Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 109674 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 548(@200wpm)___ 439(@250wpm)___ 366(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109674 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 548(@200wpm)___ 439(@250wpm)___ 366(@300wpm)
I gripped his neck to snap it. My eye caught movement as his hand soared up toward my upper body. Pain sliced through my side. A terrified shriek drowned out the crowd’s unified gasp of shock. My eyes zoomed in on Amelia, where she stood with fear-widened eyes in the booth. I gave her a small smile before I glanced down at the short pocketknife sticking out of my waist. He couldn’t have picked a worse weapon. This couldn’t seriously injure me, only piss me off.
“You ruined this for you,” I said as I leveled my gaze on the man before me. “I had every intention of making this quick. Now I’ll have to paint a picture with your bowels and blood.”
I clasped his hand, still wrapped around the handle of the knife, and jerked it out. Blood trickled down into my shorts, but it wasn’t enough to be worth my attention. Using his hand, I rammed the short blade into the soft spot beneath his rib cage, then twisted it around for good measure before I sliced down.
He screamed and gurgled, his eyes shock-wide as he stared down at the knife now buried in his lower belly. I ripped it out, then stepped back. He stumbled to his feet, gasping and choking, and with a resounding splash, his bowels tumbled out of the long gash and plummeted to the floor, painting it red and brown and white.
The crowd groaned, roared, and gasped, followed by gagging and vomiting.
He swayed, his eyes crossing as he stared at his bowels. He stumbled forward, then face-planted on the ground. His body convulsed with painful gasps and whimpers. I knelt and turned him over on his back, then sank my hand into his empty stomach. He choked in agony. “Did you get the knife from your friend?”
He gave a minuscule nod. I pulled my hand out, then watched as the life left his eyes. With the pocket knife in my other hand, I headed toward the door. My side stung. It wouldn’t stop me from winning my second fight of the night, but it was definitely a bother.
Amelia rushed toward the parting crowd and reached me when I stepped out of the cage. Fear lit up her eyes. I walked down the steps and cupped her throat, then lowered my head for a searing kiss that filled the bar with utter silence. People stared at us, at me, at Amelia’s scarred back. For them, I was the monster who’d disfigured her, the beast who held his beauty captive. If they knew the length I’d go to protect her, they’d fear me even more. I pulled back to Amelia’s flushed face and took her hand. She flinched. I looked down at my blood-covered hand. I had completely forgotten about the other man’s filthy blood. It should never have touched Amelia’s perfect skin.
I tightened my hold on her and led her through the alley between the crowd toward the changing room, only stopping once to ram my knife into the throat of the man who’d given my opponent the weapon. I left the blade in his body to avoid more bloodstains on Amelia. I didn’t say a word until I reached the changing rooms. There I tugged her toward a sink, turned the water on, and washed her hand with soap, then cleaned mine. She watched silently, her brows dipping with deep worry. “You’re hurt.”
I kept cleaning her hand until the water came away clear. “His blood should have never touched you.”
She touched my cheek. “What if you have internal bleeding?”
“I have endured enough torture in my life to know if I’m in imminent danger, and I’m not. It can wait until we’re back in Los Angeles.”
“There are Camorra doctors here,” she whispered, shocked.
“I’m invincible as far as these people are concerned.”
She closed her eyes and let out a shuddering breath. “I’m not sure I can bear seeing you enter that cage again.”
“You can’t leave.”
“I won’t,” she said firmly, her eyes filled with determination. “Not because Remo wants to prove a point, but because I won’t leave you. I did that once, and I won’t ever do it again. I couldn’t be with you when my father tortured you, but I can support you today.”
I wanted to hold on to the rage that had consumed me in the months and years of Amelia’s absence, but it was becoming more difficult by the day. I loved this woman. She was the only person I’d loved since my mother had been ripped from me as a little boy. She would always be the only person I loved. I kissed her, and I didn’t pull back even as the door swung open, not even as steps approached us. But I looked up when they sounded too close and raised my head to meet Nino’s evaluating gaze. “Do you need medical assistance?”