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“Zayne!” Sirenna shrieks behind me, unable to hold back as she witnesses me in mortal danger, but my body perfectly blocks her from sight. Luckily, she doesn’t move from the spot, realizing she might do more harm than good.
Boris’ grin reveals all of his braced teeth now, his lips curling over his gums. There’s no better music to the bastard’s ears than the sound of a woman’s terror. I’ve watched him long enough to know that.
“I could shoot you in the face right now, boy, and then watch all my men have their way with your woman,” he says, relishing his own words.
I don’t answer, going over my own plan of how I’m going to torture him. I’ll make my punishment particularly vicious for him even imagining having another man touch the woman I love. It’s only when Laredo starts moving toward Sirenna that I speak.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” I keep an expert eye on the curl of Boris’ finger over the trigger as I speak, watching for the telltale tiny flex before he’s ready to shoot. That’s when I’ll go full psycho mode.
I can feel Sirenna tense up behind me, scared even to breathe so as not to disturb my focus. It was a crazy act to bring her here, but she needed to see this with her own eyes, otherwise our love is doomed. Unless I show her exactly who I am, I’ll always feel like she would hate me if she knew the truth.
“Wow, handsome boy has eyes at his back, does he?” Laredo says in his thick accent, sounding amused. I sense him walking closer, stopping behind me, close enough to feel his breath against the back of my neck.
“Not the best place to stand,” I tell him, my eyes fixed on Boris while my focus steels. “If your boyfriend here decides to shoot me in the face, the bullet will go through your brains, too.”
“Boyfriend,” Boris spits out the word, raising the rifle higher because the thing has started to weigh heavy on his saggy body. “You’ve got some guts to provoke us with a fucking weapon shoved in your face.”
“You think you’re funny, guey?” Laredo says in my ear, rising on the tips of his toes to do so. “You think you’re in any position to play with us?”
“I just think you’d make a nice couple,” I retort. “And I will play matchmaker unless you declare in front of everyone present that you’ll sign off control over everything you own to–” I wave a hand gracefully in the direction of Sirenna. “Mrs. Carter, soon to be Mrs. Thorngren.”
Boris and Laredo lock eyes over my shoulder before they burst into laughter.
“So it’s true,” Laredo says in my ear, this time even closer. “The evil genius with the stone heart has fallen in love with the woman who played Joseph’s whore at The Rite.” Then, rising higher on the tips of his toes, his foul breath against my ear, “Is she really such a good fuck?”
A muscle ticks in my clenched jaw, but that’s the only thing betraying the red-hot anger flooding me.
“Let’s just say Milady knew how to secure herself a dedicated knight.”
“A champion,” Boris says. “Pureblood.” His gaze rakes me up and down. “I bet you two would deliver one hell of a show, better than anything this place offers.”
“Too bad you sent Ricky and Lorenzo to the hotel bar last time instead of coming yourselves. Even though they gave my future wife and me a run for our money with their own performance.” I square my shoulders. “That being said, how about you drop that weapon, and we all go straight to my office from here, sign the papers, and no one gets hurt. My partner, Priest, is already there with our lawyers. All the necessary documents have already been drafted for you.”
Laredo tries to force out a laugh, but Boris shuts him up with a glare.
“I don’t know whether to put a bullet in your head before we all have our way with your lady, or just to incapacitate you and have you watch.” After a few beats, which Laredo uses to step out the way, Boris glares at me with a final decision. “Yes, I think the latter option will be most fun.”
And there it is, the tiny flex of his finger on the trigger.
It’s what I’ve been waiting for.
Swift as a cobra, I catch the barrel with one hand and shove it toward the ceiling the moment he shoots. I’ve yanked it out of his hands and swiveled out of the way before chunks of the ceiling shatter against the floor, Boris and Laredo stumbling backwards with their hands over their heads. Screams burst out everywhere, not only from Sirenna, but also the terrified staff. They’re panicking, seeking cover under the bar and tables.
I grab Laredo by his beefy arm and spin him around, shoving the weapon lengthwise against his chest. He grabs it out of instinct as I step behind him and wrap an arm around his throat. I tighten my grip, causing him to gasp for air, but leaving enough room for him to keep breathing.
“My turn to play,” I say in a dark tone, causing goosebumps to rise all over Laredo’s tattooed flesh. I grin against his ear, eyes on the confused Boris who backs away, not realizing yet he’s got nowhere to go. “Point your gun at your friend if you want to keep breathing,” I command.
Laredo might be an idiot and a big mouth, but he knows who’s the bigger dog here, and he does exactly as told.
“Jesus, fuck,” Boris yelps, his arms flying up.
“Closer,” I command. The masked men move out of the way as I advance on Boris, Laredo’s rifle pointed at him, until Boris is glued with his back against the wall, the rifle pressed against his forehead. He’s shivering all over, clearly about to shit in his pants.
“All right, all right,” he shouts. “You fucking made your point. We’ll give you what you want. We’ll go to your office, we’ll sign, we’ll–” he raises his hands higher, seeing the lust for violence mounting in my eyes. “Listen, wait, you don’t have to do this. I just said we’d share everything with you. W-w-with her,” he hurries to correct himself.
Laredo nods as far as my grip allows as well.
“We will,” he rasps.
