Page 53 of Dark Wolf Soul
He fires off a wild shot that I easily duck, and then he’s gone, disappearing through a side door that I’ve heard leads to a series of escape tunnels.
I let him go, but I’m aware that every second I don’t chase him down and rip his throat out is another failure in the eyes of my father.
The kitchen door swings open again, and I see Lexi being dragged in by Dominic Albero, Franco’s second-in-command. Not only is he reputed to be a deadly bastard in his own right, but the prick’s known for hurting women and enjoying it. Seeing Lexi caught in his grasp, I’ve never wanted to kill him more.
At the sight of me, Dominic snarls and adjusts his hold on Lexi, grabbing a fistful of her hair and yanking her in front of him like a shield.
Fucking coward.
“Grey Diavolo, you comin’ to rescue your damsel?” Dominic taunts.
“Let her go, and I’ll do the same to you,” I tell him.
“And if I don’t?”
“Then, I’ll kill you. And I’ll enjoy every fucking second of it.”
He laughs like this whole thing is a fucking game to him. “I’m shakin’ in my boots.”
I don’t bother replying with words.
Shoving forward, I drop into a slide and sweep his legs out from under him. He loosens his grip on Lexi but not enough to keep her from going down with him. I throw my body between them, shoving him down long enough for her to scramble away.
“Dutch has a car out back,” I tell her, gritting my teeth as I battle with Dom for the upper hand. I’m not stupid enough to think he’s an easy mark like Bobby was. If he gets me on my ass, I’m done.
“What about you?” she asks, hesitating.
Her presence is a distraction, and Dom manages to land a sucker punch to my jaw that has me seeing stars. Another punch lands and then another. I stumble, nearly losing my balance.
Dom steps closer and shoves me down easily.
“Go!” I roar at her and then give all my attention to putting this fucker out.
Scrapping on the kitchen floor like a couple of teens isn’t my best work, but I can’t let him get anywhere near Lexi. She moves out of my line of sight, and I can only hope she listened to me and ran for the car. But so far, no tires have squealed to signal their departure.
Fuck.
We’ve got seconds left—a minute if we’re lucky—until Franco’s backup arrives. I’m no match for all his boys.
Something clangs behind me, my head turning out of reflex. Dom’s hand snakes past my defenses and curls around my throat, squeezing hard enough to cut off my air.
I shove at him, angling his head up and away so that his neck is pulled taut. Something moves beside me, and I don’t have time to react before a cast iron pan smashes into Dom’s exposed temple.
He goes slack, completely out.
I look up at Lexi, who’s breathing hard and dangling the pan from her hands.
“Thanks,” I tell her.
She nods, eyes wide, and I jump up, taking the pan away from her and setting it aside.
“We need to go,” I tell her, pulling her out the back door and into the backseat of Dutch’s waiting car.
I land with Lexi beneath me on the seat. Dutch hits the gas before the door is fully closed behind us. I peel myself off Lexi and sit up, pulling her with me.
“Are you hurt?” I ask as Dutch speeds out of the alley and into traffic.
“No,” she says, but I’m too intent on seeing for myself to pay her words any mind.
