Page 3 of Dove

“Try not to get yourself killed.” He said a second before I heard his steps retreating.

I didn’t care if I died. I didn’t fear death. But I also wasn’t ready to leave Kincaid. I needed her back. Needed her to keep the demon locked in his cage. He was roaming free. Killing everything in sight.

“We’ll find her.” Tristan spoke. I flicked my eyes to the side to look at him. Kincaid had once said he resembled Draco Malfoy; I saw it now. The memory brought a brief smile to my face before it faltered again. I wanted to believe him. But hope didn’t belong in my world.

My little dove didn’t belong. But I’d taken her. She was mine.

Mine to touch.

Mine to have.

Mine to protect.

And I’d failed.

Now she was mine to avenge.

3

Kincaid

Iheld my mother’s hand when she died. I watched the last breath leave her lungs. And I waited for her to take another. In that beat, I saw the acceptance in her face. Saw the pain and struggle leave her body. She was at peace. Even through the pain, her body found peace in death.

That was how I knew this wasn’t the end for me. I wasn’t going to die here. I didn’t feel any of that peace in this cold concrete box.

All I felt was a need to fight. A burning desire not to die on this disgusting floor. I’d often dreamed of death. Even wished for it. But I’d always found the strength to go on. I wasn’t going to let that strength fail me now.

I sat on the ground as I looked around the room. The air was damp and dark, but my eyes had long ago adjusted. There were no windows to tell me if it was night or day. Maybe I was in a basement or the office of a warehouse.

There was nothing in the room I could use as a weapon. I’d already inspected every inch of the floor and walls. It was an empty concrete box, other than a hose attached to the wall, which I assumed was used to clean up when they were done. I refused to think about what would need to be cleaned from this room. My mind pushed away the horrible image of them washing blood from the concrete where I sat.

I shivered as I drew my legs closer to my body, my clothes doing nothing to keep me warm. I was still wearing the leggings and sweater I’d put on this morning, or was it yesterday morning? Minutes felt like hours as I waited for my captors to come back. I didn’t know what their plans were for me. But I planned on staying alive. Whatever it took.

Finally, the sounds of voices carried to me from outside the tiny room I was in.

“I think you should leave her alone.” I recognized the deep voice from earlier. “Do you know what Maddox will do to you if he finds out you touched his girl?”

“That’s why he’s not going to find out it was me.” Cigarettes answered. “He’s still questioning every Gallo he can get his hands on. Our man will keep his attention focused on them.”

“I wouldn’t trust him to protect you.” Their voices were right outside the door now. “He was supposed to be loyal to the Vancinis. If he can turn on them, he’ll turn on us.”

Someone had betrayed Maddox? Someone had led these men to me. Why? Maddox didn’t talk to me about his business. They could torture me, and I still wouldn’t be able to tell them anything. I didn’t even know who the Gallos were. I’d kept myself away from this part of his life. Because it was easier to want him when I turned my head. When I ignored who and what he was.

A capo in one of the biggest mafia families. A killer. A soulless monster.

“We’ve already become their enemies. We might as well have a little fun.” Cigarettes chuckled.

The creak of the door opening drew my attention. I whipped my head up and blinked as light shined directly in my face. I tried to clear the spots from my vision as my eyes burned.

“Time to wake up, princess.” Cigarettes spoke.

Before I could respond, a blast of cold water hit my body. The force of the hose knocked me to the side. My hands slipped in the water as I tried to right myself. I choked as he kept a steady stream of icy water pointed at my face. I felt like I was drowning as my chest seized for air.

As suddenly as it started, it stopped. Shivers ran down my body as I hacked and coughed, trying to push the water from my lungs. Gagging and heaving as I tried to survive.

Once it subsided, I scrambled back into a sitting position, not wanting them to have any more of an advantage than they already did. I wrapped my arms around my legs to gather any warmth I could. Water dripped from my soaked clothes and hair onto the hard concrete. My teeth chattered as my body racked with tremors.

I narrowed my eyes as I looked at the men before me. I assumed Cigarettes was the one with the hose dangling from his hand. He was in his thirties with stringy black hair that hung to his shoulders. His gut pushed over the waistband of his jeans, and his plain white t-shirt was stained.

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