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His hand clamps around her wrist. She glances at it before returning her sharp gaze to his eyes. “Are you seriously telling me that this fuck up was my fault, you calloused cunt?”
Black’s eyes narrow to slits as she steps closer to him. They’re nearly nose to nose. She yanks free and steps back. “What did you call me?”
“I’ll say it again, old lady. You’re a calloused cunt,” he sniggers, “and honestly, that’s the worst kind to have. Too much time on your back fucked you over, Black.”
She’s in his face, hands at her sides with ruby manicured fingers spread wide, screaming, “I owned this town until you screwed everything up, you domineering little shit. You’re not half the man your father was or Masterson wouldn’t have turned your pool into a death trap. No one betrayed your father. Ever.”
A low growl emits from the back of Vic’s throat. “Except Ferro. Everything comes down to that fucking asshole. He’s the reason everything went to Hell, not me. If you’re going to assign blame, pin it in the right place, you sadistic bitch. You’ve always had a blind spot for Sean. You’re fucking over the rest of the world to spite him, and you know what—he didn’t care. What he did care about is right here.” He extends a hand toward me.
Black is still tense, ready to fight. Her lethal expression slices over to me, jaw tense. She spits the words out, “What do you want me to do with her?”
Vic rakes his eyes over my body, not concealing his intentions. He steps toward me and runs a finger along my neck while saying to Black, “Teach her a fucking lesson while I have fun with her cock-sucking boyfriend. He died too fast.” Vic’s eyes darken while he’s looking at Sean’s body.
“Don’t you touch him.” I find myself growling at Vic, but he doesn’t even look at me. Instead, his thugs flank me and grab hold of my arms. I try to jerk free. “I said…Don’t. Touch. Him.”
Vic looks over at me. “Really? You’re going to beg me not to defile your dead fuckbuddy? That’s sad, little sis, but I don’t mind hearing you beg.”
Black sighs as she folds her arms over her chest. “I’m leaving.”
“The hell you are!” Vic is in Black’s face. “All the fun is about to start.”
Black glances at Sean’s body as the pool cover retracts into the wall. She seems to make a snap decision. “Give me free rein with her.” She inclines her head toward me. “Tell your men, or I’m not staying.” Black is fierce and unflinching when Vic turns his unpredictable attention her way.
“Free rein?” The anger sours before dissolving into a chuckle. He tucks his hands in the crooks of his arms and tips his head to the side. “Exactly what do you want to do to her?”
Miss Black averts her eyes, looking me over again before meeting his gaze head on. “You’re not the only one who suffered because of this little piece of shit. Let me do what I do best.” She purrs as she lifts a perfectly plucked dark brow at him with a sadistic grin. “It gives you time with Ferro while I see to this parasite. Don’t worry. I’ll keep her in working order for when you return. And I know you want my assistance later this evening so make it worth my while.”
Damn. I glance at the far end of the property, wondering if I should run. It’s too late now. There are too many men, too many guns. I’ll get shot in the ass before I make it halfway across the lawn. Plus, there’s no promise anyone is out there. Marty may have been telling the truth—that there is safety in the trees—but who the hell knows what Black is doing.
A devilish grin seeps from the corners of his lips, and he laughs malevolently. “You earned your keep today, Black, as well as a bonus.” Vic glances at me and considers it for a moment before turning back to Black.
“I want Miss Stanz. Free rein. Give it.” Her clipped words are authoritative, and Vic looks pissed when she talks that way, but he doesn’t laugh it off this time.
Instead, his hand is on his chin, and his eyes are thoughtful. He strokes his jaw as he stares at me. When he drops his hand, he nods to Black. “Do what you want with her, just keep her alive. But,” he lowers his voice and steps into Black’s space, meeting her glare head on, “you need to make it explicitly clear that no one fucks with me. Make sure she gets that. Make her scream. Use a hot poker on the bitch if you have to.” He lifts a finger and adds, “Oh, and you better fucking record it.”
Black smiles broadly. “With pleasure.”
Vic pecks a kiss on Black’s cheek before turning away. Somehow she doesn’t stiffen or pull away, although I can tell that she abhors him. Vic looks me over. “I’ll be back to finish her by morning. This ends tonight.”
CHAPTER 6
Holy shit. This went catastrophically wrong. What the hell is between Black and Vic? What was that? Before I can decide what I witnessed, I’m hauled back toward the mansion by a thug. Black leads the way, sauntering across the lawn like she’s at a picnic. Her shoulders are squared and she lifts her chin ever so slightly. Black hair is tied loosely at the base of her neck, allowing for strands to come free if not tightly tucked behind her ear. The waning moon reflects on her inky locks almost making them appear blue in the darkness.
Her red ensemble is impeccable and helps sustain her couldn’t-care-less appearance. There’s only a single cue, a tiny movement of agitation that gives her away. She taps her index finger on her thigh as we walk. Everything about Black is calm power. The woman never has a hair out of place, but that finger twitches every few moments while the rest of her body is docile, pliant. The façade of calm control is cracking. When Sean gets like that, a few well-placed blows fracture the entire wall. I wonder what’s on the other side of Black’s glossy exterior, what secrets she’s kept locked up for so long that she’d spew in anger, just to tell another living being.
I take a wild guess. Something to rattle Black, to show her that I see the fissures appearing and that it’s only a matter of time. Clearing my throat, I toss a comment at Black’s back. “You’re in bed with the wrong people, aren’t you? Sean wasn’t supposed to end up dead, and now that he is—you don’t know what to do.”
Black’s index and middle fingers tense on her left hand. She stretches all her fingers to hide it, but I already noticed. Her back tenses as she exhales
in a slow controlled way. It makes her ribs stiffen and impairs her ability to expand her ribs again, preventing another breath.
I laugh and think of the most outlandish thing to say. “Did you think you’d end up with Sean? After all this time, you really believe you had a chance to—”
Black rounds on me, teeth bared and lets her hand fly. Her palm strikes my cheek hard. The sting shocks me into silence before she grabs the front of my dress and pulls me to her face, ignoring the blood and gore.
Black’s nose touches mine as she hisses, “If you value your life, you’ll stop talking right now.”
I wrap my fingers around her hands and dig my nails into the meat of her palms. “I obviously don’t care what happens to me, so let’s get it out in the open. You fell for Sean, but he chose me instead. That had to suck.” The corner of my mouth tips up, and I laugh in her face.
“You’re an insignificant little pawn.” She shakes me once, hard, and pushes me away from her like I’m trash. “Victor and I are a team. Make no mistake about that.” She glances at the tree line again, looking past me. I have no doubt there is something in the trees, but I have no idea what. Black seems nervous on top of everything else. Sean is a sore spot. I’m not blind and seeing him dead in the water screwed with her too even though she tries to hide it.
Black snaps her fingers to address the tall thug to my side. “Drop back.”
The man is an ape, with hairy forearms the size of a Christmas ham. He shakes his large squared head. “Boss wants us to stay with her.” He points a beefy finger at me.
Black rounds on him, narrows her gaze to thin slits and gets in his face, which is something since he’s twice the width of her. “Yes, and your boss gave me free rein to do anything I like with this girl. I said, fall back. Challenge me again, and I’ll make you wish you’d never been born.”
The large man glances into the darkness that spans the shadowy paths back toward the pool. He lowers his head and holds out a palm, indicating we should walk ahead. He lingers behind us, following at a distance.
