Chapter 27 #2
The music stops abruptly, and the sudden silence immediately captures our attention.
The bodyguard, Mateo, goes on high alert, his massive frame swelling as he looks for an encroaching threat to his boss.
Stefano leans forward in his chair, his eyes raking over the crowd.
Adrián remains relaxed, but there’s a predatory sharpness to his gaze as he assesses the club’s patrons.
I draw Evelyn closer to me, my fingers itching for the gun that isn’t holstered to my side. It would’ve been a death sentence to come to this meeting armed.
I scan the club for potential weapons. I’ll break a bottle if it comes to that, but it would be even better if I could acquire one of the automatic rifles that the guards at the door carry.
But I have to cover Evelyn. I can’t leave her to grab a gun.
Before I finish calculating my next move to protect her, a doughy man dressed in a suit that’s too small for him drags a struggling woman onto the stage. She’s dressed in only a white lace robe, the shape of her curvy, petite body clearly visible through the thin garment.
“What is this?” I demand, glaring at Adrián.
His attention remains fixed on the spectacle onstage, his sharp eyes never wavering from the horrific scene.
The doughy man grabs the microphone from the stand, keeping his other hand around the girl’s upper arm in a vise grip.
He yanks her into the spotlight, and she stumbles into him.
He mutters something that must be a threat into her ear, because she stops struggling.
Her shoulders slump, and she wraps her arms tightly around herself.
“Gentlemen, I have something special for you tonight,” he booms into the microphone with a leer. “A virgin. Who wants to start the bidding?”
“Adrián—” Stefano begins, but the Colombian drug lord holds up his hand to silence him.
“Do you want me to handle it, boss?” Mateo asks in a low growl.
Adrián’s cold eyes bore into me. “What are you going to do about it, friend?”
He dares me to put a stop to it. I’m in his territory, and causing a brawl to save the young woman would be an insult. He isn’t going to say a word to end this disgusting spectacle.
I’d thought he operated under a code of honor similar to my own, but this sadistic piece of shit has no honor.
Only my promise to Gian and Enzo prevents me from wrapping my hands around his throat and squeezing the life out of him.
Someone shouts out a bid in pesos, and another man whistles. The girl on stage withers, her skin going ashen.
Another bid. The girl shudders, her entire body convulsing in visceral horror.
She can’t be more than twenty years old, if that.
She’s pretty enough to draw the lustful eye of the worst men in the room, her heart-shaped face soft and lovely.
She would be beautiful if it weren’t for the fact that she looks like she might vomit.
“One hundred thousand US dollars,” I call out, putting an end to the disgusting scene.
If Adrián won’t stop this, I will. I can’t kill every man in here to save her, but I can buy her freedom.
“Massimo!” Evelyn goes rigid in my arms.
“Two hundred and fifty thousand.” Adrián’s voice rings out, and everyone goes deadly silent.
His cruel, sadistic eyes remain fixed on my face, a cold challenge.
I don’t bother to hide the disdain in my own eyes. My new Colombian partner is a twisted piece of shit, and I won’t let him touch the girl.
“Five hundred thousand,” I bark, keeping my gaze steady on his.
This was between us now; the rest of the men don’t matter.
Evelyn trembles in my arms, but I can’t pause to comfort her. I know this exchange must be distressing for her, but I can’t afford to take my focus off my opponent for even a moment.
Adrián nods and offers me a sudden, shocking grin of savage approval. “She’s all yours, my friend.”
It’d been a test. He never had any intention of buying the girl. He wanted to assess my character, and I showed him the kind of man I am.
I don’t appreciate being played, and I let him read my irritation clearly on my face. He continues to smile at me, delighted at my discomfort. The man truly is a sadist.
And now I’m faced with a difficult choice: I have to claim the girl before someone else steps in, or I can stay with Evelyn.
I turn my attention to Stefano. He might be mercurial, but he’s a formidable man, and he’s spent enough time around Evelyn and me to understand how much I value her.
“Will you take Evelyn back to the house, please? I need to handle this.”
“Massimo, no.” She grips my forearm, clinging on tight.
The horror that darkens her lovely eyes makes my chest ache. I never want her to witness anything like this ever again.
“I’ll make sure she’s safe,” Stefano promises, completely sincere for once.
No matter his capacity for violence, he won’t allow any harm to come to an innocent woman like Evelyn. He approved of my choice to defend her from the very beginning. When I found her in that basement and killed his rogue men to save her, he thanked me for ending them.
The fearsome drug lord will keep my fragile little butterfly safe while I deal with this clusterfuck.
I kiss Evelyn’s chilled cheek and entrust her to his care. He steers her away from me, toward the exit.
“What will you do now?” Adrián asks, eyes sparking with curiosity.
“I’m going to find out which motherfucker put her up for auction.”
“And then?”
“I’ll make the man scream. And the bastard who announced the auction. And every piece of shit who dared to bid on her.”
Adrián nods, his cruelly handsome features twisting into a terrible grin. “Mateo and I would love to help.”
A lot of blood is about to be spilled, and I won’t deny the sadist his due.
I check the exit, catching a final flash of Evelyn’s platinum hair as she’s led away from the impending violence.
She’ll be safe back at the mansion. I’ll do whatever is necessary to hide the darkest aspects of my world from her. I regret that she witnessed the disgusting scene here tonight, but I still wouldn’t change my decision to bring her with me.
Even now, having her out of my sight irritates me like an itch beneath my skin.
“Weapon of choice?” Adrián asks smoothly.
“Knife,” I grunt in reply, distracted by thoughts of Evelyn.
“Excellent.” A blade appears in my hand.
The familiar weight is reassuring. I learned to fight with knives during my youth in Le Vele.
Guns are good, too, but a knife is more personal.
A gun puts a man down without a fight. A knife lets me feel their blood on my hands.
I don’t revel in their pain like sadistic Adrián, but there’s something honest about ending a man with a blade.
And I’ll get to watch the light leave my enemies’ eyes as I make them pay for what they’ve done to that innocent girl. I don’t get off on violence, but I relish justice. My retribution will be swift and bloody, and then I can return to my sweet Evelyn.