11. Chapter Ten
Chapter Ten
Giana
“ A re you sure this is it?”
My throat tightened as I glanced across the dilapidated parking lot, long weeds peeking up through the large cracks in the asphalt. Dirt coated the windows, but it appeared that someone had attempted to clean them, judging by the streaky circles rubbed into the grime. Thankfully, the poor attempt at cleaning allowed for a blurry line of sight into the restaurant.
Despite the disrepair the diner had fallen into, there were usually a few cars in the parking lot, since it was still one of the only places to get a quick meal. But, tonight, there was only a single car parked beneath the overgrown trees we were now hidden among, the burned-out lights in the parking lot helping to keep our forms shrouded in shadows.
“I’m sure,” Spade whispered. A shiver slithered up my spine as his breath caressed the shell of my ear, a mix of desire and anticipation swirling in my chest. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pointed to one of the farthest windows.
Sure enough, silhouettes of two men huddled over either side of the table, their features hidden beneath the thick layers of dirt on the building, yet the hulking figure of one of the men looked familiar. Recognition clanged through me. It was the bulky guard who had stopped me in the airport—the surviving one, at least.
Chewing at my bottom lip, I tried to push away the anxiety clawing at my insides. If it had been anywhere but here, I would’ve been vibrating with excitement at the chance to slam my bat into the fucker’s head, delivering each cathartic hit like I’d unleashed on his counterpart a few weeks ago. But this place had memories swimming just below the surface, threatening to pull me into their depths.
“Do you know why they’re here?” I asked hesitantly, trying to catch a glimpse of either Pam or Greg.
“No idea.” Spade shrugged, his calmness only adding to my unease. “I’m assuming they got hungry while doing Tommaso’s dirty work for him.”
“Spade . . .” I trailed off, my lips contorting into a grimace.
Why did I still feel anything for these people? Kellan had said that they had guys watching the diner, and that was enough for me, but I couldn’t help the small part of me that wanted to rush in there . . . and do what?
“I know, sugar.” His fingers threaded through my hair, drawing my gaze to meet his. Electricity flashed in his violet eyes, a burgeoning storm ready to decimate anything in its path. “I know that this is your parent’s diner, and trust me, it’s taking everything in me not to go in there and kill them, too, but I know you’re not ready for that.”
I sucked in a sharp breath at the vehemence written across his face. I knew he would too. He would kill anyone who’d ever hurt me, if I asked him to, and he’d never look back.
“I don’t want to kill them.” A weight lifted off my chest at the admission.
Spade’s head tilted, like a wild animal prevented from hunting its prey. “Why?”
I sighed, glancing back to the diner as Pam’s silhouette strode from the kitchen to the booth with the two killers seated at it, her hands laden with plates of food. “Because I can put what they did aside. I can set the boundary that I don’t want them in my life anymore without killing them.”
Spade frowned, the simple statement seeming to crack his worldview.
“Hey.” I spun to face him, my hands cupping his face to force his gaze on me. “What I choose has nothing to do with you or what you endured.”
His expression shuttered, assuring me I had hit the nail on the head.
Spade hadn’t told me the story of his own escape, yet, and I hadn’t pushed. I still wouldn’t, not until he was ready to peel back that layer.
His jaw tensed, fury flashing in his violet orbs when they opened again, radiating a bone-chilling ferocity that could tear cities apart. “You’re right, they didn’t deserve my mercy, just like yours don’t—but that’s your decision to make.”
I nodded, silently waiting for the rage to ebb from the rigid lines of his muscles. He scanned my face, searching for something, until his eyes snagged on my mouth, the fire quickly turning into molten lust as his hands slid around my waist and his lips lowered to mine.
Electricity shot through me, lighting up my body. The kiss was all consuming; I couldn’t breathe until he devoured me whole. But his tension slowly faded with each caress of our tongues, proving I was the salve he needed to regain his sanity, his composure.
The hard glide of his piercing stroked against my tongue, only adding to the desire coursing through my veins as I remembered just how skillful he was in other places.
Heat scorched a line straight to my core, and I barely resisted the urge to climb him like a tree, the cool breeze whistling through the trees the only grip I still had on reality, the only reminder of how close we were to our prey.
The clatter and smash of ceramic broke through the haze of lust swirling around my mind, and we reluctantly broke away, hands reaching for our guns on instinct. The sound hadn’t been outside, though. No, it was from the wildly swinging arms of the bulky guard. I could only assume he’d thrown at least one of the plates, the sound echoing through the thin walls.
