21. Never Succumb
CHAPTER 21
NEVER SUCCUMB
J ia
Oh, this is bad. So bad. Damn it, Jia, get a hold of yourself. So Marco Rossi can kiss? So my body is a traitorous little bitch? It doesn’t mean anything. I reach the front door of the old electronics store and draw in a deep breath to still the pounding of my heart. I’m just winded from the sprint up the street. It has nothing to do with Marco’s tongue or his ridiculously hard erection pressed against me.
Because what would that say about me? That I was actually attracted to my fiancé? No way in hell. It’s simply been so long since a man has touched me… And let’s be honest, I haven’t gone past second base since college.
It’s just out of control hormones.
Wrapping my hand around the rusty door handle, I bury the heated thoughts and focus on why we’re here today. I catch a glimpse of my reflection in the dingy glass door and mutter a curse. If I hadn’t been so worried about my fiancé leaving me behind, I would have changed into something more appropriate than an oversized long-sleeved shirt and yoga pants.
Marco’s musky scent reaches my sensitive nostrils an instant before his hand wraps around mine, and he jerks the front door open. “Let me go first, spitfire.”
“I don’t think so.” I tug my hand out from under his and dart in front of him. Too bad I have no idea where I’m going as I march through the dusty relics of the past. Radios, CD players, and a dozen outdated VHS systems line the rickety shelves of the abandoned shop.
A muffled grunt catches my attention, and I quicken my steps to the back of the store. A door is ajar, and a stifled male voice seeps through the crack. Barreling through the door, I find Lei, already bloody and beaten, shackled to a chair in some sort of abandoned stockroom. Dozens of tiny cuts litter his pale chest and his shirt lies in a pool of blood on the floor. His weary eyes lift to mine, and he mumbles something, but with the gag across his mouth I can’t make out a word.
“Let him speak,” I bark.
Marco looms behind me, his dark presence blanketing me in a burgeoning strength I didn’t expect. A man slips out of the shadows, ink tattooed across every inch of exposed flesh, and his eyes raise over my shoulder to the big Italian behind me.
“Do it, Jimmy,” Marco mutters.
The male’s lips twist in disapproval, but he moves behind Lei all the same and begins to loosen the gag. The ring of black fabric falls around his throat like a necklace—or maybe more accurately, a noose.
“I did not do this, lǎodà, I swear to you!” A trickle of blood drips from the corner of his lip.
“That’s what he’s been saying since I grabbed him.” This Jimmy guy shrugs and circles Lei. Beside the chair sits a small table covered in tools of our dark trade. Growing up in a household where torture was commonplace, I don’t balk at the weapons. Each blade is spotted in droplets of dried crimson, including the brass knuckles my fiancé is currently eyeing.
Marco reaches for the glinting metal and slides them over his fingers. “Let’s see if I can’t get a different response out of him.” His gaze slants to mine, and I nod. Though I’ve heard the effects of torture, been subjected to the screams ricocheting around my home since I was a child, I’ve never witnessed it in person.
A strange tangle of dread and excitement whips around my insides as Marco inches toward Lei.
“Should I gag him again, boss?” Jimmy’s shifty eyes lift from his bruised knuckles.
“No,” I interject. “I want to hear him.”
“ Lǎodà, please, I beg of you, I am one of your own. The blood of the Four Seas runs through my veins, much like yours. Do not allow this stranger to disrespect what your grandfather built.”
I squeeze my eyes closed and slowly shake my head. “Do it, Marco,” I hiss.
The crack of bone against flesh snaps my eyes open. Lei’s head hangs back, a bloodied gash across his cheek. Marco pulls his arm back and swings again. Blood spurts across his dark shirt, soaking the material as he makes contact, splitting Lei’s lip.
Marco creeps closer, his broad form towering over my brother’s best friend. “Now, tell us again, Lei, did you send that man to Jia’s home?” he growls.
“No…” He spits and blood coats the grimy tile floor. “I already told you.”
