Page 57 of Unbound

“Come or I fuckin’ shoot ya.” He pushed the gun barrel into my ribs, and my mind was filled with fear for my unborn baby while I wondered if Tommy got hurt. I couldn’t fathom anything worse than hurt; it was too frightening.

When the guy got me out of the bathroom into what was looking like a hellhole, phone lights shining from multiple places in the bar but I could barely see, he climbed over Dex’s prone body, pulling me along with him.

I’d cried out looking around, trying to see what was around us, which was a mess. Stuff dangling from the ceiling. Smoke. A horrible burnt smell. Something by the door to the far end of the place was on fire and I could see a few people moving around and hear people who were clearly hurt.

“Tommy!” I’d screamed out and the guy who had me covered my mouth, lifted me, and pulled me quickly into another room as I saw what I was pretty sure was Tommy’s shape, back behind a bunch of debris but making his way in my direction.

There was another boom and then we were behind the closed door of a supply closet. The guy had his hand over my mouth and the gun in my ribs again, pushing into my ribs to the point of pain. And then I heard my husband calling my name. Tommy was close.

I bit the guy’s fingers and that got me enough room briefly to scream for Tommy before the guy smacked me on the mouth and then put his hand over my mouth again.

And a few very scary moments after that, yet another gun to my head, before I saw my husband kill that guy. That guy who gave us info that might’ve saved us. But then Tommy killed him. Like he’d killed his father for pointing a gun to me.

This guy had hit Tess in the face with his gun and dragged and threatened me and my ribs did feel bruised. He’d smacked me in the mouth, too. He’d agreed to help us and gave us info and Tommy didn’t know the guy had struck me in the face but maybe Tommy had killed him for putting the gun to my head.

He’d promised me in the dark after nightmares that no one would do that again. He’d had so many dreams that I imagine had to do with Tom Sr. putting that gun to my head and the pointing it at me when Tommy shot him.

And all those people hurt, on the ground, crying or not moving was streaming like a movie through my mind. Tommy put us in a car and where on earth was he now?

I kept praying he wasn’t about to be blown to smithereens by that third explosion. I couldn’t even think about him being in there with that happening, I wanted to claw my way out of that car and run and save him.

Me, saving him? It was crazy-talk, but I was overcome with this urge to get to him, to drag him away from that building.

After a really long time, with no explosion sounds, thankfully, he and Nino were approaching us and I was bawling with relief, wanting to barf, wanting to shake some sense into him for leaving me sitting for what felt like hours.

The driver stepped out and Tommy spoke to him and then the driver, Tommy, and Nino all got into the car and as we pulled away, he turned towards me and I immediately crawled into his lap and threw my arms round his neck. He held me close. And his body was shaking.

I looked up at his face, thinking he was shaking with relief for a second but then I saw something very different from relief. It was absolute rage.

I wanted to back away; his face was that scary, but he had me by the back of the neck and he crushed his mouth to mine briefly, his whole body tight and vibrating, his eyes ablaze, an inferno of anger.

“In your seatbelt, baby,” he said, his voice like scratchy gravel, and he physically set me beside him and buckled my belt. Tessa buckled up, her eyes on her brother, and then they moved to me and I had the feeling we were having the exact same thought. Tommy had never looked this angry. Never.

“What about–” I started to ask about Dex, the other explosion, all of it, but Tommy’s hand hooked around my neck and he pulled me sideways and put his mouth to my temple hard and then let me go. I shut my mouth. It wasn’t the time for questions.

Tessa’s wide eyes moved to the window, and I saw a nervous swallow move down her throat. Her hands were trembling. I looked at Nino and his expression was pretty similar to Tommy’s. We drove for a while until stopping in a warehouse parking lot.

“Stay here a minute. I’ll send Will out for you,” Tommy said.

I was about to ask where we were and where he was going, and it took a second for me to remember who Will even was, but I could tell it wasn’t a good idea to utter a word.

He got out of the car and strode, with purpose, Nino beside him, to the door, which was opened by someone on the other side. They disappeared inside. My belly dipped with more fear.

Tessa and I stared at one another. I chewed on my bottom lip.

A moment later, Nino was back with Will, who I hadn’t seen at the event after we’d had our tour. He’d been behind us until we got into the bar.

He was walking with Nino toward the car and then the door was pulled open.

“Girls, follow me,” Nino said.

It felt straight out of a movie. We walked down a long, dingy gray hallway, through double doors, multiple clicking sets of dress shoes echoing. Then we walked through a door and were in a loading dock area. Leo Denarda was looking very black and blue, sitting taped to a chair. His face and tuxedo shirt were bloody.

Me and Tessa stopped inside the door. There were three big men in the room that I didn’t recognize.

Tommy was standing over Leo, looking fiercely angry, looking ten times angrier than even that morning when someone tried to shoot us while we were having sex a few days after he’d rescued me from Juan Carlos Castillo in Mexico. His tux jacket was still over my shoulders. Tommy stood there, his bow tie undone, his shirtsleeves up.

“Contessa,” Tommy said angrily. “Here.”

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