Duty had been burned into me. It seared my soul with purpose, right alongside my rage and hatred.
Paulie snickered, his anvil-hard features twisting into a vindictive mask. “We didn’t have to have our sense of duty beaten into us. You think you’re more valuable just because you’re the heir. But one more fuckup, and your old man will probably let us put you in the ground.”
In a blink, I slammed into him. The metal wall boomed when his heavy body collided with it, reverberating around the dank, cavernous space. My knife was at his throat before he could draw another breath. The only language my deranged cousins understood was violence.
“Do not threaten me.” I hissed each word, my blood boiling in my veins. “I’ve had a shitty night, and I’m all out of patience. Give me one more reason to slit your throat.” He opened his mouth to speak, so I pressed my blade just deep enough to draw a bead of blood. “My father likes you, but even he knows that rabid dogs have to be put down.”
“Get away from my brother.” John’s deep voice rumbled with rage and a touch of fear. I could kill Paulie in a heartbeat, and he didn’t dare do anything that might make my hand slip. Not when my knife was pressing into his twin’s artery.
“Threaten me again, and I’ll end you.” I raised my voice, addressing both of them, but I didn’t take my gaze off Paulie. The whites of his eyes were huge around his dark irises, and his bulky body was utterly still.
“We have work to do,” I reminded them, impatience edging the words. I had to get the fuck out of here. Morning light peeked between the cracks in the huge metal doors, melting away the most oppressive darkness that clung to the corners of the massive warehouse. The rays of warm sunshine singed my insides with the burning need to get back to Alexandra.
If she went to the cops…
I pushed away from Paulie with a warning growl, freeing him from my knife. He gasped in a breath and rubbed his neck, swiping away the blood I’d drawn.
“Asshole,” John spat.
I nodded at the bleeding Russian. “Who’s shirking their responsibilities now?” I challenged, prompting them to get back to work.
Paulie stalked over to the man, who let out a garbled plea through broken teeth just before my cousin’s fist slammed into his jaw.
John addressed the Russian, but he kept a wary eye on me. “Tell us who your boss is. We want a name.”
We knew the man was Bratva. He’d dared to move his product in what had once been our territory—before most of my family had been sent to prison by Ron Fitzgerald. We would take back what was ours, inch by bloody inch. This man’s gory death would be a warning. We’d dump his body once we were done. But we wanted intel first.
Impatience was an itch beneath my skin. We’d been at this for nearly two hours, and the man hadn’t talked. He was either too loyal or too scared of his bosses to share information.
And I needed to leave. I had to watch Alexandra and make sure she didn’t break her word. If she called the police, I’d be fucked.
I won’t tell anyone about this. Her desperate promise echoed through my mind, and the memory of her wide, fearful green eyes cut at me.
My stomach turned. Innocent. Alexandra had been completely innocent, and I’d terrorized her.
Kidnapping her had been an act of desperation. I’d been after her father for nearly two years, and I’d gotten nowhere. I’d taken Alexandra to get the leverage I needed against him, but my mad plan had come to nothing.
My ruined face alone had been horrific enough to make her scream, and her terrified sobs had ripped at my chest as keenly as a serrated blade.
I rolled my shoulders, seeking to loosen the tension in my muscles. My body was coiled tight with the pressing need to get back to her. I wouldn’t touch her ever again, but I had to watch her today. I had to make sure she didn’t go to the cops or tell her daddy about what the monster had done to her in the dead of night.
I can tell that you have been hurt. Her strange words played through my mind, tingeing my thoughts with a hot mixture of shame and anger. Despite everything I’d done to her, she’d pitied me.
She’d pitied me.
I allowed myself to be consumed by my anger, the familiar heat of rage lending me strength.
Fuck this. I was done dicking around with this Russian bastard. He wasn’t going to say anything, and I had more important places to be.
I shouldered my cousins aside and slashed my knife in a smooth arc, slitting the man’s throat. Hot blood sprayed my face and coated my hand.
If Alexandra could see me now, she wouldn’t dare pity me. She’d scream and sob in terror.
My stomach twisted.
“What the fuck?” John demanded. “He didn’t talk yet.”
“He wasn’t going to,” I said coldly. “Dump him somewhere his friends will find him.”
Paulie cussed at me, but I ignored him.
I turned my back on the gore, leaving my sadistic relatives to clean up the mess. No matter if I was disgraced, I was still the heir. And they wouldn’t dare question me again. Not today, at least.
Once I got what I needed on Fitzgerald, no one would ever question my loyalty again. I would be worthy, respected.
I just had to ensure that Alexandra didn’t put me behind bars first.
Chapter 4
Allie
“You’re late, Freckles.”
I jolted and gasped for breath as Max’s furious, twisted face filled my vision.
“Jesus, you look like shit.”
I recognized Gavin’s voice. My bully had said the mocking nickname, not my fierce captor. I wasn’t in that dank basement; I was in the U.S. Attorney’s Office, rushing to see my boss so that I could make my feeble excuses for being late.
I automatically curled my hands to fists to hide the fact that my fingers were trembling from the sudden rush of residual terror. Don’t show weakness.
With effort, I forced my lungs to expand on a deep breath and relaxed my stiff shoulders. I schooled my face to a carefully neutral expression and turned to face my longtime tormentor.
“Good morning, Gavin.” I greeted him coolly, as though he was just another colleague and he hadn’t insulted me in the middle of the office.
I glanced around, the quick darting of my eyes betraying my nervousness. Had anyone overheard him? It would’ve been obvious to anyone paying attention that I’d rushed into work almost an hour late, but the prospect of being ridiculed by my bully in front of senior staff made my face heat with the first blush of mortification.
Damn it, now my cheeks were pink. I’d learned to mostly control my body language when enduring Gavin’s cruelty, but I’d never been able to master the flush of my alabaster skin. And after looking in the mirror this morning, I knew it was even paler than usual. Dark circles smudged beneath my eyes, and my freckles were more pronounced than ever, covering my face like splattered mud. I’d been in such a rush to get out the door that I’d barely taken time to put on minimal makeup. Over the years, my carrot-red hair had darkened to a merciful shade of copper, but my lashes and brows were still a soft ginger color. Without makeup to define those hated features, I looked like a washed-out mess.
My appearance didn’t even begin to mirror the extent to which I felt like a mess on the inside. My mind was a fear-addled wreck, jittery thoughts skittering across my consciousness. I’d barely managed to collect myself enough to walk with my head held high: a shadow of professionalism. Gavin sensed my distress like a shark scenting blood in the water. I hadn’t even made it to Mr. Callahan’s office to apologize in person, and my tormentor had already pounced.