Page 101 of Ruthless King
“Get ready for the show, gentlemen.” Bo jerks his chin at the table surrounded by chairs. The guys close in around it and fold into the seats. He turns to me and barks, “Stand up.”
I do, throwing my shoulders back. I test out the range of my bound hands behind my back. I can just reach my side pocket now that I’ve been freed from the chair.
Bo drags the table into the center of the room, the sharp squeal of the legs against the cement floor grating on my frayed nerves. With a hateful grin, he moves toward me. Then he latches his finger in the first button of my shirt and yanks. It pops off and clinks to the ground. Then he grabs two fistfuls of my shirt and rips it open. All the remaining buttons clatter to the floor, leaving me exposed. I grit my teeth together to keep from gasping. At least I’m not wearing a cute lacey bra. The full coverage beige cups hide most of my breasts from the wandering pervy eyes.
I slip on that icy mask I’ve so often seen on Luca despite the riot of nerves in my gut. I won’t break in front of these assholes.
Bo spins me around and wraps his hand around the back of my neck. He shoves me toward the table. With my back to the rest of the men, he hisses, “Take off your shorts.”
“No.” My pulse roars across my eardrums.
“Do it, or I’ll do it for you.”
Time’s up. I have to act now, or my pepper spray will end up on the floor and out of reach. It’s my only chance. Pretending to wiggle out of my shorts, I reach for the pepper spray and tuck it into my panties. My shorts drop to the floor, and raw adrenaline pumps through my veins.
I feel him behind me, inching closer. When his dick is up against my ass, I whirl around and spray. “Go fuck yourself!” I take off toward the door in nothing but my bra and underwear, arms pumping like mad.
Bo screeches behind me. “Stop her! I don’t care if you fucking shoot her! Don’t let her get away.”
The warehouse door whips open, and a murky shadow fills the entryway. Every nerve-ending in my body stands at attention. Luca races toward me, fury carved into his beautiful face. Shots ring out, and I freeze.
A dark blur shoves me to the ground, and I hit the floor with a smack. All the air whooshes from my lungs against the concrete, and I struggle to slurp in a breath.
“Stella, Stellina, are you okay?” Luca’s voice coaxes me from the darkness.
I force my lids open despite the crushing pain on my back. Warmth pools around me.
“I’m right here, baby.” Luca’s hand finds mine, fingers entwining like a perfect puzzle.
More shots ricochet across the warehouse. A cry, another scream. A muffled curse.Bang. Bang. Bang. I cover my ear with my free hand.
“Save Bo for me!” Luca shouts through the chaos.
A faint groan alerts me of someone else’s presence, and I glance up over my shoulder. There’s someone still on top of me.
“Cazzo, Dante.” Luca’s panicked voice has my heart thundering back up again. He sits up and rolls his brother off me.
As soon as the massive weight is gone, I can breathe again. I search my body for wounds, but despite the puddle of blood, I’m whole. I hazard a glance at Dante, whose eyes have gone glossy. Three or four bullet wounds riddle his torso, and a lake of crimson pools around us.
“Tony!” Luca cries. He rips off his shirt and presses it to his brother’s abdomen.
My eyes land on the blood seeping from Luca’s stomach. “You’re bleeding!”
He shakes his head. “It’s the wound from the other day.” He presses his lips into a hard line. “I’m fine.”
It’s only then I notice the shots have stopped. I glance around the warehouse and only Luca’s men are left standing. From across the sprawling space, a familiar lanky form lays on the concrete, face first in a river of his own blood. I can just make out the glint of his tacky silver dragon ring on a bloodied finger. A part of me wants to see Bo up close, needs to see the remains of that asshole, but the fear on Luca’s face as he watches his brother grounds me to the spot.
“Doc’s on her way to your place.” Tony slides to the floor beside Dante as Luca presses his bloodstained shirt to the wounds. “We have to get out of here. The cops will arrive any minute.”
“He needs an ambulance.” I fix my eyes to Luca’s. I may not know much about bullet wounds, but there are a shit ton of them, and Dante’s lost too much blood. Images of Vinny’s body swim to the surface once again. I squeeze my eyes shut chasing them away before they pull me under.
“I—I can’t. No cops.”
“Go, then. I’ll stay with Dante; he saved my life. I’ll tell the police Bo kidnapped me. I’ll tell them everything.”
“My damned brother savedbothour lives.” Luca’s head whips back and forth. “And no, I won’t leave you. Never again.”
“I’m not asking you.” The wail of sirens breaks through the tense silence. “Go now, Luca. You can’t be here.”
