Page 74 of Royally Ruined

Shit!

Muscles squeezed around my chest; my elbow drove backward, making a satisfyingthunkwhen it connected with my attacker’s ribs. His groan was wet as he released me, collapsing on the ground. Whirling, I looked on two other men. One was half in the shadows, another had his gun aimed straight at me.

“Don’t—” he said, before my fist skidded on his jaw, sending his eyes rolling in his skull.

Don’t?Don’t what, fight for my life? Fight forherlife? There was no chance I was listening to anyone who threatened the future I desired with Scotch. They’d have to break every bone in my body, they’d have to fucking drag me to hell. I was never stopping.

Never.

With two guys down, I was left with just a reedy man in pale jeans and a long leather coat. There was recognition in his black eyes. Even in Boston, my name ... my face ... they were known.

As I rushed forward, ignoring the tip of the pistol and how it could spill my guts, I spotted something unsettling. This man who knew me ... he didn’t look scared.

He lookedexcited.

My fingers closed on his jacket collar; he threw his hip into mine, snatching my gun away and forcing me to stumble. The pistol skidded across the floor and out of sight. Amazed, I backed up to consider the stranger warily.

Furrowed lines carved his jaw and forehead. This was a man who was no stranger to life-or-death battles. This wasn’t a novice guarding the perimeter for petty cash. When he grinned, his chipped tooth glinted.

Get his gun away,I thought, wishing I had mine.

“You,” he breathed out, scuttling to the side like a crab.

He’s fast!

“I’ve wanted to see you in person for a very long time,” he purred. The black of his pupils became impossibly darker—manic. “Your sweet sister would have been so much better, though.”

That threw me off. So much that he was able to hook his arm around and catch me on the ear with the butt of the gun. He wasn’t trying to shoot me, he hadn’t been; whoever he was, he wanted me alive. That was more terrifying than anything else.

“Who are you?” I asked, backing away. Part of my skull was rattling where he’d hit me, my ear burning. It felt wet, but I didn’t touch it.

He faced me fully, his body long and lean under the coat, an arrow in flight. The gun lifted, then dropped to sway by his hip lazily. “You don’t know? I figured she’d tell you about me.” His smile dipped. “That’s why I had to transfer in the fucking first place. Couldn’t risk being spotted on the force after you and her managed to survive.”

Old shards of glass in my heart—never forgotten, left to infect me for years—began to slice me apart.No. It can’t be.

He smiled like a rotten jack-o’-lantern. “I’m Officer Horace Max. The man who’s going to kill you.”

The back of my skull exploded, color invading my eyes so I couldn’t see. But I did hear the voice in my ear, so sickeningly familiar. “Hey, kid.”

Romeo.

My old foe curled his arms around my own and yanked them behind my head, his palms pressing on my skull and locking me in place. I struggled anyway, spinning my body from side to side, all while Romeo laughed. “You son of a bitch!” I snarled.

“Ha, feisty as ever!” Romeo kicked the back of my knee, making me lose my balance so he could drag me across the floor. “Come on, Horace. Let’s show Darien what we found lurking in here.”

Horace nodded, glancing at the men I’d knocked unconscious. “Useless. The Valentines need to spend better money on their guards.”

“Nah,” Romeo said, moving me in spite of my violent struggles. “Costello is a purebred fighter. He was bound to take down some of us. A man of surprises, this one.” His words slipped into something low—gritty with hate.

It wasn’t until we broke into the center of a big room, surrounded by dusty windows, that I understood why he hated me so much.

Romeo threw me forward, right into Horace’s grip. The man spun me in a choke hold, forcing my eyes out on the room. I froze when I saw Romeo’s face.

“Ha,” he chuckled. “Guess you didn’t know, huh?”

Old burns traversed his face like red and shiny patchwork. He wore a dark knit cap, which made me think he’d lost most of his hair in the fire, too. I’d never known what had happened to Romeo or the others that night, but I’d kept an ear to the ground for a long while. The desire for revenge doesn’t die so easily inside us.

Romeo eyed me like he, too, knew revenge was an immortal beast. “Like them?” he asked coolly. He ran the barrel of his gun down his cheek. “Doctor said it’s a miracle I lived. That unlike Merrick or Santana ... I waslucky.”

---