Alessio would make it back before this bomb went off.

‘You damn fuck!’ Bill cried, still prone, one hand to his wound, blood oozing between his fingers.

He tilted his head back and glared at Franco. ‘What the fuck’s the matter with you? You shot me! You aiming to return right back into the slammer?’

‘I’m endeavoring to procure what’s mine.’

I’d seen enough.

‘Franco Conti,’ I growled, rising from behind my booth, my voice dripping with disdain. ‘Still a coward, going after the innocent.’

I clenched my fists as they trembled, willing myself to stay calm.

I laser-focused on the arrogant swine before me.

The cult leader had aged over the years.

Still, he was a commanding figure who’d managed to manipulate many with his cursed tongue and creepy, oily car salesman vibe.

He stepped forward with a cruel twist to his lips, his eyesnever leaving my face.

‘There she is, my prize and lady,’ his lecherous voice intoned. ‘We got a call saying you’d be here. Why don’t you come closer, wife, and give me the kiss I’ve been waiting for all these years?’

My breath caught as my darkest nightmare unfolded.

That’s when I saw a silhouette ease through the open door and loom behind Franco.

I released a shaky exhalation in relief at the sight of not just any man; my man. He exuded a power taken, not given, commanding sheer fear.

My eyes locked onto his vortex of sheathed strength towering behind the unwitting quartet.

Franco’s hubris was about to get torn up.

ALESSIO

‘Put your fuckin’ weapons down.’

The men before me froze, limbs locking, breaths hitching.

‘I’ve got a 12 freakin’ gauge aimed at the back of Franco’s head. So unless you want to be plastered by his brains and pulp, you’ll do as I damn well say.’

I sliced my eyes at my woman and tagged her wooden expression, knowing she was tense and on the edge of panic.

I’d tagged how her eyes darted to Franco, jolting at his brazen ask for a kiss.

Like hell, I’d let him touch her,I thought, my jaw clenching with barely suppressed rage.

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