Page 113 of Precious Hazard

Crouching next to Riggo, I start checking him for other injuries while Nino gives Ilaria the rundown. The black-and-blue mess of the boy’s face tells me that he sustained multiple blows to the head. Both of his eyes are swollen shut, and there are lacerations around his mouth and eyebrows. He’s not wearing a shirt, and the expanse of his torso, especially his stomach and chest, is covered in more bruises. No bullet wounds, though, but there’s definitely internal bleeding. He’s also missing his right thumb. The bastards have beaten, tortured, and left the boy for dead.

“We’re taking him in?” I ask.

“Yeah. Ilaria is on her way there. She says we can’t wait for the ambulance to arrive.”

Riggo doesn’t react when I grab under his arms and Nino picks up his legs. We’re nearly out of the building, on our way toward the car Pietro brought over to the rear entrance, when the kid starts to stir, groaning in pain.

“We’ve got you,” I soothe. “You’re safe, Riggo.”

“Mr. DeVille?” he rasps.

“Yeah. Take it easy, we’ll have you at the doc’s soon. Don’t talk.”

“I’m… I’m so sorry… Mr. DeVille.” The faint words trickle out of him. “The… the ring…”

Pietro holds the car door open as Nino and I gently lay Riggo on the back seat. “Now’s not the best time to discuss jewelry, buddy.”

His thumbless hand wraps around my wrist in a viselike grip; the force behind that hold is a helluva lot stronger than I would have expected from someone in his condition.

“They found it,” he chokes out. “Stavros’s ring. In my trunk. It must have fallen off when I… moved him. They… they wanted to know… how… how it got there.”

I close my eyes.Shit.

“I didn’t want to, Mr. DeVille, but… I think I told them… everything.”

“It’s okay, Riggo.” I pat his hand. Nothing’s changed. I just know that now Katrakis is gunning for me while I’m trying to find his ass so I can kill him. “You can let go of my wrist, and we’ll take you to the clinic.”

“They wouldn’t… wouldn’t hurt Miss Tara, would they?”

My blood suddenly runs cold. “What?”

“She killed the Greek heir. I… I told them I heard you say it…”

Terror, unlike anything I’ve ever known, engulfs me as I lean down, trying to catch every one of his words. Riggo’s breaths are labored, and each uttered sound gets fainter and fainter.

“They all… they all went…”

“Where?” I shout, shaking his shoulders, trying to keep him awake. “Where did they go?”

“House… they went… to your home.”

“I’m not in the mood for a movie tonight, Sienna. Maybe I can come over tomorrow?” I lodge the phone between my ear and shoulder so I can keep my hands free. “And anyway, Riggo is nowhere to be found, and I’m pretty sure there’s no way I’ll convince Tony to drive me over. He knows I’m under ‘lock and key’ as per His Highness’s orders.”

“You really should have bought a car, not a chopper,” Sienna giggles. “And I’m on lockdown, too. Drago has gone nuts. He’s been mobilizing his men, planning an attack on the Greeks since six this morning.”

I hold the small hinged part of a metal hasp to the door panel and reach for the drill. “I knew he would. Those Spanish floor tiles were limited edition. He won’t be able to get a replacement for them.”

“It’s not about the— Tara? You there? What’s that noise?”

“I’m installing a lock!” I yell over the sound of the drill.

“What?”

“I found it in the storage room and—” A huge chunk breaks off the wooden surface. “Oops.”

“Tara? What the fuck are you doing?”

I sigh and turn off the power tool. Leaning against the other side of the doorway, I slide down to the floor, stretching my feet before me. “I’m installing a padlock on the doors connecting my room to your brother’s. Or trying to, at least.”

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