Page 27 of Wicked Rivals

My child.

The pain in my left arm flared to explosive, searing throbs after suffering first the gunshot wound, then Val’s fist. Clenching my teeth, tightening my jaw, I tried to ignore it and focus on what the hell I needed to do next.

With the two of them.

With the three of us.

Because I had frightened her, she no longer made eye contact with me. But what else should I have expected after treating her like that? I pulled in a deep breath and lightened my expression.

“Val, please look at me.”

After staring at me for a second, defiance lit up her eyes.

I shook my head in warning.

“Here’s what’s going to happen. You’ll take the boy to my car, and the two of you will get in the back. You won’t argue. You won’t make a fuss. And you won’t fucking hit me again.

“And you’ll go quickly before the police get here. Otherwise, we’ll have to explain what happened here, and I don’t want to do that. This precinct isn’t one of mine. Do you understand?”

“I’m not going anywhere with you. Neither is my son.”

“You will go. Because you’re no longer safe here.”

“You did this to us,” she fired back.

I focused on the aching in my jaw while staring at her.

All I wanted in the moment was to set my rage free. To grab her beautiful, delicate throat and pin her against the wall with my hard cock while threatening her life.

I wanted to hear her beg me for mercy.

I wanted her to have nightmares filled with images of me.

Only me.

I wanted to scare her without pause or apology to make her obey me, to make her get into my fucking car.

But I wouldn’t do it, not in front of the kid.

Enzo, she had called him.

I would never make him stare down the barrel of a gun or knowingly terrify him the way I wanted to terrify his mother for what she had done to me.

He had no idea who or what I was. If I punished his mother in front of him, the monster he would see would be the only thing he ever remembered about me.

That meant the one play I had left was employing one of my lesser practiced skills.

Reason.

Fucking reason.

I cleared my throat, reminded myself to keep my voice low.

“Val, listen to me. You aren’t safe here or anywhere else you might go. You’re not safe because you didn'ttell me about my son, and one of my rivals found him first. An enemy who is now using him to hurt me. Do you understand? If I’d known about him, this never would have happened.”

She folded her arms, maintaining our eye contact.

“I don't believe you.”

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