Page 57 of Keeping What He Wants

She glanced between him and his crew. She didn’t recognize any of them. “Okay. Who told you that I was a fighter?”

“Not important.”

“Oh, come on. If you’re going to kill me, the least you can do is have enough balls to tell me who ordered the hit.”

The man pointed the gun at her head. “Razor.”

It should have surprised her, but it didn’t. A million thoughts flooded her mind though none of them made any sense. She was right. She’d told Ryker her opinion and he’d dismissed it. Ryker should have killed him when he’d had the chance.

“And the other women? He killed them too?”

“No. Those were mine. We had a deal. He gave us the guns. He gets to kill you.”

“Wow.” She felt like puking again, only this time it wasn’t due to the virus. She gagged, and what little was left in her stomach came spewing out, all over the guy’s shoes.

“What the fuck?” He moved back along with his crew. “Get her.”

Two men came at her, and Ella grabbed the chain and swung, knocking them to their knees. She’d never realized that bodily functions could be used as a weapon, but she’d take whatever she could. Her forehead dotted with perspiration as two more men came at her. She swung and made contact with the guy’s crotch, causing him to howl in pain.

A gunshot sounded, and Ella jumped. The guy in the suit motioned for his goons to get her, and two men grabbed her arms before she could defend herself.

“I don’t care if you vomit or shit on them. You’re not getting out of this alive.”

Ella’s eyes closed as they dragged her out of the warehouse. Her stomach ached and she groaned in pain. The goons tossed her to the concrete ground in a different room, and she curled up in a ball. Maybe death wasn’t so bad. With the way she felt, it couldn’t get much worse.

****

“I’m not running guns in Atlanta. I don’t know where you got your info, but it’s not me they saw at that club.”

Ryker frowned with the phone pressed to his ear. “Who the fuck is doing this?”

“I don’t know, man, but it wasn’t me and my crew.”

Ryker glanced up as Superman came in the room. “All right. I’m sorry to bother you with this. If you hear anything, let me know.” He hung up. “Fuck!”

Superman sat in the seat beside him. “I know you’re not going to want to hear this, but your father was dabbling in the gun business before you exiled him. Is there any way he could be in Atlanta again?”

“I don’t think so. Not without me knowing.”

“Razor has connections. He can slide under the radar if he wanted to. He sure as hell wouldn’t give anyone the common courtesy of a head’s up. It would explain why club members were seen at the shady joint.”

Ella had thought the same thing and he’d blown her off about it. An overwhelming amount of guilt washed over him as he considered the possibility. What if his father really was behind this? What if he had just listened to her and dealt with the situation before it got this far?

“So you’re suggesting I give him a call.”

“If you want Ella back, yes.”

Ryker didn’t even think about it. He scrolled through his phone for his father’s number and hit send. Waiting, he decided to put him on speakerphone.

“Yeah?”

“I’m only going to ask you this once. Where is Ella?”

“Now, why would you think that I’d know? I don’t keep track of your little girlfriend.”

“Don’t fuck with me, old man.”

“I don’t know where she is.”

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