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Blood spurted from his nose, gushing down his lips and chin as I readied for another strike. An agonized scream pierced my ears, slightly muffled by his hands rushing up to assess the damage. The sound brought a wicked grin to my lips as I swung again, this time landing a blow to his abdomen.
“Fucking bitch,” he cried, doubling over from the pain that must’ve radiated from his middle now. I vaguely registered the red smears coating the silver bat, the smattering of it sliding off his face, landing in thick drops against the pavement.
I brought the bat down on the back of his head, letting all of my pain, fear, and anger funnel through the slap of metal against flesh. He fell to his knees, his hands rushing away from his battered face to hold himself up.
I turned my head over my shoulder at the sounds of the car door opening behind me. The driver stepped out, his gun raised, seemingly hoping to help us out … until he took in the entire scene, the guard already sprawled out on the ground. He scratched his light shaggy brown hair in confusion before he shrugged and got back into the vehicle, clearly convinced we had it handled.
“Now, now,” Spade chided, causing me to whip my head back to the asshole guard. “I already warned you about your language toward my sugar.”
He stepped forward and pressed the barrel of his gun to the guard’s forehead. The guard heaved in a deep breath, his body trembling as he held himself up, blood still dripping from his bent nose.
“Please,” the guard whispered, the sound barely audible over his panting breaths.
“As much as I’d like to see you beat this asshole to a bloody pulp, we might not have time for that right now,” Spade grinned, completely ignoring the waste of space in front of him as he glanced at me. Some of the bloodlust cleared from his violet eyes as his gaze slid to the exit we came from. My stomach twisted and some of the fog cleared from my own mind as worry for Merrick and Kellan swept in.
“One more swing?” I asked sweetly, glancing up at him from beneath my lashes. “We have … history.” My eyes lit with violent delight as he met my gaze and a visible shiver of desire ran over his body.
“I can’t say no to you,” he beamed, both of our gazes slicing back to the guard. He looked between us, and a whimper slipped from his lips as he glimpsed the same wicked delight on both of our faces. “Make it a good one.” Spade winked at me and stepped back, his gun easing away from the guard’s temple but he still kept it trained on him.
I’d felt overwhelmed by emotions just moments before, and I knew that would all come rushing back in as soon as this adrenaline subsided and my heart calmed to its normal pace. But I needed more—I needed to see his blood flow again by my hand. I had to make him feel the way I had at the airport, bask in the icy shards of fear that caused him to tremble. I’d pay him back for his heartless man handling, the enjoyment he took in crushing that last shred of my hope as he’d marched me back to Tommaso. I hadn’t forgotten about his friend either, his face ingrained into my memory. His time would come too.
It was fitting that the start of this journey, returning to East Haven with Tommaso, would start and end with this man. But this time, I was the one with the power, and I already knew there was no way he’d be able to live after seeing Spade’s and the driver’s faces.
“Useless,” I sneered down at him, repulsion coating the word that had echoed in my ears as he shoved me into that room, stealing away the last seconds I’d had before shoving me back into Tommaso’s net. I pictured his smug laugh and dark look as he and the other guard had given Tommaso and me space on the plane, remembering my promise to get my revenge.
And with that I lifted the bat over my head and brought it down with all my strength. The metal smashed against the back of his skull with a satisfyingthwack, a gash splitting the skin from the impact as blood sprayed. His hands gave out beneath him, sending his already battered nose slamming into the asphalt, his body going slack as his consciousness fled. His back still raised in shallow breaths though—he was still clinging to life.
“I fucking love you,” Spade breathed, heat pooling in those violet eyes as they held mine before he pulled the trigger.
Warm blood splattered onto my bare feet, pulling me from my trance. My pulse pounded, the cool breeze sweeping through my hair as the shot rang through my ears. The faint tension that had radiated through the guard’s body after my hit fled the moment the bullet sunk into the back of his head, blood and gore sprayed out around him. My chest lightened at the sight of his unmoving form on the ground and excitement bubbled up in me.
