“Your virginity. You gave it to that mick bastard.” He hit her again, though her hand provided some blockage this time. “You stole what was rightfully mine and squandered it on him.”
The briefest flash of how Shane had taken her virginity in the shower made her shudder, but memories of the night when he had made love to her so gently in a similar scenario pushed them away. “It was mine to give, and I chose him. Not you.” Her conscience didn’t prickle at the lie, because she knew it would rankle worse for Aldo if he thought she had surrendered voluntarily to Shane.
“It was mine.” He stood up so quickly his chair slammed to the floor. Spare whimpered as wood hit stone, but she must have been too well trained because she remained sprawled on the floor where she had landed several minutes ago.
“Mine,” he screamed as he loomed over her. His fingers bit into her upper arms, and he shook her until her head was snapping forward and backward. “You stole it, you cunt.”
Mia didn’t try to speak until he finally stopped shaking her. Bile spewed from her, and she turned her head at the last minute to avoid painting his black button-down with vomit. It wasn’t consideration that prompted the move. Self-preservation motivated her, though she would have loved to puke all over him. “What are you going to do to me?” She barely framed the words as blood trickled from her mouth, making her realize she had bitten her tongue during the mad shaking.
“First, we’ll get back what you threw away, and then I’ll take it the way I deserve.”
Her head was muddled from the confrontation, and perhaps the lingering sedative, so she didn’t understand his meaning. Mia slumped in the chair and tried to regain her equilibrium. A sucking sound caught her attention a couple of moments later, and nausea swirled with renewed vigor at the sight of Aldo hammering into poor little Spare’s mouth. It was a disgusting sight, made all the worse by the complete adulation on the girl’s face as she gazed up at the brute ravaging her oral cavity so violently.
Mia vowed she would not turn into that young woman, no matter what Aldo did to her. She’d rather die than surrender to him—or be his devoted sex slave. She truly believed Shane would find her, but she had to survive until then.
* * *
Shane did his best to stand still as he faced Patrick Murphy, though his body vibrated with tension to be in front of the man again for the second time in one day. It wasn’t often that the head of his family summoned him for a meeting, and he was in no mood for a rerun today.
Six hours. Six fucking hours since he’d come home to the bloodbath on the sheets and no Mia. Five hours and forty minutes since he’d discovered Selena had accompanied a load of laundry away from the estate, though it wasn’t the usual laundry day.
Five hours and thirty-nine minutes since he’d begun trying to roust Aldo and find Mia. His first hit had been on Aldo’s private club. Guns blazing had been his quick and dirty approach since he’d lacked the luxury of time and finesse. A gun in the face broke down all kinds of language barriers, and it was amazing how quickly the goombahs had dropped the pretense of only speaking Italian to reveal they hadn’t seen Aldo in a few days.
Shane had made his way systematically through Aldo’s known haunts and business endeavors until the summons came from Murphy fifty-seven minutes ago. His impulse had been to ignore it, but he’d known that might sign his death warrant. The last thing he needed was a war on two fronts.
“At our earlier meeting, I believe I made it clear that retaliation was the order of the day, Shane?”
He nodded, not speaking as he tried to judge the other man’s mood. Patrick kept his intentions hidden until he wanted to reveal them. It was part of what made him such a fine boss, but it was irritating the fuck out of Shane right now. He wanted to scream at the other man to cut the shit and get to the matter at hand because time was ticking away, and the longer Mia was in Aldo’s hands, the worse she would fare.
“I’ve had some time to cool down a bit. I was angry then.” The statement was bland, though his hazel eyes sparkled with a remaining hint of rage. “Peretti and Kasilli have both called me, and they want a meeting.”
Shane shrugged. “How does that affect me, sir?”
Patrick blinked. “Really? You’re going to ask me that, show me disrespect, after what’s happened today? Riley Kilkearny and three of my closest friends are dead.”
Shane sighed. “Yes, sir. They were my friends too, and I meant no disrespect.” God, he hated the posturing bullshit the mafia families insisted upon, at least the Irish and Italians. He didn’t think the Russians were so hung up on stupid customs. “My thoughts are elsewhere.”
Patrick nodded. “I understand that. I called you here because officially, I can’t support your endeavors at recovering your lady until the meeting and I evaluate the situation.”
He sucked in a deep breath. “Are you asking me to stop looking for her, Mr. Murphy?”
The other man shook his head. “No, of course not. I know how you feel about her. I’m just telling you there will be no family support for now. I intend to turn a blind eye to whatever you do, but I want you to understand I can’t defend your actions with the Italians and the Russians, and if they catch you…”
Shane swallowed. “Yeah, I get it. I’ve been disavowed.”
Patrick gave him a small smile. “Pretty much, my friend.” His eyes narrowed and rage bled through. “You can bet you’ll have full support and a huge war if we can’t find a resolution.”
“I don’t give a fuck about a war, sir. I just want Mia back and Aldo dead.”
Surprisingly, Patrick held out his hand. “I wish you luck with both of your missions, Shane.”
Feeling a bit disoriented from the outcome, Shane left Murphy’s house a few minutes later. The valet brought around his red coupe and he climbed inside, securing his seatbelt even as he peeled away.
He wasn’t forbidden to find her, using whatever methods necessary, as he’d expected. Shane hadn’t intended to obey any embargo on finding Mia, so it was a bit of good luck that his boss was willing to look the other way. It still placed him a thorny position. He could count on Bruno to have his back, and probably Cormac, but that was a scant crew to go against Aldo’s goons.
Still, even if he faced them alone, he would proceed. Shane was determined to get Mia back, no matter the cost.
19
