Page 83 of Paved in Venom

“That’s far enough,” Lev says.

“You’re outnumbered,” Dominic says, and I can’t help but notice that his voice isn’t shaking and neither is the hand that’s holding the gun that’s currently still pointing directly at my head. He may be a prick, but he’s used to violence, just like we are.

“You think so?” I ask with a smile.

Dominic’s eyes dart around, but beyond the small circle of light our headlights are putting out, there’s just a thick curtain of darkness. Anyone could be out there, and I can tell he’s debating on the likelihood that we’re alone.

“You think we didn’t call for backup when we noticed you tailing us?” I ask.

“Just let her go,” he says.

I tilt my head at him, trying to figure him out. “Why the fuck do you want her so badly?”

Instead of answering me, he takes another step closer. “You may have called some people, but they’re not here yet. If they were, I’d be dead right now.”

He’s not wrong, so I don’t say anything.

“You’ll have to kill us to get to her, and even then you won’t be able to. The SUV’s bulletproof, and she has the keys. She’ll drive away and my other brothers will protect her. You’ll never get your fucking hands on her.”

“I have no problem killing you, you sick piece of shit,” he yells at me, and I can see the hatred in his eyes. He’s about to pull the trigger, and so am I. His men have their guns trained on me, so even if Dominic’s unable to get off a shot before I shoot him in the head, I’m still going to get hit. A sense of dread washes over me. I was so close, so fucking close to having everything. I fill my head with thoughts of Simona, because she’s the last thing I want to think about. I picture her beautiful face, the sweet look she gets in her eyes when she looks at me, the way she moans my name when she’s about to come, and then I have just enough time to wonder if she’s pregnant, to imagine our baby, the one I’ll never get to see, but then I hear a voice that freezes me with ice-cold dread.

“No!” Simona screams running out of the SUV. “Don’t shoot him! Stop!”

“Fuck!” I yell, turning around and flinging my body in front of hers, wrapping my arms around her and pulling her to the ground as I cover her with my body while gunshots go off around us. I cup her head, keeping her pulled tightly against me.

“Lev!” I yell, angling around so I can aim my gun and offer him some backup.

“I’m fine,” he yells back, and then I see our men coming forward out of the darkness, guns trained on Dominic and his men. There’s no need, though. His three men are on the ground and not moving, and Dominic is leaning against his car, gripping the shoulder that’s been shot.

Simona’s crying beneath me, whispering that she’s sorry, every part of her body shaking. I hug her tighter and kiss her.

“It’s okay, baby. It’s all over.”

I help her up, but she keeps a death grip on me as we walk over to Lev. Dominic’s pale and gritting his teeth in pain, but other than that, you’d never know he’d just been shot. He looks between me and Simona, confusion written all over his face when he sees how I’m holding her and stroking her hair, comforting her while she clings to me.

“I don’t understand,” he finally says. “I thought you were hurting her.”

“Why do you want her so badly?” I ask, not appeasing his curiosity.

While he debates whether or not he should talk, Roman and Matvey come speeding down the road. The black Camaro comes to a sharp stop right before they jump out with guns in hand.

“Everything okay?” Roman asks in Russian.

“What the fuck happened?” Matvey asks, eyeing the dead men and a very bloody Dominic.

Lev tells them in Russian what happened while I ask Dominic again, “Why do you want her?”

“She’s American,” he finally says. “She’s the only one who spoke English.”

“And that matters why?” I ask, growing more impatient with each passing second.

“Because I thought she could help me. I buy the girls that speak English, so I can ask them questions. I’ve tried translators, but they’re so fucking scared when they come over, and that just seems to freak them out more. It’s just easier if they speak English. Emil lets me know which ones to bid on. He thinks it’s just some fucked-up kink I have.”

“We heard the women you buy disappear when you’re done with them,” I tell him.

Dominic lets out a soft, humorless laugh. “That’s because I let them go. I give them money and set them free.”

“Why would you do that?” Lev asks.

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