Page 23 of Twisted Games of Revenge

I have to get the fuck out of here. Not even Ricky will save me tonight. I struggle against Maddox’s grip, my sweaty hands slipping, and I bring my elbow back and get Alessandro right in the face. There is a struggle, and for a second, I think I might break free of them, but heavy hands press into me, and without warning, I’m pulled back at the waist and forced back into the door, my ass hitting the solid wood with a smack. Maddox’s hands grip me tightly at one side and Ricky the other. A whimper flies from my lips. I’m fucked.

Alessandro stretches his jaw, massaging the spot I elbowed him. “That wasn’t very smart, princess.”

I smirk back at him, enjoying the slight flicker of surprise in his features. “I’m not letting you motherfuckers lock me up again, I’ll fight you until I escape.”

A deep, booming laugh vibrates out of him, shaking his broad shoulders. “Doesn’t look like you have much of a choice if we want you locked up. How are you getting yourself out of this mess? You’re a smart girl, Harley, you know you can’t fight off the three of us.”

Now it’s my turn to look at him like I have completely lost my mind because I think I have. I tilt my head, looking directly at Alessandro. “Is that what you want, to hold me against my will for the rest of my life? Or are you just like your papa and you’re going to slit my throat right here with my knife before I have a chance to make a run for it? Go on, Alessandro, show us all what a big fucking man you are now that you’re boss.”

I see the way he recoils as I say the last part. He doesn’t want to be compared to Enzo. Who would? His eyes narrow, and I know I have hurt him. “This is how things are going to go,” he starts.

I wrestle against the boys’ tight hold on me, thrashing around. “No,” I cut him off. “You’re not dictating shit to me anymore. I’lltell you how things are going to fucking go. You’re going to give me back my knife, and you three are going to let me walk out of this place tonight or your alliance with the Strykers is fucked,” I spit out, even surprising myself.

He lets out a satisfying crack as he twists his neck from side to side.

A guttural growl, deep and threatening, escapes Maddox’s lips. “You’re not in any position to make threats,” he warns me, but it’s too late. I’m not going anywhere with them tonight.

My eyes, filled with fury, snap up to his. “Neither are you. Enzo is willing to pay the likes of me, some fucking stranger his wife just met, for a little information on his son because he knows he’s lost control of you, and he wants it back. If I return to him with information, he will start to trust me and thenwehave the upper hand. If you assholes lock me up again, you give all the power back to Enzo so he can fuck with the three of you for the rest of your lives. Is that what you really want?” My breath is ragged and crazy as I glare back at them. “What will the choice be, boys?”

“After everything we have been through, how can you turn on us, baby doll?”

I shoot an angry glance in Ricky’s direction. “Turn on you? I didn’t fucking turn on you. I asked for your help, pleaded with all of you to aid me in getting revenge for my ma and stop that asshole from destroying more lives, and you refused to help me. You did this to us, not me.”

Alessandro gets up in my face. “Ha. We didn’t refuse to help you. We have it handled. You need to trust us.”

“You don’t know the trouble you’re in, getting involved with the Strykers,” Ricky warns me.

“Yes, I do. I’m not a fucking idiot like you three think. I see and know a hell of a lot more than you’re aware of. As Vivian, I’m safe from Enzo and Valentina because the two of them haveno idea who I really am. They’re too conceited to even notice. And as for the Strykers, Sloane has been a better friend to me in the few days I have known her than any of you ever were,” I spit out, ready to keep the venom up for as long as I have to. I’m not backing down today. This is me now, and they better fucking get used to it. Because they turned me into this.

Alessandro’s phone rings, and he glances at the screen, answering it immediately. “Speak.” His glare directed at me turns deathly as he listens to the person on the other end of the call. And I already know who he is talking to. Sloane. I knew she wouldn’t let this shit show go on forever. He disconnects the call without another word, the vein in his neck looking like it’s about to pop. “You’re starting a fucking war,” he hisses out.

“No, Alessandro. I’m fucking finishing it.” I glare back at him, matching his intensity.

“Strykers?” Ricky asks, trying to confirm all of our suspicions.

Alessandro comes toward me in a rush, getting up in my face in a way that causes my heart to race. “Sloane. We have been allowed five minutes to safely deliver Vivian to the front of the casino. If we comply, she will overlook this slip-up on our behalf.”

Maddox growls, and I feel his body tighten. They have me surrounded, caged in between them. “She can’t fucking talk to you like that. What fucking shit is she playing at?”

“She can because she knows something we don’t.” Alessandro’s eyes grow even darker. He’s a man on the edge, and I might have just pushed him too far. He moves the knife to right in front of both our faces as he inspects it like he’s looking for clues.

“What the hell did you do, baby doll?” Ricky gasps.

Sloane’s smart, she used what she knows about me as leverage, just like we talked about. Made it look like I owe her something, even though I know she will never come at me for that debt.She’s as happy that slippery pig is dead as I am. “Get your fucking hands off of me, and I will tell you,” I spit back. Two can play at this all fucking night. He’s not going to hurt me, I can see it in his eyes. He’s just pissed the control over me is slipping away.

With a hesitant step back, Alessandro gives a subtle nod to the boys, who reluctantly let me go.

I rub life back into my arms, stepping away from them, using the space to walk over to the window, looking out over the street below. I release a small chuckle when I see the army of Strykers gathered across the street, their heavy bikes lined up in a show of solidarity. Sloane really does have my back.

“I protected myself from a pig who was trying to hurt me.” I turn back toward them, needing to see their faces. “I was in the back alley of The Raven’s Nest when the asshole cop attacked me, and Sloane cleaned up the mess for me. I fucking owe her my life, and all she has done is be loyal to me from the second she told me she would.”

“You killed a fucking cop?” Ricky mutters, I think disgusted in me, or maybe it’s surprise coloring his words.

My eyes flick over to him. “A dirty fucking cop who tried to rape me in the back alley of a bar. Besides, it wasn’t me who did it, it was Harley. That girl doesn’t exist anymore, she died, remember? So stop your stressing.”

He closes the gap between us. “Stop my stressing? You’re going to get yourself locked up or killed for real, and I won’t stand by and watch you do it. Someone has to stop her.” He looks to his brothers who for once appear to be in shock. The surprise of little old me being able to take care of herself too much for them to handle.

“I’m sorry, Ricky, but you have no choice. I’m leaving here tonight alone. And tomorrow, I will go back and tell Enzo how much success I had seducing his son. What information wouldyou like me to relay to him?” I look back to Alessandro, waiting for him to enlighten me. Waiting for him to say something, anything, that indicates he understands what I did and who I am now.

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