Page 62 of The Players

His body stilled. Sy’s eyes shot open, looking right through her. He grabbed her by her upper arms, squeezing them to the point of pain.

Carmen cried out. She tried to pull away, but that only seemed to enrage him. His eyes were like shards of ice that bore into her.

“Don’t ever fucking put your hands on me again,” he snarled.

“Sy, please, you’re hurting me.”

“Never again, brother, I promise. No one will ever fucking put their hands on me again.”

His grip on her got ever tighter, and for a second, Carmen feared he would break her bones.

Then he got out of bed, and tossed her away. Her back hit the wall, and she took down a lamp as she fell onto her knees. When she looked up, Sy had raised his fists as if he was ready to go a round with her. His body emanated a raw rage that would be unleashed on her any second.

So, she did the only thing she could—she screamed. She yelled for him to wake up, but his eyes were still… wrong. He was still in the grips of a nightmare and she couldn’t help but wonder if it was because of his encounter with his mother.

Before she could get back on her feet, he grabbed her by the hair and pulled her up.

“I’m gonna take that cig and shove it up your ass, Frank.”

He thinks I’m Frank.

He’s going to kill me.

Somehow that knowledge cleared her mind, and her fight instinct kicked in. She hit him in the abs with a combo. He barely felt it. Then she kicked him in the shin, which hurt her foot more than it did him. When he threw her against the wall once again, she saw her chance. She grabbed his arm, twisted it, and made a move so she got past him. A victory yell rolled off her lips when she managed to leave him behind her.

She’d barely made three steps when he grabbed her by the hair again. With one pull, her back thudded against his chest. His arms took her into a bear hug, ready to crush her.

Then Vince burst inside, making her cry with relief. One look at her panicked eyes, and he jumped to her aid. He decked Sy and pulled her loose.

“You okay?” he asked, alternating his gaze between Sy, who lay at the foot of the bed, and her.

“I’m fine. Just a little shaken up.”

Sy cursed and shook his head. Slowly, she could see him come to himself.

“What the—” He looked at her, puzzled.

Carmen cleared her throat while trying to calm herself. “You were having a nightmare.”

His eyes turned dark again. She could all but see a mantle of guilt covering him from head to toe.

“Take her away,” Sy said, his voice hoarse.

“No,” Carmen protested. “I don’t want—”

“Take her the fuck away!”

CHAPTER 22

VINCE

Vince smacked Chad “Momma’s boy” Ralston in the chin and the man, as well as the chair he was tied to, went down.

Chad spit out blood and a tooth, but Vince didn’t give a fuck. Sy, standing two feet away, grabbed the chair and hauled it up.

After searching for weeks in off-the-grid shitholes and seedy clubs with even shadier people, they had finally found their prey. Chad was one of the four men in the disgusting picture that haunted Carmen’s nightmares. Another was Franco, who he could distinguish even while wearing a mask. The other two had been a complete mystery. Luckily, Chad had a distinct heart tattoo in his neck with his mother’s name on it.

“The way I see it, Chad, you either tell us what we want to hear or my friend here is gonna break every bone in your body. You see, Sy here is on edge and just looking for an excuse to break something. Don’t let it be you.”

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