Chapter 32
BEASTY
As the club erupted into chaos, Gio and Adrian sat still, comfortably even.
For the first time since they took me, they seemed at peace.
That scared me.
"You know you're not getting out of here alive?" It was a stupid question. It also put the very real possibility in their heads, one I should have kept to myself. Who knew what would throw these men off the deep end.
Adrian shrugged as he squinted at me. There was no emotion on his face. "What do we have to live for?"
Gio ground his teeth together, the noise hurting my ears.
"Yourselves." It was a cop out answer but it was the best I had. Suicidal men were more dangerous than men who had a purpose.
"There was a moment when I thought, if we could take over the mafia—my birthright—Storm's death wouldn't be in vain. But that's not going to happen. You know how I know that?" Gio blinked, hiding away some of his pain as he kept his ear turned toward the door.
"How?" I was afraid to hear the answer. It wouldn't be good for me no matter how I tried to slice it.
"I looked those men in the eye this morning. All those cowards." He bared his teeth. "And I thought, what was I really doing this for? It was pointless. I don't want to lead those dumbasses. I wanted to kill them. To see them suffer. And we did take out a good chunk."
I licked my lips, trying not to remember that bloodbath. "But you don't want to take out the rest? You're happy to die here?"
"Happy? No. I'd love nothing more than to wipe them off the face of the earth, but I'd be even happier to get rid of the Fashion Boys...And you." Gio settled further down in his seat.
I didn't have anything to say to that. I moved my fingers over the black covering on the stage, thinking as hard as I could and coming up with nothing.
Doors banged close by.
We all faced the door, and I got up on my knees.
"Uh-uh," Adrian called. "Sit your ass back down."
Pressing my fingertips into the stage, I waited for the moment I could launch myself off the edge.
Guy roused, groaning and trying to lift his head. My heart jumped into overdrive. I didn’t think he would be able to help, but he wasn’t dead.
The fighting got closer, and Adrian and Gio leaned forward, a buzz of anticipation around them.
My mouth went dry.
The door burst open, slamming against the wall behind it. Kim charged in first, followed by Lake, then Atlas and Joaquin behind him. All the boys were panting, strung tight, and heading straight for me.
Until Gio stood and pointed his rifle right at me.
The boys trained their guns on Gio, but he only laughed like a maniac.
"If you think you can shoot me before I shoot Cressida, you're sorely mistaken."
Don’t give him what he wants, I begged inside my head.
Not batting an eye, Lake held up one hand as he bent down, laying his gun on the floor.
The others followed suit as Adrian walked over to the other side of the stage. "Your other weapons too. Kick them up front."
"No," I said. It wasn't a shout. It was a plea. Don't throw away your only way to save us.
They didn't listen. The sound of metal skating along the hardfloor killed my hope. It was their power they sent away. I knew how bad they didn't want to be powerless.
"Let Beasty go," Lake said, edging closer.
"If you take one more step, Cressida dances." Gio grinned.
They froze.
What the hell did that mean! Dance?
"Good, now, I don't care for villain monologues. I'm just going to get down to it. Get down on your knees, and lock your hands behind your back." Gio shook his weapon at me in threat. A very effective one.
Every single one of my boys dropped to their knees.
Red stole over my vision.
"Now. Which one of you will die first?" Gio didn't care for monologues, but I'd already gotten everything that mattered out of him. He didn't expect to leave here alive, and he damn sure wasn't going to let them go.
Knowing that, there was only one thing to do.
Create a distraction.
I launched to my feet, and Adrian fired his gun. The bullet lodged into the platform two feet behind me.
I jumped. Then as if Gio wanted to make me suffer he shot too. In a steady barrage of fire, I hopped to the right, then left, ears ringing, toes numb.
Oh shit, I was dancing, just like they wanted. Gio and Adrian’s gazes were trained on me, no satisfaction in their faces.
At the worst time, I had the realization that these two men weren't evil. Not like Gates or even the Pescis. They were hurting, and this was their way to take down everyone they blamed because they couldn’t blame themselves.
"Uh-uh!" Gio grabbed another weapon off his waist, aiming at Kim who had slid to the front, reaching for one of the discarded guns.
The bullets stopped. Everyone held their breath.
I met Kim's eyes, and my breath caught. The man who was America's sweetheart was gone. He might as well have been an avenging angel for all the darkness in his eyes as he peered at Adrian under his lashes.
"Let me take her place. I brought her to the Hot Spot to meet you. I talked her out of helping you over and over again. Let her go, and let me take her place." Kim took a slow step forward, raising both arms like he was no threat.
"No!" They weren't trying to hurt me, not really. That wouldn't be the case for Kim.
"Lake! Don't let him do this!" I shouted, but Lake wouldn't meet my stare as he glared at Gio with his lips clamped shut. They had rushed the stage too, but they weren’t close to their weapons like Kim.
"Atlas. Joaquin." They met my gaze, but there was no understanding.
All four of them would rather die than take another second of watching Gio and Adrian play with me.