“Yet another reason to add to the list of why I can’t wait to watch you kill that asshole,” Spade said with a groan, nipping at my bottom lip.
Clutching him tighter, I couldn’t help the whimper that slipped out at the slice of pain mixed with pleasure. If I hadn’t been so dead set on killing these guys, I would’ve dragged him back to the car to finish what he’d started.
“You know you can talk to me, right?” I almost regretted the words as Spade’s face fell, some of that anger seeping back into his expression.
But as he exhaled, it faded, his violet eyes glittering with mischief once more. “I know, sugar. I will, I promise. I’ve just never had someone as sweet as you in my life. I don’t want the darkness to scare you away when I tell you the truth.”
A giggle slipped from my lips, and I shook my head. Spade’s darkness called to me, sang to me like a siren’s call. There was darkness in me, different, but the same in so many ways. “Nothing about you could ever scare me away.”
Any of the tension I’d felt at the sight of the diner fled as Spade grinned, his own apprehensions chased away at my reassurance. The guys were my home now, not this place, not the people within it. I didn’t owe them anything more than what we were already doing for them.
Guilt released its venomous claws on my stomach as I relaxed into his embrace.
“The masochist in me might like to put that to the test.” His hand ran a soothing line up under my leather jacket and up my back, sending a shiver of desire trailing after it.
What he said should scare me, but a thrill of excitement rushed through me instead. Because, for some reason, I had a feeling Spade would test me in the best ways. “Don’t tease me.”
Feral delight glinted in Spade’s eyes as he grinned, his gaze running over my cleavage like he was seconds away from tearing off my jacket and crop top and lifting my white pleated skirt to take me over the hood of his car. I bit down on my bottom lip, hoping the slice of pain might help me regain my focus, but it only sent a renewed current of lust straight to my core.
“Sugar, you’re really testing my limits.” Spade groaned and reluctantly stepped back, putting some much-needed space between us. A shiver of disappointment crawled up my spine, a bereft feeling panging through my chest at the loss of his comforting hand.
“Don’t give me that look.” Spade cocked an eyebrow, excitement still lighting his violet eyes. “I’ll be forced to bite that lip if you keep sticking it out for me.”
I hadn’t even realized I’d been pouting until he pointed it out. “Maybe that’s what I want.”
“You are the devil, aren’t you?” He chuckled, shaking his head, then wrapped an arm around my shoulder, turning so we could get a better view of the diner.
Pam was cowering behind the front counter, and Greg, of course, was nowhere to be found as the guards picked up every piece of furniture that hadn’t been bolted down and threw it at the walls, booths, and the windows. Surprisingly, none of the windows had broken yet, but it was only a matter of time as the burly guard from the airport hoisted a chair over his head and marched toward a windowpane.
I gritted my teeth as the metal legs smashed into the glass, sending shards careening into the parking lot. Pam’s shriek carried on the night air before she clamped a hand over her mouth, cutting the sound off abruptly, seeming to just remember they could do a lot worse to her.
“The Barones are the ones in charge,” the guard rumbled, mirth lacing his gravelly tone as he stalked toward her. “It would do you well to remember that before you try to serve one of his top men an undercooked burger.”
“Seriously?” Spade snorted, keeping his voice low. “What would he have done if it was chicken?”
My lips twitched, as I tried my best to hold back my laughter, and elbowed Spade softly for breaking my focus.
“I-I’m s-sorry,” Pam stuttered and ducked as the other man tossed a glass bottle of ketchup in her direction. The chime of it shattering rang through the parking lot, the bottle leaving a smattering of red over the wall and her grey-blonde hair.
If I hadn’t seen the bottle break myself, I’d mistake it for blood in the dim lighting.
“Please,” she whimpered, and still, Greg was silent as he hid from the men who could snap his wife’s neck like a twig.
Sorry and please were two words I’d never heard leave this woman’s lips, and yet, here she was. The woman who thought she could raise a hand to me, cowering and blubbering on the floor before two men I would kill in a few minutes.
In that moment, I realized something. I wanted her to see, to watch me take their lives—to truly witness what I could do now, and truthfully, what I could’ve done all along.
They were worlds beneath me, and with this final tether to my former life being snipped, I would show them just how true that was.
“Just wait until Angelo hears about this.” The burly guard scoffed, sneering at the pathetic mess that was Pam. “He’s been waiting for an excuse to take care of you for years now.”
