Page 64 of Dragon Touched
A large hand touched her shoulder, and she turned out of curiosity and irritation. Who would be so bold?
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Kimmie being whisked away into the crowd by her boyfriend.
The swirling rainbow of lights flashing over the room threw the stranger’s face into a dizzying kaleidoscope of color.
Sacha squinted. Something about his eyes seemed familiar, yet she couldn’t put her finger on why.
The band started a slower number this time, and he slipped a palm around her shoulders and curled the other fingers around her hand in a tight grip, pulling her out of the chair in one move.
“Excuse me, do I know you?” Her back was a rod, stiff and unyielding. The intimacy of his hands on her skin was annoying and unpleasant.
He peered down for a few seconds. “Yes, and I know you, Sacha Shepperd Ninette.”
Emerald irises. He had green eyes. Her gaze moved over his body. He was large and smelled like a greasy pizza.
Alarm bells blared in her brain, and she felt frozen to the ground, unable to think or fight.
Hard nails dug into the flesh of her waist. “You thought you’d fucking get away from me,again?” Lorenzo’s voice was a low growl. “Finally found you.”
“Let go.” Sacha tried to pull away. “You’re hurting me.”
“I’ll do more than that.” He jerked her against a fleshy stomach. “I promise.” His hand pushed her face into his neck.
Struggling, she had to gasp to breathe. She could feel the oily bumps of acne rubbing against her cheek and gagged.
“Keep fighting, and I’ll strangle you right here. No one will be the wiser.” He leaned his lips close to her ear and wrapped the fingers of one hand around her throat, holding her waist with the other.
“Cooperate, and you might live.” His hot, putrid breath crept over her skin “Do I make myself clear?”
Terror and anger coursed through her blood like a raging river. She wanted to smash his toes and run, but knew she was caught like a fly in honey. Unable to take a deep breath, she nodded her head.
“Good, let’s go.” He dragged her through the crowd and pushed his way between sweaty, undulating bodies.
She dug her heels into the wooden slats of the dance floor.
If I leave this building with him, I’m dead. No one will ever see me alive again, and he’ll make sure I suffer beforehand.
She knew what happened to snitches and those disloyal to the families. After he had his fun, he’d throw her dismembered body parts all over Chicago in a show of dominance.
But what can I do? He’s stronger and has the upper hand.
If she could somehow flag Kimmie, maybe her friend would see the desperation. Alone and terrified, rage and fear battled deep within, twisting her stomach into a vat of acidic juices. It had been a terrible, fatal idea to go out tonight.
Lorenzo’s fingertips pinched and twisted the flesh under her arm until a shaky whimper escaped.
“Please,” she moaned. Her thoughts continued to tumble.
How had he found her? Ditching the stolen ID and credit card, she’d paid for fake papers, using the last name of Scabbers.
The housekeeper must’ve mentioned the stolen ID, and he tracked it to the bus station.Lorenzo must’ve bribed the bus route from someone at the Chicago terminal.
It had been a possibility lurking in her mind, but when Pops had gotten himself incarcerated and convicted, she’d been relieved. With him out of power, no one would actively look for her—there’d be no reason.Or so I believed.
The thought of Lorenzo and revenge never crossed her mind. She’d assumed he’d move on and want nothing more to do with the disgraced Ninette name.
“Come here.” A fist wrapped behind her head, and he yanked, pulling her closer to the wall and a dark corner, away from the crowd.
“Lorenzo, stop. Please.” She had to stall for time. “Maybe we can work something out.”
