Page 71 of One Savage Union

Gasps ripple through the survivors.

No one speaks. No one moves.

Only Lucia. Her breath hitches. Her eyes—glassy, stunned, full of horror and relief and love—watch as I stand over the corpse of the man who defiled her with his words.

I’ve only just begun.

26

LUCIA

Ihear Rocco’s fury before I lay eyes on him.

He’s out there somewhere. Beyond the smoke and chaos, I hear the battle cries of men fighting and dying.

And I know that’s my angel of death delivering retribution.

When I see Rocco, my heart damn near stops.

We lock eyes, but he doesn’t run to me as I’d expect. Instead, he pulls a huge knife from the back of his tactical pants and whispers something in Mario’s ear, never taking his eyes off of me.

Why isn’t he coming? Is he mad that I left?

Then I see it. The garrish man draped in the Mexican Cartel’s colors who called me a whore. Rocco slices his head clean off, and the bastard’s blood washes the walls.

My eyes never leave his and I’m wet as fuck.

I’m going to need therapy after this.

Then I feel a tug on my ankle, and I jerk at the touch.

Someone’s in here with me!

I am frozen in terror as I imagine one of those drooling men taking me away. My worst nightmare is confirmed when the waist grabs me.

“I’m going to get us out of here and I’m going to take you back home and fuck you until you can’t move.” He snatches my ankle.

“I don’t know where your dad ran off to, but he stupidly left me with the key to this,” he says as he frantically unshackles me. “He and my father think they’re so smart. They think they can control me and the world around them. But I’ll show all these older men who the real boss is. He snatches my hair. “Come on bitch.”

I shudder at the sound of Leo’s gravelly voice. When I’m freed from the cage and in the darkness behind the cage, he drags me down to the floor and his coarse hands slide down my ass, thighs, and legs.

Something snaps in me, and I try to kick him away. I need to get off this stage to freedom.

To Rocco.

But Leo is too strong. He grabs my legs and pulls me close to him. He regains control of my waist and grips me tightly. That’s when I feel the hard metal barrel of a nine millimeter against my temple.

“Calm down,” he purrs. “I just want to take you home with me, but I might have to change my plans if you’re not going to cooperate.” Leo gets to his feet and pulls me up with him. He shoves the gun into my back and slides his forearm and bicep around my neck as he forces me deeper backstage.

Without warning, the lights turn on, and I’m blinded as my eyes adjust. Leo jumps down sideways off the stage before dragging me toward the back of the room.

I choke as his grip tightens around my neck. I blink tears out of my eyes and see Mario dressed in all black striding forcefullytoward us cocking a giant shotgun. He looks every bit the part of a cold-blooded Mafia hitman.

“Leo! Let her go!”

Leo cocks the gun at my temple. “Give me one reason why I shouldn’t blow her head off right now.”

Mario smirks. “Come on. The game is over. You’ve lost. You can leave here alive, or you can leave in a box. Let the girl go.”

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