Page 131 of Savage Enemy

One of my men waved me on from the far side of a buffet.

“Go, boss, and I’ll cover your back.”

I nodded, and as more bullets flew, I made my way through an ornate marble hallway and the kitchen to a sitting room.

What I found there sent another frigid shock through me.

My girl. My wife. My Val.

Blood stained her lips. Her eyes were bruised and swollen.

Aris had her hair wrapped around his fist and a fucking gun pressed against her head.

She seemed scared. She also seemed quite pissed.

Her light blue eyes burned with fury and fear. She had one hand balled into a fist, and the other pushed inside her robe, supporting the left side of her ribcage.

A beautifully feral woman. Wild, unpredictable—hurt.

“Is this what you’re looking for, asshole?” Aris asked.

“Let her go,” I said. “Hand her over, and my men and I will stop fucking up the decor.”

He shook his head and grinned.

“Do you really think we’re going to let you take her?”

I sighted my gun between his eyes.

“Do you really think I’m going to let you hurt her again?”

Aris sneered. “I don’t think you have a fucking choice. She doesn’t belong to you. She never belonged to you.”

“She does now. Drop the girl, and I might let you live.”

“Don’t you dare,” Val snarled. “This fucking monster must be put down. He threatened our son. He plans to sneak in and slit Enzo’s throat. You cannot let this piece of shit live.”

Aris jerked on her hair, but she didn’t so much as whimper, not even as tears streaked down her cheeks.

“My, those are strong words for such a stupid little cunt.”

His hideous words made me hiss through my teeth.

I gripped my gun tighter.

“Let her go now, or this bullet goes between your eyes.”

“You won’t fire at me,” Aris said. “You shoot me, and you shoot her. Do you really trust your aim that much?”

Then he swung around to cover himself with her body, ducking his head to take away my clean shot.

Fucking coward.

“I’ll shoot through her if it means killing you,” I bluffed. “Wouldn’t be the first bullet she’s taken. But unlike you, your sister’s strong, and she’ll be okay.”

Aris laughed. “I don’t know, man… she’s lost a lot of blood in the last few days. Not sure how much more she can take. And then there’s the other problem.”

“What’s that?”