Grabbing the bottle of vodka and the orange juice from the row of bar fridges below, I get to work pouring my drink, and all too soon, his game of cat and mouse begins.
Hiding the grin that stretches across my face, I watch out of the corner of my eye as James slowly stalks me, moving across the room in a way that he thinks he’ll be able to get the jump on me, completely unaware of the fact that I’m drawing him out and that he’s the one currently being stalked.
Turning around, I push the bottle of vodka back onto its high shelf and as I do, I catch Levi across the room. He doesn’t look happy about the situation, but it’s a little too late to change the plan. He watches me with a hard stare, his eyes focused heavily on mine, but I know he’s also watching James slowly moving toward me. Levi won’t let anything happen to me.
Holding his stare a moment longer, I wait, knowing James won’t be able to resist jumping at me now that my back is turned. That’s just what men like him do. They attack women when they’re most vulnerable and not in a position to fight back, just as he did to Jasmine. He kidnapped her for weeks and she endured the worst kind of abuse at his hands, and because of that, he will not walk out of this castle alive. This sorry fucker has got another thing coming.
Levi nods and just as he mouths the word, “now,” I spin around, and drop down low, narrowly avoiding James’ arms as they swing toward me. Without skipping a beat, I kick my heel out with a powerful strike to his balls just as the boys taught me, only the momentum from his missed swing has him falling forward and my heel connecting with his guts instead.
It doesn’t quite have the effect that I was hoping for, but it’s enough to bring him down with a pained groan, if only for the quick second I need to get the upper hand.
The unexpected blow has him winded, and I take my chance, stepping into him and grabbing his head. Without a second of hesitation, I slam my knee up as hard as I can, crushing his skull into it. It kills my knee, and I know that I’ll pay for it later, but damn it, the way his nose shatters under my knee is worth every second of pain.
Blood spurts like a tap as he roars in agony, only just realizing what a horrible mistake he’s made by stepping into this castle. Obviously, he doesn’t know who he’s dealing with here. If he did, the mere thought of breaking into this property would have him crippled with fear.
Giving him a hard shove, James falls right to the ground. I step into him, my white sneaker pressing against his junk as he stares up at me with heavy regret in his eyes.
The boys peel out of the shadowed corners of the room, surrounding us from all angles, and as a wicked grin stretches across my face, I allow the power to sweep through my bones. “And so, we meet again.”
12
Marcus glares at me across the open space of their underground playground as James hangs from chains behind us. I can’t help but return his stare and arch my brow in irritation. “Seriously?” I snap. “Get the fuck over it. This is my game. He’s here because I brought Jasmine here, so it’s only fair that I get to handle it my way.”
Marcus’ eyes narrow and Levi takes a step back, wanting nothing to do with it as Roman leans against a table, looking bored. “I told you no,” Marcus says.
“I heard your ‘no’ loud and clear and decided that you can go and fuck yourself with a machete,” I say, looking up at him with big, round, innocent eyes, reminding him that while I am sugary sweet, I’m also as sour as they come. I’m not one he wants to cross when I’m fifty shades of pissed off. “I’m your equal, remember. Or have you forgotten? I’m not your little bitch to push around, not anymore.”
Marcus scoffs and runs his hands through his hair as his frustration gets the best of him. He turns his back as anger crashes through him like a tsunami, then after a slow deep breath, he turns and steps into me, gripping my chin and forcing my stare to his. “You think that is what this is about? That I just want to flex my control over you? That I want to whip out my fucking dick and watch the way you drop to your knees like a good little girl that knows her place?” he spits, his dark eyes blazing with fury. “Fucking hell, Shayne. Don’t you think I’ve learned anything over the past few months? I didn’t want you putting yourself in that position because every fucking time you step out of our grasps, I’m terrified that I’m going to fucking lose you. I don’t want you to do it because I don’t want you to get hurt. I’m not trying to control you, babe. I want to fucking live for you.”
I suck in a breath as he tears away from me, his emotions too much for him to bear let alone take in myself. Stepping straight back into him, I take his hands before they start tearing out his hair and thread his fingers through mine. “I’m fine,” I murmur. “I knew what I was doing, and I knew that with you and your brothers in the room, I was safe. You wouldn’t have let anything happen to me, and Roman sure as fuck wouldn’t have allowed me to slip out of his hold if he didn’t approve.”
“Because Roman is a fucking idiot,” Marcus scoffs before dropping his gaze over my body and pulling his hand from mine. His fingertips brush along the many scars marring my flesh. “Yeah,” he mutters. “You’re real fucking safe with us.”
Anger blasts through me and I grip his chin in a bruising hold that he seems to revel in, loving any form of punishment any way he can get it. “Don’t you dare,” I spit at him, hating how he doubts himself. “Every single one of these scars were out of your control, and you’ve done everything you can to get vengeance for every fucking one of them. Now cut your bullshit and man the fuck up. I did what I did, and now it’s time to see it through.”
His eyes blaze as I hear Levi choke on his own fucking spit and smother a laugh. I don’t doubt that these boys have never been spoken to like that in their lives, apart from the horrendous way their father has always treated them, but that doesn’t count. They simply don’t allow people to get away with this shit, and the fact that I can, fills my veins with a venomous type of power, one that no woman should be entitled to.
Marcus holds my stare for a moment longer, a challenge clear in his eyes, but I know he sees the one reflected in mine, and really, he’s not mad at me. Sure, he’s got his feathers ruffled, but he’s really mad at himself. He hates how much he cares for me. Hates that the idea of me getting hurt makes him lose his mind. But what he hates most is the feeling of powerlessness, the feeling of not being able to turn it off, of not being able to push me away like he’s always been taught. His heart won’t allow him to.
“This conversation isn’t over,” he tells me.
My lips pull into a smirk as I push up onto my tippy toes and brush my lips over his, earning myself a roll of Roman’s dark eyes. “It’s more than over,” I tell him. “Now let’s go have some fun. Don’t you think we deserve it?”
His eyes soften as the excitement begins to build deep within him. “Alright, let’s go.”
Hook. Line. And freaking sinker.
Roman pushes off the table as Marcus steps out of my personal space and turns toward the dangling man behind us. “You know what you’re doing?” Levi questions, stepping in beside me as we make our way toward the grunting man.
I shake my head, my lips twisting with unease. “No,” I tell them truthfully, the fact that I’m way out of my league is messing with my head. “I figured we were just going to … kill him.”
“We will,” Roman says, his piercing eyes focused heavily on James as his nose continues to drip from its recent break. “But first he needs to answer some questions.”
My brows furrow. Questions? What kind of questions could they possibly ask him? We already know everything there is to know. He wanted Jasmine and has clearly tracked her movement back here and wants revenge for it.
We step up in front of him and the guy spits a mouthful of blood at me as he pulls against the heavy chains keeping him bound. My lips twist in disgust as his spit drops with a wet splash at my feet, and damn it, the fury that ripples through Marcus is almost comical.
I expect Marcus to take the lead, but Roman steps up, moves out in front of us and puts himself at James’ side so as to not block our view. “What are you doing in our home?” Roman asks him, his deadly warning to not fuck with us sending chills down my spine.