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I place my palm firmly on my stomach. “Do you want to know if this baby is yours? Because if you hurt my husband in any way, I swear to God I will drive a knife inside my belly the second I get the chance.”
Nunzio’s eyes widen, forming grooves on his forehead. “You wouldn’t.”
“Try me.”
He studies me for a moment, eyes roving over me, contemplating. Nicoli is staring at me, silently screaming at me to walk away, but there’s no chance of that happening. If we go down today, we’re going down together.
“Fine,” Nunzio snaps. “You’ll walk over to Manuel, and you—” He jerks Nicoli against him. “You will fucking behave because if you don’t, Manuel will shoot her in the fucking face. And I’d really hate to see that happen because your wife has a really, really pretty face.”
Nicoli snarls, the vein in his neck throbbing, his chest rising and falling heavily. “Don’t do this, Mira. Don’t get in that damn car,” he urges, struggling against Nunzio’s hold. “Get the fuck out of here!”
Tears sting my eyes, my soul silently weeping as I witness the desperation in his eyes. I know the thought of me going with Nunzio is worse than facing death for my husband. But losing him, existing in a world where he isn’t, it’s a reality I can’t comprehend. One I refuse to accept. I would rather live a lifetime as Nunzio’s captive than know I exist in a world where Nicoli doesn’t.
“On second thought, Manuel, get your ass over here.”
I pause as I narrow my eyes at Nunzio.
“Keep your gun aimed at the back of his head,” Nunzio orders, Manuel’s gun is now pressing against Nicoli’s skull as Nunzio steps away. The smile he gives me sends shivers of revulsion down my spine. “I’ll be escorting you out of here.”
The second his hand wraps around my arm, a violent surge of nausea explodes in my gut. His touch burns, like acid on my flesh, and I’m trying hard to swallow the bile threatening to push up my throat.
“Walk,” he orders, and for a second I freeze, glaring at him, feeling the hate rise to new heights. The need to see him suffer is pressing hot against my skull. I want to see every drop of blood drain from his body. I want to see the holes in his face after I cut his eyes out, and I want to smell the rancid stench of him pissing himself with fear—fear of me.
Movement in the distance catches my attention, and under an old, flickering light, I glimpse Maximo’s features and he’s pointing to the top of the building behind me before he disappears into the darkness again.
I suck in a breath, trying so damn hard not to look in Maximo’s direction for longer than a second, not wanting to draw any attention his way. Manuel and the other guard have their backs turned toward where Maximo is hiding, and Nunzio has his gaze pinned on me. I have no idea what he’s planning, but no matter what it is, I have to do what needs to be done, right here, right now—and that’s giving myself up so I can save my husband.
ChapterSixteen
NICOLI
“Move, birdie,” Nunzio grits out.
My teeth bite into my lip until I can taste the blood on my tongue, searing with rage from the sight of him touching her.
The rugged metal of Manuel’s gun presses against my temple like a branding iron. His hot breath, reeking of stale cigarettes and alcohol, prickles the back of my neck, and I’ve already decided that Manuel will be the first to get his head smashed against the pavement.
My jaw tics with anger, and my rage builds to a crescendo. My teeth grind together like stones as I think about all the things this bastard has done to Mira, every second of pain he caused her. A thousand screams echo in my head, pushing me over the edge as I envision a myriad of gruesome ways to take away his life so slowly he’ll pray that the devil takes him quickly.
“Mira, please,” I start, and she stares at me with so much pain I can feel it seep into my soul. “Don’t do this.” My voice is almost unrecognizable from the rawness of emotion. “Let him do whatever he wants with me, but don’t you dare give up. Do not get in that car. Run. Run as fast as you can. Please, Hummingbird.”
Mira’s gaze burns as teardrops glisten in her eyes, her jaw set firmly in a mask of resolve.
“I won’t let him hurt you.”
“Mira, please!” I shout, desperation choking my voice, and I let out a scream that tears my soul apart, ripping from the deepest part of me, a cry that bounces off the walls and echoes into the darkness.
Nunzio chuckles, a sickening sound. “I think your husband is having a hard time with this,” he says to Mira, and I wish I were still the reckless Nicoli who would take his chances, even if there’s just a five percent chance I’ll be able to fuck him up. But I can’t be reckless. Not when it comes to her. Never with her.
She glances over her shoulder in my direction, her eyes glimmering with tears, her feet barely keeping up with Nunzio’s relentless pace as he drags her toward a car. I’m struck by the horror of it all, my heart pounding like thunder in my chest until every breath is like shards of glass tearing through my lungs. Every muscle in my body and every instinct in my blood screams at me to act, to intervene and stop this, but I’m fucking powerless. Nothing I do now will prevent this from happening, and it’s the worst kind of agony I’ve ever felt.
Nunzio cackles in triumph as he forcefully drags Mira to the car, her eyes wide and pleading as she frantically looks back at me, our gazes interlocked as he steals her away from me. It’s fucking excruciating, like venom poisoning my blood and slowly killing my heart.
Jesus, where is he? Where fucking is he?
I glance up at the building in front of me, my thoughts frantic with every possible thing that could go wrong. If he doesn’t pull through, all of this gets shot to shit, and I lose my wife to this psychopath once again.
There’s a quick flash on the top of the building, like light bouncing off a metal surface, and my stomach lurches up my chest.
