My soft whimper was lost in my captor’s restraining hand.
“You wouldn’t last ten minutes with me, princess,” the one behind me cooed. “I’d break you far too quickly.”
My heart hammered against my ribcage, and I twisted in my captor’s grip. He easily kept my arms pinned at my sides, and his hold on my mouth silenced my cries for Max. My dark protector was so close, but he hadn’t seen me get pulled into the alley. He would’ve come to my rescue already if he’d witnessed my abduction.
I had to get free from his cousins, or I might not survive this. I had minimal instruction in self-defense—my father had insisted—and my body acted on instinct. I slammed my high heel down on the top of my captor’s foot, putting as much power behind the blow as I could muster in my restrained position. The one at my back howled in pain, and his hold on my mouth faltered. I wrenched my head to the side and screamed for Max.
I’d barely released his name when the monster in front of me slapped me with shocking force, cutting off my cry. Fire lashed my cheek, and my brain bounced against my skull. My knees gave out, and the one behind me locked his arm tighter around my middle as his other hand firmed around my mouth once again.
The beast in front of me bit out a curse, and a sharp click echoed through the alley, followed by a flash of silver. He lifted the blade to my throat, and all my muscles locked up tight, my body going utterly still. If I so much as drew a deep breath, the knife would nick my skin. And it was so close to my vulnerable artery. I could feel the hot blood pumping through my veins, far too close to the cold steel at my throat.
“We didn’t even get to play with you yet,” he growled, his eyes flashing with irritation. “I can hear my cousin running to come save you, princess. We’ll have to finish this later.”
“Get away from her.” Max’s savage snarl reverberated through the alley, but he skidded to a stop several feet away from us, his dark eyes fixating on the blade at my throat. “If you hurt her, I will fucking kill you. Both of you.”
Ice skittered down my spine at the ring of truth in his warning. I’d never believed Max when he’d told me how dangerous he was. But now that his sharp features were almost feral with suppressed rage, his massive body vibrating with barely leashed violence, I could see that he meant every menacing word.
“Put the knife away, John. I’ll let you and Paulie walk out of here without breaking any of your bones.”
Cold crept over my limbs, encasing me in ice. There were three monsters in this alley with me, all lethal and terrible in their own way.
But the cruel men who’d captured me were far more monstrous than Max. He wasn’t a threat to me, but they still held me captive with a knife at my throat.
Slowly, the blade lowered, scraping an icy trail downward. The sharp steel hooked behind the top button of my blouse, and a casual flick of John’s hand snapped the delicate thread that held it in place. The fabric parted a few inches. Even though he’d bared no more than my collarbones, I felt stripped and horribly exposed.
“You weren’t supposed to come back to your pretty princess,” he mocked Max. “Your father told you what would happen to her if you did.”
Max’s fists flexed at his sides, but he remained rooted to the spot, his eyes flashing as they followed the knife that threatened me.
“My father didn’t order this,” he seethed, his chest rising and falling on heaving breaths, as though he was struggling against an insurmountable weight. “She’s Ron Fitzgerald’s daughter. My dad isn’t stupid enough to allow you to brutalize her.”
The man holding me—Paulie—tensed, but John wasn’t deterred. He flicked his knife again, and another button popped free. The soft pinging sound of it hitting the asphalt was completely obliterated by Max’s furious growl.
“Give her back to me, or you’re dead.”
“We’ll let her go if you swear to keep this little meeting a secret from your old man,” Paulie said. “You’re right. He didn’t directly order this, but we decided to give you a warning, cousin. You should be thanking us for the reminder of where your loyalty should lay. Unless you want to end up as an errand boy, you’ll leave this bitch alone.” His grip on me firmed, his iron arm hard enough to shove the air from my lungs. “I’m sure she has a tight little cunt, but no pussy is worth the humiliation of getting cut out of the family.”
“Put the fucking knife away and let her go,” Max snapped, violence rippling through his muscles.
“Fine.”
The blade withdrew from my chest, and the world spun as oxygen rushed back into my lungs. I stumbled forward and was caught by a pair of strong arms. I shrieked and tried to twist away, terror fluttering in my chest.
“I’ve got you.” Max’s scent enfolded me, and I recognized the familiar shape of his body shielding mine.
My knees shook, and I sagged against him as all the strength drained out of me. I dimly registered the heavy slap of his cousins’ boots on the pavement as they retreated. Max held me for several racing heartbeats, waiting until they were gone before he lifted me up to cradle me against his chest. I buried my face in his shoulder as a harsh sob wracked my body.
I clutched at my torn shirt, fisting the parted material to cover myself. Even though they’d only bared me to just above my breasts, I felt raw and terribly vulnerable in a way I’d only experienced once before: when Gavin had groped me. Only this was so much worse, because my life had been on the line as I endured the monsters’ sexual threats.
“I’ve got you,” Max said again, his voice rough with strain. “You’re safe now.”
Safe? Sadistic mobsters knew where I lived. They might come for me again.
I needed my dark protector more than ever. Those awful men had warned him away from me, but I couldn’t bear it if he left me alone now.
I wrapped my arms around him, holding on tight. “Stay with me,” I begged, my plea hitching on another sob.
“I will, Bambi,” he promised, brushing a kiss over my forehead. “I’m not going anywhere. They’ll never touch you again.”
The last rumbled with an echo of the dark menace that’d rolled off him in the alley. If you hurt her, I will fucking kill you. Both of you.
I didn’t want to believe that Max was capable of something so vicious, but his threats had saved me. As long as he was with me, his cruel cousins wouldn’t dare to harm me.
I clutched him to me more tightly, unwilling to put an inch of distance between us. Max would keep me safe, and that was all that mattered.
MAX
Impotent rage tightened my jaw, and echoes of helpless terror twisted my insides in knots. Seeing John’s knife at Allie’s throat had reached deep inside me and ripped up the nauseating memory of my mother’s murder. For a few horrifying minutes, it’d happened again: I’d failed to protect Allie, just like I’d failed my mom all those years ago.
Feeling her warm breath against my skin as she sobbed into my neck was an awful miracle. She was alive. She was shaking and crying in my arms, but she was still with me.
I dropped down onto her couch just as my trembling knees gave out, keeping her cradled close to my chest. I couldn’t put so much as an inch of space between us. Even if her ragged cries tore at my heart like a serrated blade, I couldn’t let her go.