I readjusted my grip on my gun as he spat on the linoleum floor, sparing her a cruel grin before he turned on his heel. Glass cracked under his thick boots, his thunderous steps seeming to line up with the beats of my heart as I shifted into action. Spade placed a steadying hand on my back and nodded, lightning sparking in his eyes as the thrill of violence vibrated through him.
“So fucking pathetic.” The other guard chuckled as they stomped across the parking lot, completely unaware of what lurked just past the line of trees.
They should have had their guards up, they should have realized just how many enemies they had at their doorstep before they carelessly walked to their car, assuming they were the biggest predators in the jungle.
Despite the adrenaline coursing through my veins, my breaths remained even and silent as they approached. My pulse hammered in my ears as I waited for the perfect moment to strike.
“I can’t wait until that bitch finds out.” The airport guard snorted, rubbing a scarred hand over his mottled face. “If the dead trainer wasn’t enough to scare her back to the boss, this should do it.”
I grinned at his assumption and waited until he was at the passenger side door, his attention unfocused as he yanked on the handle, before I struck.
Spade launched into action at the same time, his gun pointed at the other guard’s head as the butt of mine went crashing across the burly one’s temple.
“Fuck,” he screamed, cradling his head in one palm and patting his side for his own gun with his other hand. I didn’t give him the chance to pull his weapon as I slammed my fist into his throat, causing a strangled gasp to escape his lips while he struggled for air.
His features slackened when he finally got a look at who his attacker was, the panic quickly turning to amusement as he took me in. Using his distraction to my advantage, I plucked his gun from its holster and tossed it to Spade, knowing he would be ready and waiting.
“It looks like ‘the bitch’ found out,” I purred, slamming my foot into the burly guard’s knee. I grinned at the loud crack that followed, his pained screams music to my ears as he fell to the ground.
“I don’t care what the boss wants.” Seething, he braced himself on his hands as he struggled and failed to climb to his feet, a string of expletives falling from his lips before he continued. “I’m going to wipe the pretty smirk right off your lips, and I’ll make your little boyfriend watch.”
“It’s little soulmate for your information.” Spade’s violet gaze danced with amusement as he locked eyes with me.
Panic surged with me when his guard moved, but Spade was quicker. A grin curled on his lips, his eyes locked with mine as he pulled the trigger, adjusting for the few feet the guard had scuttled back without even having to divide his attention.
The limp body smacking against the pavement echoed throughout the otherwise silent parking lot, the bullet having gone straight through his temple. Blood pooled on the grey, weathered pavement, along with bits of . . . things I didn’t even want to identify. The crimson liquid flowed under the car until a thin stream soaked into the burly guard’s pants.
The smug, apathetic look vanished from his face as reality set in. He was outnumbered, his friend’s lifeless body was strewn on the other side of the car, and he could easily be next.
“Now the only thing I’ll be watching is my sugar while she gets her revenge.” Spade grinned as he crossed over to my side of the car, stooping to pick up the bat I’d hidden under the car.
“Thanks, babe.” I kissed his cheek, then holstered my gun. The soft pads of my finger caressed his rough ones as I took the bat from his hands, loving the shudder that rolled through him at the simple touch.
“What are you—”
The guard’s question cut off as I spun toward him, swinging the bat up so close to his face that the gust of air whooshing past him fluffed his brown hair up. I caught it with my other hand, cradling the varnished wood like an old friend as I smiled down at him.
“I thought it was only fitting that you die the same way that your friend did.”
His eyes narrowed for a moment before realization set in.
“You—”
Thwack.
I swung the bat, the impact of the hit across his face turning his almost insult into a scream.
“Let’s think for a moment.” I hummed, hoisting the weapon for another swing. “I know you’re not good at it, but it might not be the best idea to insult the woman holding your life in her hands.”
A sickening laugh sputtered from his lips as he spat a mouthful of blood onto the pavement between us. “You have no idea what power I have. They’re going to—”
Thwack .
I grinned as my muscles bunched and released, the adrenaline and endorphins only adding to my fun.
“You’re nothing.”
I let the words hang between us, wanting him to think about just how inconsequential his life was to the people he defended with his own.
“They don’t care about you.” I laughed, pulling back the bat. “They’d gladly watch the life drain out of you if it meant keeping their empire breathing for just one day longer.”
He gritted his teeth, anger simmering in his soulless eyes before he struck. But I was ready for him. Just as he lunged forward, his hand attempting to claw at my leg, I brought the bat down on his forearm, delighting in the crunch of bone that followed.