I couldn’t—I couldn’t breathe and I certainly couldn’t watch their deaths.
"Get up here then. Any wrong moves and you're dead. But only after Cressida." Gio checked the time. "We have to get this show on the road anyway. With you four here, I'm sure you've called in reinforcements who’ll be banging the place down at any second."
Kim placed his hands on the edge of the stage and hoisted himself up. He mouthed I love you, and damn it, he was going to make me cry.
"Please," I begged Kim. I didn't even know what I was begging for. To not taunt them. To not place his life above mine.
There were a million things I wanted him not to do.
He grabbed my shoulders and cradled me to his chest. "I love you so fucking much," he whispered against my temple, squeezing me to him. “You’re branded inside the very fabric of my being.”
Gently rocking me from side to side, Kim created a small bubble of comfort. It couldn't last, I knew it wouldn't, but that didn't prepare me for the explosion of metal or for him to sling me toward the boys.
I screamed as Kim bellowed. Somehow, Atlas leapt forward, catching me in his arms so that my head didn't slam against the concrete floor.
Shots were fired from both Gio and Adrian, and from the floor. Lake and Joaquin had other guns?
Gio yelped as Adrian grunted.
Lake launched himself over us, and Joaquin hoisted himself up next to him.
Kim was already on Adrian as Lake and Joaquin tackled a hunched over Gio.
I tried to race back to the stage, but Atlas picked me up, turning his body so he shielded my view of the violence.
"Let me go!" I fought against him, but he had my arms tucked against my sides. "I need to see them, Atlas! I need to fucking see them!"
He turned just enough while moving toward the door. "I'm not letting you up there, Beasty. And I'm damn sure not going to let them get a clean shot at you."
Over his arm, I caught a glimpse of the carnage. A bloody Kim had Adrian by the collar, slamming him against the ground, punching his face, then slamming him again. There was nothing of the sweet, shy Kim left, only rage as he beat an unconscious Adrian.
Joaquin had Gio's arms locked behind his back as Lake pummeled his fists against his face, chest, and stomach. Blood bloomed on Gio’s arm and hip.
Despite the agony he had to feel, he grinned like he expected this, but his deranged amusement didn't last. Soon, his face twisted up in anguish, his eyes falling shut.
Behind them, Guy’s chair lay on its side as he worked against his restraints. That must have been the crash. He’d given my boys a distraction when I couldn’t.
As if pulled by a magnet, I looked back to my boys. Kim and Lake were still going, taking their anger out on Gio and Adrian’s bodies until they weren't bodies anymore.
But caved in corpses.
"They're dead," I whispered to Atlas.
"They better be," Atlas growled.
Light flooded in from the hall. I tensed in Atlas’ hold as he swung me around.
A hand holding a mirror slipped between the gap, rotating in a slow circle to see the room.
“Get behind me.” Atlas squared up against the door, waiting for whatever nasty surprise waited on the other side.
Shit, his weapons were by the stage. But it wasn’t another attack.
The door flew open as Books barreled into the room with Bishop on his heels. "What the hell, Cressida!”
He sidestepped Atlas and snatched me up in a trembling hug. “You scared the shit out of me, kid. Don’t do that ever again.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to get kidnapped.” My throat was tight and breathing through my nose was impossible.
He held me out by the shoulders as he looked me over. The fear in his eyes squeezed my chest painfully, and a sob threatened to break free. Instead, I laughed. “It’s really good to see you.”
Grunting, he pulled me back into a hug. When he released me, Bishop was there, stepping close and pushing loose strands of hair out of my face.
Atlas tried to tug me away, but she glared at him in warning. Huffing, he dropped his hands and stepped back.
"Are you okay?" she asked, holding my shoulders in a firm grip.
Bishop was safe, and so was Books.
So were we.
"No," I said, my chin wobbling as tears fell.
"Shhh. That's okay. It will be." The way she gazed at me, so fiercely, like she would personally make it all better, soothed something in my soul.
Books glanced at the stage, but quickly placed his back to the violence as his face tinted green.
"There are a bunch of dancers in the hallway standing over dead men. We should probably take care of that, Bishop. Leave those three to their..." Books waved a hand toward the stage like he was at a loss for words, but then he settled on, "therapy."
A wet snort bubbled out of me as Atlas' huffed out a laugh.
Books placed a hand on my shoulder. "It's going to be okay. Between your boys, Bishop, and me, nothing and no one is going to get this close to you again. We promise."
That was a big promise, one that could never be kept, but as I turned back, watching my boys continue to wail on what was left of Gio and Adrian, noticing how they grew taller and broader after each blow, I felt it in my gut.
Maybe the promise didn't mean we would be safe. Maybe it meant that we would fight like hell for each other no matter what.
And maybe that was what family meant.
As Kim finally stood up, shaking his hand out, and Joaquin dropped Gio to the ground as Lake wiped his hands on his pants, I finally understood.
We had something special. Something that could never be taken away.
Love.