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“That’s exactly what the fuck I would like to know,” I growl.
He shrinks under my anger, but it isn’t him I’m angry with. I know he did everything he could to protect her. He’s a good man, and none of this is his fault. He’s not a small guy, so whoever knocked him out would have done it from behind.
“I don’t blame you, Mario,” I assure him.
I look up to Dante, my man who found him. “Get him to the hospital,” I instruct. “He may have a concussion, he needs to get looked at.”
Mario grumbles at this instruction. “I’m fine, boss,” he says, irritated. “I need to help you find Kat.”
I roll my eyes and help him up, grateful for his dedication. He’s an idiot for wanting to help when he could have a serious head injury, but I won’t argue for now. I need to find my girl.
“Keep checking the trees,” I tell the men. “She can’t have gotten far.”
It occurs to me that Central Park is fucking huge. If that asshole, Niko, did grab her, he could be anywhere in the park. There are plenty of places that he could hide. I only hope beyond hope that he didn’t make it far with her. Or, at the very least, she thought to leave clues.
I run around like a chicken with its head cut off, feeling helpless. What am I supposed to do if I can’t protect her?
My phone rings, and I see that it’s Vlad. He’s on the far side over the clearing, too far to shout to me. I answer the phone.
“I found them, boss, but you need to approach carefully,” he says quietly. “The kid has a weapon. We don’t want to spook him.”
My heart sinks into my stomach. Did he threaten her? Has he hurt her? It takes everything in me not to tear over there and kill him, but I heed Vlad’s warning. If I spook him, he might hurt Kat.
I run across the clearing until I reach Vlad. He holds his hand out, motioning for me to stop. He points toward the trees and puts his finger over his lips so I’ll be quiet. I step over carefully, and see that Niko has Kat about fifty feet away.
She’s standing very still, and he has something pressed against her back. I can tell by her posture that she’s afraid, but she’s also proud. She’s too strong to let him intimidate her. He’s screaming, though I can’t tell what he’s saying. From here, it sounds like nonsense.
Their backs are to me, and Vlad and I approach them slowly and quietly. I indicate to Vlad that he should fill in the others about where we are. He hangs back to text them our location as I continue my slow approach.
“Do you know how stupid that made me look?” I can hear Niko yelling. “You made me look like I couldn’t control my woman.”
“I was never your woman,” Kat seethes bravely. “I’m not a piece of property, and I certainly don’t belong to you.”
He turns her around to face him and slaps her hard. That’s all I need. I rush him, tackling him to the ground and grabbing the hand he held against her. In his hand is a pocket knife, which I have no doubt he would have used to hurt her.
“He isn’t worth it,” I hear Kat yell, but when I look over to her, I see she’s holding her cheek where he hit her.
He hurt her. I have to hurt him.
He pushes me off, trying to land a punch on me, but he’s younger and shorter. He’s not as experienced of a fighter as I am. He’s just a spoiled rich kid who thinks he’s entitled to whatever he wants. Even people.
I pin him back on the ground, pulling back my fist to punch him hard. It lands with a satisfyingthwack, and he grunts in pain. I pull my arm back to punch him again. All the fury and anxiety that’s been building in me for the last few hours rears up inside me, and I channel it into Niko’s face.
I hear my men approaching, but I don’t stop hitting him. I break his nose, and it gushes out blood. He’s screaming, begging for me to stop, but he doesn’t deserve the satisfaction. He deserves to suffer for his crimes.
“Johnny,” Kat screams desperately, but I can barely hear her.
All I hear is the beat of my heart. It drums furiously, pushing me on. It takes three of my guys to finally pull me off the kid, who immediately curls up in a fetal position. Weak bastard.
“Apologize to her,” I scream at him. “You should be dead for all the vile things you threatened to do to her!”
I look at Kat to see her staring at me with surprise. She had no idea. I shielded her from it, but it didn’t matter. He still tried to hurt her. Despite my best efforts, I couldn’t protect her.
Niko lies on the ground, moaning in pain, and I want to hurt him more. I want to fill him with the same fear she must have felt. The fear I certainly felt.
“I’m sorry,” he cries out from his position on the ground. “I’m sorry, Ekatrina. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
She shakes her head and spits at the ground near him. “I don’t accept your apology, Niko,” she says, a coldness in her voice I’ve never heard before. “I never wanted to be your wife, and I’m glad Johnny took me from that church. You’re nothing to me, and you’ve proven today that you aren’t worthy of me. If you ever come near me again, I’ll rip your balls off.”