“I don’t believe you,” Marco snarls before he lets his fist loose again. Bones crack and a sharp cry bursts from Lei’s lips. There’s no doubt in my mind that my fiancé has broken his nose.
“Why would I want to kill you, Jia?” Lei’s unfocused gaze meets mine. “I’ve wanted you since we were children. ”
My head snaps back as if his words had delivered a punch.
“Why do you think I requested a change in the rules? I only wanted to be with you.”
“Then why did you send those men to break into my boutique?” The question erupts before I can stop it. It was as if he knew exactly how to get to me and what would hurt the most.
“I only wanted to scare you, so that you’d make the right decision.”
“You wanted to frighten me into submission?” Anger curls my fists at my sides, and I’m seconds away from punching the asshole myself. “That’s the problem with men like you, Lei, you think you can get what you want by bullying others. I will never succumb to you, to any male.”
A wry grin curls his lip, and already, I regret that slip of the tongue. “Like your fiancé?” His eyes lock on Marco’s, and he spits again. If the Italian mob boss wasn’t so quick on his feet, the smattering of blood and saliva would’ve landed on his shiny loafers.
Marco’s hand snakes out and wraps around Lei’s throat. “Watch your mouth, coglione . The only reason you are still alive is because my fiancée wishes it.”
A harsh laugh bubbles from Lei’s mouth, and more crimson-coated spit dribbles out. “You seriously believe he will allow you to rule the Four Seas?”
“Yes,” I grit out.
“Then perhaps you are not as wise as your grandfather believes.”
Rage simmers through my veins, and darkness creeps into the corners of my soul.
“You will spend the rest of your life as a pawn for the Italian mafia, and you will take all of us down with you. You will never be the true lǎodà, but rather only a female to warm the bed of a powerful man. That is your destiny, Jia, nothing more. ”
That fury rolls through me, the thundering of my heart like a war drum in my ears. My hand moves of its own accord, reaching for the knife on the side table. I bury the blade into Lei’s chest before I take another breath. I twist and stare into eyes wider than the sun. A sun fully eclipsed by the blood of the dragon.
“Holy shit,” Jimmy hisses.
Screams and shouts resound across the room, but they blur into the distance, as if underwater. That familiar, warm presence surrounds me, and I’m vaguely aware my fingers are being pried off the knife.
“Come on, Jia, let go. I’ve got you.” That voice is so soft, so soothing I’m certain it cannot possibly come from the rowdy Italian. But then that pungent bergamot and cedarwood scent reaches my nostrils and slowly my fingers uncurl from the hilt.
Marco stands in front of me, blocking my view of Lei. Based on the shrieks alone, I guess Jimmy is trying to get the blade out. Good luck. I sunk it in right between his ribs, a spot that would prove lethal in no time if left unattended.
“I think you’ve seen enough for today.” Marco laces a strong arm around my shoulders and tucks me into his firm side. I don’t fight it, the anger dissipating along with the rush of adrenaline.
I allow my fiancé to lead me through the shop as Lei’s screams echo all around us.
“Max will get you home, and I’ll be back shortly, as soon as I settle this with Lei.” His gaze dips to mine, and the fury reflected in those mismatched eyes mirrors my own. “I’ll make him pay, Jia. No one disrespects my fiancée and lives beyond the day.”
“No…” I mutter, my head slowly moving from side to side. “I don’t want him dead. Not yet. I want him to witness how wrong he is. He needs to see that I will never bow down to any man.” I squirm free of Marco’s hold and narrow my eyes. “I do not belong to you, and I never will. Are we clear? ”
His chin slowly drops to his chest. Then he takes a step toward me, pinning me against the shelf of antique electronics. It wobbles beneath our combined weight, but somehow holds steady. “I respect your desire to rule over these men, and I will stand by your side and provide whatever assistance I can. But it is not in my nature to stand by and do nothing when something or someone I value is threatened. And as my future wife, you will become of great value to me. Maybe you cannot accept that now, but one day, you will.” That heated gaze bores into me, a tempest of unreadable emotions swirling below the surface. We remain like that for an endless moment before he spins away and stalks back into the stockroom.