A keening scream pierced through the night, exemplifying just how alone he was.
The town had long ago grown apathetic to the pained cries that echoed through the night—all thanks to men like him.
It was almost poetic that he would die this way.
“You think you’re any different than them, than the trainer you killed? Or the people you torment?” I shook my head, disgust roiling in my stomach as he tried to hold himself up on his battered arm before shifting all his weight onto his two uninjured limbs. “You’re just another cog in their machine, a weapon for them to wield and use as they see fit. A shield for them to cower behind, and as soon as you fall, there’ll be another warm body in your place, willing to kill in their name for the faintest glimmer of power or wealth they dangle in front of your nose like a horse with a carrot.”
“P-please,” he whimpered, but it was too late.
“You expect mercy?” I asked on a mocking laugh as I swung the bat again, the thick wood slamming into his face as his strength gave out. “Did you consider sparing anyone, helping anyone, rather than tormenting them?”
My gaze shifted to the diner, reminding myself of the delight he’d taken only moments before, of the smug grin he’d had when he announced that this attack would be the catalyst for me running back to Tommaso. He’d wanted me back in that prison, he’d taken pleasure in pushing me while I was down, laughing at me while I was at my lowest.
I took his silence as answer enough while I swung again, and again, watching as he slowly lost consciousness, as the blood sprayed on the ground, on my legs, my clothes, my face. I let it wash over me like a cleansing balm, like a reminder that I’d escaped, that I wouldn’t be forced back, and that I was finally free.
For the first time in my life, I was free.
I’d been shackled to this place for so long. To my parents, to Tommaso. But now I had three men by my side, three men who were ready and willing to ride into this war with me. They’d never stand in my way, keep me cloistered away, or on a shelf like a trophy.
They loved me for who I was, for who I’d become, and all the moments in between.
I stopped my next swing, my breaths coming in ragged pants as he lay motionless on the ground, his head misshapen by the force of the bat. Blood oozed from the splits in his skin and the dent in his skull, soaking into his clothes and mixing with his friend’s on the pavement.
How long had he been down for?
“Is it wrong to tell you how hot you look right now?” Spade murmured, lips brushing the shell of my ear as he placed his hands tenderly on my shoulders.
“To anyone else, probably.” I huffed in amusement, smiling over my shoulder at him in thanks for breaking me out of my shock. “But to me, it’s perfect.”
I knew he meant it too. Because, despite the blood coating my skin, Spade saw the wildness underneath, the darkness in my soul calling to his own.
“I cannot wait to get you out of here.” He groaned, slipping one of his hands down to the curve of my waist, sending a jolt of desire up my spine. Adrenaline was still coursing through my veins, looking for some sort of outlet. And if we weren’t right outside my parents’ diner, I would—
My gaze drifted up to the poorly lit building, somehow feeling her gaze on me the moment she’d hobbled into the doorway.
Sticky blood coated my face, my hair, my chest. So similar to the ketchup staining Pam’s face as she stared back at me. So similar at this moment, yet worlds apart.
She was coated in the result of her weakness, in her shame and misfortune. I, however, wore the smattering of blood as a badge of honor, of strength, and a refusal to bow down to any man or system.
There wasn’t gratitude or understanding in her eyes—no, there was fear, like she only just realized a wolf in sheep’s clothing stood before her, like she finally registered the true threat her daughter posed.
A grin curled on my lips as I gave her an exaggerated wave goodbye, the bat swinging back and forth in my other hand, a warning I hoped she’d heed. They were not welcome in East Haven. Neither by the Barones, nor by me. Spade wrapped a comforting arm around my shoulders, violence shining in his eyes as he waved as well before kissing my cheek.
“Lovely to meet you, Mrs. Bardot,” Spade crooned, the excitement in his tone for another reason completely. “Hope we never cross paths—for your sake, at least.”
Pam’s eyes widened as she stumbled back, a scream tearing from her lips, as though she’d just seen death incarnate in his eyes. The door closed behind her in her haste to get away, shuttering out the diner and the woman I would never see again.
“Let’s get out of here.” I grinned up at Spade. “There’s trash all over this place.”
“They’re definitely getting a one-star rating from me.” He chuckled, nudging the guard’s lifeless body with his foot. “The service is horrendous. Look, this guy is asleep on the job.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at just how ridiculous he was as he led me back into the trees and away from the shackles of my past.
“I really hope they bulldoze this place to the ground.”