Page 293 of Untamed

“Ares, no,” she whispers. “Don’t?—”

“Silenzio,” Nicolai snaps, and shoves the gun harder against her skin. She gasps, and that’s all it takes.

I drop.Hard.

The marble cracks beneath my knees, and the weight of it slams into my spine like shame. I don’t look away from her, even as the bile rises in my throat. Even as Nicolai laughs and the monster claws at me from the inside to be set free to rip the smug son of a bitch limb from limb.

“There he is,” he says with a sneer. “Il Mietitore. The big bad Reaper. Look at you now, on your knees for agirl. If the famiglia could see you now. If your father could see you now. He would be so ashamed.” He presses his face against Jordyn’s hair, inhales slowly again like he owns her, and whispers loud enough for me to hear, “Look Tesoro, so much for the monster.”

Behind me, I hear heavy steps. And then, the familiar voice of Vincenzo, uncertain and poised for blood. “Boss, we’ve got the sister secured. Cazzo—” And then I hear the sound of guns being drawn and bullets being chambered behind me.

“Easy,” Nicolai growls. Pushing the barrel of his gun under her chin. Jordyn flinches. “Tell them to stand down. Now. Or I’ll paint these walls and you with her pretty little brain.”

I don’t move at first.

But then I meet Jordyn’s eyes. She holds my gaze and gives me a slight shake of her head. “Don’t do it, Ares...”

“Lower your guns and fall back,” I rasp, not turning. “Both of you. That’s an order.”

There’s a pause. Then the reluctant shuffle of boots, the low murmurs of retreat.

The thought barely sets in my mind when I hear the sound of two gun shots and the sound of bodies hitting the floor just outside the room.

Jordyn gasps, watching in horror.

Fuck. I pray Dante’s still somewhere in the shadows, watching. Initiating the back-up plan.

“Bravo ragazzo,” Nicolai taunts. “Now… let’s make sure you don’t get any ideas.”

One whistle and his men flood in like a tide, six of them. Two seize my arms, wrenching them back. One lands a solid punch to my ribs, and another swings the butt of his rifle across my face.

Blood explodes in my mouth, but I don’t fight it.

I don’t care. All I can see is the fear in Jordyn’s eyes.

“No! Stop!” she screams, struggling against Nicolai’s hold as they force me to the floor. “Please, don’t hurt him!”

One of the guards slams his boot into my back, pressing me down.

“Let him go! You said you wanted me!” she cries, tears streaking down her cheeks. “Nicolai, please, you said you wouldn’t hurt him, just let him go!”

Nicolai smiles down at her, unmoved. “No, Tesoro, I said I wouldn’tkillhim,” he murmurs against her ear, “Remember what I said to you, his fate, whether he lives or dies rests in your hands.”

And then he nods.

A gun is cocked behind my head.

“No!” Jordyn’s scream tears through the room like something dying. “Please, Nicolai, don’t!”

He leans in, brushing her hair away from her face with the barrel of his gun. “You want him alive?”

Jordyn nods frantically, tears spilling down her cheeks. “Yes. Yes...please.”

“Then you marry me.”

The silence that follows is instant. Suffocating. My heart slams in my chest, thunderous, and I lift my bloodied face just enough to meet her eyes. She freezes, the horror already blooming behind her lashes.

“What?” she whispers.

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