AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Even as the numbers grow too much.
It’s not until another strike lands point blank in the back of my head that I go down. Warmth runs down my skull and I know that it was definitely an object and not a fist I was hit with.
The group takes it as an invitation to completely and brutally whoop my ass. Kicks rain down on me, accompanied by fists. My face, my legs, my arms, my motherfucking abdomen, they don’t leave a single part of my body unabused.
Finally, the merriment of hits end and I’m yanked to my knees.
A sting moves through my cheek as one of the men holds a knife to it. Another pulls my arms behind my back, his foot slamming into my ankle.
I grit my teeth against the pain.
My head is yanked up roughly. There’s a brown skinned man with curly black hair in front of me. I can see a tattoo on his neck but I can’t make out the exact design as floaters move across my vision.
“This is a message from Dox,” he says as the knife digs deeper into my cheek until blood is running down my face. “Let Giovanni know that he wants his daughter or else this is just the start of his wrath.” He cocks his hand back, slamming his fist into my face.
As I’m released, I go tilting to the side, my head cracking against the pavement.
I don’t know how long it takes for me to become aware of my surroundings again, but when I do, I crawl over to my phone, blindly moving through my contacts until I find the right one.
I fight to remain conscious as it rings.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: MAXIMO
“Hello.” My voice sounds odd as I answer the phone, I can admit that.
But I’d been shocked the moment Enzo’s name popped up on my phone screen. He’s still pissed about the whole gun incident and after I’d been ready to strangle him at the party a week ago, my brother had ordered me to stay away from him.
Any other time, I would have ignored Giovanni completely, but when he’d pointed out I may not be able to stop my anger again this time if I approached Enzo, I realized he had a point.
Because I’d definitely wanted to fuck both him and Winter up when I’d saw them relaxing by the poolhouse like old lovers. And when they’d gone inside, I’d seen nothing but red. I’d left the party, not wanting to see them when they came out because not even God himself would have been able to hold me back if I’d seen the satisfied looks on their faces when they returned.
So I haven’t seen either of them this last week, instead busying myself with helping Lucia trace down everything we can about Seven Quad and what they could possibly be doing to get a move on the family.
Which is why I’m surprised by Enzo’s call.
His breath is heavy across the line, as if he’s just got through doing a marathon and I frown, pulling the phone away from my face and verifying that it's him.
But I’d know those pants anywhere.
Did he call me while he was having sex, trying to rub it in my face?
It's definitely something I would do to him to hurt him, but Enzo isn’t like me, not even close.
“Enzo.”
“Maximo,” he pants before coughing. “I need you.”
I don’t even think about it as I climb to my feet. It feels like a hand has reached in and wrapped itself right around my heart.
“Where are you?” I don’t ask what happened. I can tell he’s in pain from the strain in his words, but if I want to focus on my way to get him, I can’t get the details.
Not yet.
“I was doing a meet for Giovanni.” He rattles off the address to the warehouse that the family uses often.
“I’ll be there.”
I’m out of the front door, nothing on my feet before I can even think of it. When I’m in my car, I call the doctor first, telling her to get to the compound. I don’t know if Enzo is in critical enough shape to actually need her but I don’t want to take the chances that he is and she isn’t at the compound once we get back.
