Page 109 of Broken Warrior
Bruno finishes his half-assed check—I could have worn my gun under my t-shirt with the lack of effort he put in—then comes around to stand next to Nick. “You the one that’s fucking her?”
I ball my hands into fists as I lower them to my sides, but I still don’t speak.
“She’s tight, isn’t she? Only ever been with Gino, as close to virginal as she can get?” He nods and seals his fate. “I begged the boss for years to let me take her for a spin, to see how tight her pussy is after only being with him for so long. Almost had her, too.” Bruno points to his crooked nose and the scar along the bridge. “The boss didn’t like it back then but he said I could finally have a go at her now that she needs to be punished. Said we canallhave a go at her so she knows how good it is to be Gino’s property.” He grins as Nick moves behind me and shoves his .45 between my shoulder blades. “The bitch needs to be taught a lesson in gratitude and we have a lot of guys willing to help make sure she doesn’t forget it.”
He is a fucking dead man.
But still, I keep silent as they lead me to the front steps of the rundown church, pushing open the wooden doors that are hanging by the hinges, and the second I look down the aisle toward the pulpit, my heart breaks and a new level of rage floods my veins.
There, in the center of the raised platform, hogtied, crying, dirty, and soiled, is James.
My son.
“F-Fin-n?” He sniffles as those terrified blue eyes land on me. “F-Fin!”
They are all dead.
“Hey, buddy.” My voice cracks as the two goons stop me just before the stairs leading up to the platform, walking around to either side of it, guns still pointed at me. “Are you hurt?”
James shakes his head as a level of fierceness starts to creep into his expression. “No. Yous cames for me?”
I nod. “I did, bud. I came just—”
“Just like yous promised.”
“Yeah, just like I promised.”
“How sweet.” A figure emerges from the shadows behind the pulpit, rounds it then crouches down next to my boy. “A little reunion between the bastard fucking my wife and herpreciousspawn that ruined her pussy.”
Wife. Ha.
Gino never married Tate, I doubt he ever planned to, and using that term with me means jack shit.
Especially looking at him now in the flesh and seeing him for the piece of garbage he truly is.
Olive skin, small stature. Dark black hair slicked to the side, bright blue eyes that are shrewd and calculating. Decently, deceptively good-looking; a charmer who gives off dangerous vibes. Vibes that keep shit in perspective.
In any other situation I’d be insecure and jealous as fuck knowing this was the guy Tate was with before me, but I’m not. The only thing I feel toward this motherfucker is unfiltered hate. Hate for accepting my dark angel as a gift. Hate for abusing her and terrifying her for years. Hate for treating James the same way and not giving one shit about either of them the entire time he had them. I hate this bastard for everything he’s done to both of them and he is going to pay for all of it.
Gino Valetti is going to pay with his life today, and he has no fucking idea.
“Let him go.” My tone is as even as I can make it but that’s not saying much since I still sound like a ticking time bomb ready to go off at any second. “Just let the boy go, Valetti.”
The smarmy fuck grins as he pulls a gun from the back of his slacks and casually points it at James. “I think not,amico.Bella won’t come if it’s only a piece of shit drug addict waiting for her.”
James whimpers as Valetti presses the muzzle of the gun to his head and on instinct, I move forward, only to have Nick fire a shot into the floor right in front of me. “Stay put, asshole.”
I lift my hands again and nod, my gaze focused on my boy.Everything is going to be ok, James. I promise. I’m going to get you out of here and everything is going to be ok.
His blue eyes search mine while tears stream down his face, and I can practically see the second he understands what I so desperately want to say to him. James knows I’m going to get him out of here one way or another, and his faith in me, the obvious love he has for me, it fucking guts me. This little boy views me as his hero, the slayer of boogeymen, and once I save him from this hell on earth, I’m going to break his heart when I walk out of his life.
It has to be done, though.
I have to walk away because this is all my fault and James—James and Tate—deserve so much better than this.
I just have to slay the boogeyman terrorizing their lives first.
“You need to let him go, Valetti. The boy has nothing to do with this.”