My brows furrowed as Spade’s words registered, drawing me from my thoughts. I dragged my gaze up to look at him.
“What?”
Spade’s black dress shoe collided with the now lifeless guard’s head, the wetthunkechoing off the pavement before stepping over him, like he was nothing more than a piece of garbage littering the ground. He closed the space between us and holstered his gun again.
“You said I could tell you I love you the next time we brought a man to his knees.” He glanced back over his shoulder, pointedly eyeing the dead guard’s lifeless body on the ground, blood pooling around him.
He swiveled back to me, a wicked, mischievous grin spreading across his lips, seemingly daring me to disagree. I sucked in a startled breath as his arms wrapped around me and hoisted me up against his chest again, the sudden movement catching me off guard. He strode around the front of the vehicle and back over to the still open-door, basking in the delight of either his kill or getting to tell me he loved me, I honestly couldn’t tell.
“But what about …?” I trailed off. I was certain it had been Kellan and Merrick back there, but what if it wasn’t? I honestly couldn’t believe this was real until I saw them sitting in front of me peeling those masks from their faces. All of this felt way too good to be true. Could this be a dream, just a figment of my imagination? Had I fallen in the bathroom and this was my mind playing tricks on me, showing me something that could never come true?
“They’ll be right out,” Spade promised, his hands gently placing me down and turning me to face the interior of the car. “But I promise if you don’t get in before they get out, they’re going to kick my ass or at least try to.” He chuckled, his hands sliding down to rest under my biceps to help support me as I climbed in. My heart hammered in my chest in a mix of apprehension and excitement, but what choice did I have? Did I really want to stay here? Hell no—I couldn’t even imagine how bad things would get after this. The small freedoms I thought I had before would be nonexistent now.
I glanced up at the front as I took a seat, the shadowed driver seated in the driver’s seat didn’t bother to glance back as Spade climbed in beside me and tossed the bat under his seat. There were four seats in the back, the two we sat in faced the front, while the other two faced the back. Meaning, I would get to see them as they took off their masks, see my guys after everything they just did for me and everything that happened between us earlier today. My breaths came in ragged pants, and I attempted to calm them as my pulse pounded in my ears. Spade’s hand slid along the smooth skin between my shoulder blades, helping to calm me a fraction.
“There was a reason I wanted you to see that, why I refused to take you out before you heard what they had to say,” he murmured, some of the usual mischief fleeing his violet eyes. “Just trust me.”
And for some reason I did. I barely knew the man, had only met him once before, but something about him had called to me even then. And even though it was way too soon for him to be proclaiming his love for me, there was just something about his confession that made me actually believe him. It was as though he’d awakened something within me that had been forced to slumber for years. Two kindred spirits that were ready to dance together again. To weave mischief and mayhem into the hypnotic dance of life and revel in every minute of it. I dipped my head in agreement, our eyes locked on each other, drawn in like a moth to the flame, so unaware of the death that loomed so near.
Hurried footsteps pounded against the pavement, drawing my attention to the car door still left ajar. My heart skittered as fear and excitement mixed in my chest. Spade chuckled as he sat back in his seat, his arm draped over my shoulders as he turned to watch as well. Two figures emerged from the direction we’d come, clad in grey zip-up hoodies and black jeans, the menacing thick black masks still covering their faces. They hopped into the back with us and my breath caught in my throat as they strapped themselves into the two seats opposite from us, and Spade pulled the door closed.
“What the hell happened out there, Spade?” one of the masked men demanded.
“Oh just letting off a bit of steam.” Spade chuckled, waggling his eyebrows as he gave me a secretive grin.
“Drive,” the same masked man ordered, slamming the separator closed. I gripped the armrests as the car jerked into motion, peeling down the cobblestone driveway to the exit. “Goddammit, Giana, put your seatbelt on,” he snapped as I swayed to the side, Spade’s hand on my shoulder the only thing keeping me upright.
