Page 21 of Endless Obsession

Rocco grinned at me, a horrific baring of teeth. “Watching you scream will hurt him a lot more than shooting him.”

My blood ran cold, and I shuddered in revulsion. I looked at the two men who flanked him, desperately searching for any sign of hesitation or mercy.

I found none. I read my death in their cold eyes, and Rocco’s insane leer told me that he would enjoy extracting every second of my suffering.

Chapter 10

Massimo

My heart slammed against my ribcage with bruising force, and fear I’d never known before gripped my lungs with sharp black claws. I struggled to breathe as we descended the stairs into the dank basement, where no one would hear her scream. My enemies had silencers on their guns, so even if I launched myself at them and risked getting shot, no one would be alerted to the fact that we were being attacked in the empty shop.

My own weapon had been taken from me by one of Rocco’s goons. I vaguely recognized the two other men as members of his clan.

I kept Evelyn in front of me, and the spot between my shoulder blades itched where my enemy’s gun was still trained on my heart.

“Do you friends know that you tried to betray them?” I asked Rocco, keeping my voice as calm as I could manage. It came out rough and gravelly, but the words were clear enough. Maybe I could convince his friends to turn on him once they learned of his treachery.

His gun slammed into my back, and I barely kept my balance so that I wouldn’t knock Evelyn down the stairs.

“They know all about that, you dumb fucker,” he taunted. “I came to Salerno to get more information about your deal with the cartels. My boss ordered me to do it. And I was happy to destroy everything you’ve worked for. I thought I’d missed my opportunity, but then I saw you with this bitch, and I realized that you’re finally vulnerable. Love is weakness, Massimo. I would’ve thought you learned that the day I killed your pathetic parents.”

My mind raced, searching for a way to save her from my worst enemy. I’d shared the app that tracked her movements with Gian and Enzo, just in case I ever needed help finding her. We were supposed to meet them for coffee soon, but I’d lost track of time while I’d been kissing her.

If we didn’t show, they might come looking for us. I had no idea how long it would take before they started to worry over our delay.

Rocco would hurt Evelyn in the meantime. I couldn’t bear it. I would tear him apart if he touched so much as a single strand of her platinum hair.

We reached the bottom of the stairs, and I kept my body positioned between the men who threatened us and Evelyn’s delicate frame.

Pain cracked through my skull when Rocco smashed his gun into the back of my head. The world flashed with bright light, white lightning filling my vision so that I lost sight of her. I blinked hard and willed the world to stop spinning, but a sharp kick to my gut made my insides writhe. I doubled over on my knees and gasped for air, but my lungs wouldn’t expand. Another kick, and my ribs cracked.

Evelyn’s screams tore at me, more agonizing than the beating.

The barrage of blows stopped, and I tried to surge to my feet before my balance returned. I dropped back onto one knee, and rough hands grabbed my arms, two men holding me down. In my rage and desperate fear, I would’ve found the strength to fight them off, but my vision finally cleared to reveal my nightmare.

Rocco clutched Evelyn from behind, using her slight body as a shield. One of his arms wrapped around her waist, pinning her back to his chest. His other hand held a knife to her throat.

My heart stopped, and I went utterly still. One wrong move from me, and he would cut her open. I would watch her bleed out and gasp for air, and there would be nothing I could do to save her.

I’d lost my parents to this monster. My violent impulses had drawn his cruel attention on that awful day, and even though I’d managed to ruin his face, he’d taken something far more precious from me: the only two people in the world who loved me unconditionally.

Now, he held Evelyn’s life in his hands. His attention was on her because of her association with me.

“Let her go,” I ground out. “She has nothing to do with your vendetta. I’m the one you want to hurt.”

Rocco cocked his head at me. “I’ve seen you with women before, but never like this. I’ve been watching you ever since you landed in Naples. You’re obsessed with her.” He laughed like it was the funniest joke he’d ever heard. “I think you might even love her. It’s more than just a good fuck, isn’t it?”

Confessing my love now would seal her fate. I was toxic to the people I loved most. She’d told me she loved me, and I hadn’t said it back. Because some dark part of me knew this was inevitable: my love for her would kill her.

He licked her pale cheek, and she shuddered in revulsion. Her peridot eyes were wide and wild with terror. With with his blade pressing into her neck, she barely breathed. A small bead of blood welled at her throat, and panic clawed me.

“Maybe I should take my turn fucking her before I give her scars to match mine,” Rocco mused.

I roared in wordless fury, beyond coherent thought. All I could see was the flash of the knife that could end her life and her pinched, fearful features. A sense of powerlessness hollowed out my chest, and it had nothing to do with the weaker men who had me pinned down. I couldn’t so much as flinch without risking her life.

He groped at her chest with his free hand, squeezing her breast hard enough to draw a sharp cry from her.

“I think I want her bleeding when I feel her cunt fighting my cock.” He shifted the blade, moving it from her throat to her freckled cheek.

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