Page 33 of A Dark Mafia Christmas

She’s only here because she witnessed a murder.

What happened yesterday by the stream was in the heat of the moment, fueled by the excited Christmas energy inside the house.

“What’s that?” Fianna leans forward in her seat, the belt stretching across her chest, and points at a bus shelter at the side of the road.

A small black car is parked on the other side of it, the exhaust sending clouds of smoke puffing across the snowy verge. But it’s the guy emerging from the shelter carrying something in his arms that I’m more worried about. Is that…

As I watch, Mary tries to wriggle free from the man’s grip, pummeling his chest with her fists.

I slam on the brakes, the car swerving from side to side as the tires try to find purchase on the slippery road, and eventually stop on the verge before the bus shelter.

I’m out of the car almost before it has fully stopped, leaving the door open behind me. I hear Mary cry out, “Put me down!” and my vision turns red. I sprint the rest of the distance between the car and the shelter, the guy turning to face me, slack jawed. I’ve caught him red-handed with Mary in his arms.

He’s wearing a beanie hat, and a black overcoat, but I barely register anything else about him. I grab Mary from him, her arms flailing until she realizes that it’s me, and cradle her against my chest. Her head flops onto my shoulder. She’s so cold, I can feel the chill spreading from her and through my clothes, making me shiver.

“What do you think you were doing?” I glare at the man.

Now that I’ve got Mary away from him, I can see his bloodshot eyes, and the way he’s swaying on his feet. He’s fucking drunk, and he was going to put Mary into his car and take her fuck knows where.

“I-I saw her in the shelter. She looked cold.”

“So, you thought you’d take her somewhere in your car where no one would find her.”

“Emmett…” Her voice sounds so weak, and I could kill the fucker for taking advantage of her. “Please don’t.” It occurs to me with a sharp stab of guilt that I’m the one who’s guilty of abducting her,but at least my intentions were good, even if my actions were not. The same can’t be said for this guy.

“It-it wasn’t like that.” He’s a big guy, but he doesn’t come at me, because he’s a coward who picks on vulnerable women.

“Emmett.” Fianna is out of the car and standing behind me. “Leave it. Come on, let’s get Mary into the car.”

“Yeah.” The drunk guy punches the air with his fist. “Go on, get back in the car and drive back to wherever you came from.” His expression twists into a sneer as he takes a step backwards, and I see red.

“What the fuck did you say?”

Mary, shivering so violently I’m afraid she’ll shatter her bones, tugs my sweater to get my attention. Her face is pale, her skin transparent, and her lips tinged blue, her teeth chattering noisily.

“You found me?” Her voice is hoarse, and I wonder how long she’s been inside the bus shelter. I need to get her back to the house and warm her up. “Are you going to take me home?”

“Mary? Is that your name?” The guy is still talking. What’s it going to take to get rid of him? “Mary, do you want me to take you somewhere?”

What the fuck?

“You need to turn around, get in your car, and drive away while you still can.” I keep my voice low, enunciating every word so that he knows I’m being deadly serious. “Now!”

His eyes narrow. The guy has a fucking death wish.

“Or what?”

That’s what he’s going with?

Fianna sidesteps around me. “Okay, that’s enough, guys. It’s Christmas Day. Please,” she says to the guy in the beanie, “just go home and enjoy your day. We’ll take over from here.”

The man’s eyes hop between Fianna and Mary who is still lying limply in my arms. “I want to hear it from Mary. I’m not the one who lost her, I’m the one who found her.”

His words sting, and the red behind my eyes becomes a swirling mass of fire.

I glance at Mary. “Mary, I’m going to put you back inside the shelter, just for a moment. Fianna will stay with you.”

“Emmett, don’t.” Fianna stands between me and drunk guy. A barrier. But it’s too late.

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