Page 32 of Witness Protection

Sophia screamed.

“Get her out of here,” Ricky shouted to his last man standing, pulling out his handgun and aiming it at Cayden. “Stay back.”

“Cayden!” she called as the guy hauled her up the stairs.

He shot the man in the calf, and he tumbled back, rolling down the stairs. Sophia fell on top of him. Cayden finished the piece of shit off with a head shot. Ricky moved quick, wrapping his arm around her neck, her back pressed to his chest. He kept his gun pointed at Cayden as he clumsily tried to get up the stairs backwards with Sophia as a human shield.

Sophia held Ricky’s forearm with both hands to keep him from choking her. She clawed and struggled, gasping for breath.

“This bitch is already dead, so I plan to get paid. Since when did you grow a damn conscience, Cayden? You’re getting weak in your old age.”

“Let her go,” he warned.

“Not happening.” Ricky managed to get to the top of the stairs and into the factory, disappearing with Sophia.

Your problem’s gone. Just turn around and forget this shit.

****

The man reeked of prosciutto and onions, and her stomach roiled. His elbow bent across her neck, nearly stealing all her breath. He was rough and callous, yanking and prodding her through the unfinished parking lot.

At first, she swore Cayden was going to save her, to protect her like Hawk always had.

But she was wrong.

She was being passed around from bad to worse, an easy victim now that her father’s protective arm was no more. He’d kept her locked away, and said it was for her own safety.

Maybe he’d been right.

Now, on her own, it seemed everyone wanted her dead. There was nowhere to hide. She was tried and convicted by her name alone.

It wasn’t fair.

But in the criminal underworld, justice was in the hands of the most lethal men. Survival of the most brutal.

He released his hold on her. “Maybe we’ll be able to get in some quality time before I hand you over,” Ricky said, his lips twisted in a sick grin. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”

Sophia wasn’t going to let this pig touch her. She’d die first.

When they got to his car, there was no sign of Cayden. Tears pricked her eyes, but she had no time for an emotional overload now. She had to be strong, to fight, to make sure she died a virgin and not some toy for this heartless thug.

He opened the passenger door and shoved her down into the seat, his hand lingering too long on her shoulder.

A shiver rolled up her back.

This was the end for her. Whoever she was being sold to wanted her dead. She thought of Hawk. Thought of the mother she never knew, the father she’d lost, and the life she never got to live. There were so many dreams that would forever be unfulfilled.

Ricky leaned closer and she tensed, but he jolted to a standstill with a throaty gasp, the silver tip of a blade appearing in the center of his chest. It was surreal. He stared at her with flat eyes, his life ebbing away as his shirt transformed from white to crimson.

She froze, too in shock to move or scream. So much blood. The same blood coating the marble floors in her home.

“You should have listened. I told you no touching.” The dead body was cast aside, and Cayden reached his hand out for her.

Her father’s murderer.

Her kidnapper.

Her savior.

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