Page 51 of Queen of Ruin

“Get your hands off her!” The moment that greasy bastard grabs Valentina by the arm, I lunge forward, but the unrelenting press of the shotgun barrel only lets me move half an inch.

Before I can do anything else, the meaty fist of the bald man flies into my face and his knuckles glance off my jaw. The force of the blow almost sends me back into the booth, but he grabs my shirt collar just in time.

“Hey!” the waitress yells from the counter. “I’m calling the cops!”

“No need,” calls back the greasy-haired man. “We’re bounty hunters. Cops can’t do shit.”

“Bounty hunters?” I glimpse the waitress’s face as she holds her phone halfway to her ear, and confusion flashes in her eyes.

I miss the result of her internal debate because suddenly, Valentina and I are being dragged toward the cafe door, and the towering bald man with me is unrelenting in his grip.

“There has to be some sort of mistake,” Valentina gasps. “We haven’t done anything!”

“You might not have,” replies the greasy man as he pulls Valentina along with him. “But there’s a bounty on his head with a bonus if you’re with him.”

“A bonus?” She attempts to jerk her arm out of his grip. “What the hell does that mean?”

“Listen, lady. I don’t have time for questions. Five hundred grand isn’t the sort of money we’re passing up and it’s a capture, not a kill order, but that doesn’t mean I will put up with your fighting me every step of the way. Now, come on!”

The cold night air clogs my lungs as we’re dragged outside and Valentina stumbles next to me.

“Shit,” I gasp. “I should have handed myself in instead of calling Tech.”

My weak humor doesn’t land with the irritated glance she gives me, and she wrenches her arm out of the greasy-haired man’s grip on the third try. “How did you find us?” she demands. “Was it the call?”

“Nah,” the bald man replies, using the barrel of the shotgun to propel me forward toward an unassuming black sedan. “Your ex handed you in.”‘

“My ex?” Fuck. Mindy.

That fucking cunt.

Valentina and I exchange a glance, and anger rises under my ribs when the greasy bastard grabs her arm again.

“Be careful!” I yell. “Can’t you see she’s injured?”

To my surprise, the greasy bounty hunter does end up releasing her, but he pulls a large silver handgun from underneath his jacket and presses it to her chest when she faces him with a glare.

“If the lady would be so kind as to get in the car, that would be amazing,” Greasy says.

“She’s only a bonus,” the bald one reminds him as he thrusts the shotgun against my shoulder once more. “Kill her if she’s too much trouble.”

“If you hurt her, I swear to God!” I’m cut off by a blow to the back of the head that sends me crashing down to my knees. Pain blooms from impact and shoots up my thighs, then a meaty hand seals in the back of my collar and drags me back to my feet.

“Less taking, more walking!” He cuts himself off as a rising hum of engines rapidly grows closer and closer.

Blinding headlights spawn on the dark road making a beeline straight toward us. I count three cars before I’m shoved forward against the car. Valentina yelps as she’s shoved next to me, but the greasy-haired man abandons all chivalry and begins manhandling her into the vehicle.

“Ladies first,” he snaps.

Trapped between the car and a shotgun, there’s nothing I can do to help her. Powerless to watch, my gut twists into knots as we exchange a last glance and she vanishes into the car.

I’m going to kill Mindy the next time I see her.

If we survive this.

The approaching cars screech to various halts around us, blinding us with headlights that are far too bright to be legal. I recognize one car, and my heart begins to race. It’s the black SUV from my apartment and the motel. Suddenly, the bounty hunters feel like the safest choice here.

“Who the fuck are these guys?” Greasy-hair asks.