Page 83 of Texting the CEO's Obsession
A hateful scoff falls from his scarred lips, and bile rises in my throat.
“Still can’t put your family first,” he whispers furiously.
He digs his heel into the ground and whips around, slicing the blade through the air and aiming for Riley’s throat.
My finger clamps down on the trigger before he gets within two feet of her.
A scream bounces off the walls, ringing in my ears along with the gunshot.
The knife clatters to the floor.
Bruno’s body following.
I almost crumple to the ground along with him at the sight of the hole through his temple, the blood pooling on the ground just inches from Riley’s feet, but the shaky breath she sucks in has me moving on autopilot. She’s shaking in the chair she’s bound to, and I rush forward, almost slipping in the blood staining the concrete.
My mouth is moving; I canfeelit, but it seems like forever until I can hear myself speaking.
“Riley, baby, I’ve got you,” I say, my voice shaking almost as much as my hands. “Don’t look at him. Close your eyes. I’m here.”
I have to kneel down to bash the butt of my gun against the lock holding the chains in place, but it shatters after a well-placed blow. Riley yanks her hands free of the chains as soon as she feels the slack in them. She collapses into my arms, sobbing and wheezing in panicked breaths, incoherent words spilling from her lips as I brush her hair out of her face.
Her upper lip is crusted with dried blood from her nose and she’s got a hell of a shiner, but everything else I can see is surface level. A few shallow cuts adorn her arms, and some budding bruises are on her shoulders, but nothing that looks like it could prove fatal. It makes me wish I could kill Bruno all over again.
“Riley,” I whisper, hoarse and still too worked up to keep my voice steady. “Fuck, Princess, you’re okay. I’ve got you; you’re safe. I’m so fucking glad you’re safe.”
Tears burn behind my eyelids as she clings to me weakly, and I wrap my arms around her, burying my face in her hair and holding her close.
“Nick,” she sobs, trembling in my arms. “I was so scared; he just showed up and took me. He’s—oh my God, Nick, he’s—you?—”
“Don’t look,” I urge, holding her head still to prevent her from turning.
She’s already gotten far closer to this than I ever wanted her to. I don’t want her to have to live with the sight of it seared into her memory either. Broken sobs fall from her lips as she buries her face in my shoulder, and I clutch her tight, trying to get my heart to settle back into a normal rhythm.
“I’m so sorry,” I whisper, closing my eyes as my throat tightens with emotion. “I shouldn’t have let this happen. I should have kept you safe. I’m so fucking sorry, Riley. I love you.”
The words spill out like a flood, the terror finally abating when they escape.
Riley hiccups her way through her tears, leaning back to slide her shaking hand up to cup my cheek. She sucks in a weak breath, but before she can say anything, her eyes roll back in her head, and she goes limp in my arms.
“Riley? Riley!”
I shake her, panic surging through me again until I realize I can still see her pulse fluttering in her throat.
She could have passed out from stress or injury, but at least she’s still alive. I push up from the floor with her in my arms, my mind racing to figure out how quickly I can get her to a hospital from here, when I hear a sharp, broken gasp from behind me.
I whirl on my heel, holding Riley protectively against my chest, and my heart shatters at the sight I’m greeted with.
“Ma…”
Her hand is up over her mouth, wide blue eyes fixed on Bruno’s body.
“Bruce,” she whispers, agony festering in the single syllable. “Oh, God. I heard the shot… Nicky, what happened?”
My throat closes up, guilt sitting like lead in my gut. I don’t feel bad for what I did, but hurting Ma is never something I’ll forgive myself for.
“I’m sorry.” My voice is ragged and weak around the edges, more honest than I’ve let myself be in years. “Ma, I’m so sorry. He kidnapped Riley, he was going to kill her. I… I’m sorry.”
It’s the only thing I can say.
