Page 71 of Hook

“I don’t know and I don’t give a shit.” Grabbing her wrist, I pull her close. “Stay close to me.”

“It could be my dad.” Her throat bobs. “Or it could be Piero.”

I grab her throat and squeeze. “What have I told you about saying that bastard’s name?”

It’s possible to could be Piero. The man I want to destroy in pursuit of me. It means the rat in my outfit is not only selling me out to the Tesoro mob, but to Piero, too. When I get my hands on the piece of shit betraying me, they’ll wish they’d never been born.

She glares at me as I keep my hand around her throat. “If it’s him, I’ll jump from the boat and swim to it.”

I squeeze tighter. “Careful, Gwendolyne. You’re playing a dangerous game, speaking to me like that.”

“Speaking to you like what? Like a sane person who wants to escape her captor and return to her fiancé?”

I can’t help my rage as I drag her closer, searching those alluring emerald eyes. “Piero is a snake. No sane person would ever want to go near the man.”

She tilts her head. “How can I believe that when you won’t tell me why you hate him so much?”

“It doesn’t matter why I hate him.” I glance away. “He doesn’t deserve you.”

The boat in pursuit is smaller and faster, and it’s getting dangerously close now. I feel my heart thud against my chest as I try to outrun my pursuers. The engine roars in protest as it pushes us further, but the boat behind us keeps gaining ground.

Soon enough, the yacht pulls by our side, so close it grazes ours. I have to put the brakes on and face Piero head on. I know it’s him before I see him.

“Fucking Piero,” I growl, as I pull my gun from under the steering wheel and walk onto the deck to find him standing with a gun aimed at me.

“Let Gwendolyne go and I might not shoot you in the head,” he orders.

Gwen rushes out onto the deck behind me and she spots someone I hadn’t noticed. “Tilly!” she calls.

“Gwen, it’s okay. We’re here to get you,” Tilly says.

“Motherfucker. I knew there was something off about you and your sudden resignation.” I narrow my eyes at my former employee. “How long were you working for him?”

Piero laughs. “She was working for me before she joined your staff.”

I swallow hard as if that’s true then Piero has known about me being in San Diego for far longer than I realize.

“Don’t worry, Gwen. You’ll be safe soon,” Piero says, his eyes roaming her body in a predatory way, making me want to gouge them from his skull. I add that to the mental list of things I’m going to do to him.

All she’s wearing is her skimpy, sheer night gown and her hair is ruffled from sleep. She’s a fucking vision. I’d rather take a bullet to the head than give her over to Piero.

“Piero,” she calls his name and my stomach sinks. “I’ll jump over.” Gwen tries to rush past me, but I grab her wrist and yank her against my chest.

“Not so fast, princess,” I murmur into her ear, keeping her in front of me. “Are you sure you have a good enough aim not to hit Gwendolyne?” I ask Piero.

Piero’s eyes narrow, as we both know he was never a great shot. “It’s clear she doesn’t want to remain with you, so let her go and we can fight this out like men.”

I arch a brow. “Fight it out like men? You aren’t a man, you’re a fucking weasel. And weasels never fight fair.”

“Cillian,” she breathes, I can feel her heart beating at a hundred miles an hour. “Let me go.”

“Never, princess,” I murmur into her ear.

She tenses as I think as quickly as I can. “What’s it going to be, then?” I press.

Piero glares at me. “I have backup. We can fucking take your boat and Gwen and leave you dead at the bottom of the ocean.”

Gwen tenses at the tone of his voice, no doubt witnessing his violent side for the first time.

---