Page 19 of Lord of Pain
"Nice response time, gentlemen," I say approvingly. Violet and her two sisters are huddled together on the couch. She's holding both their hands so tightly that her knuckles are white, and even though one of the girls is crying and the other has her head on Violet's shoulder, she's sitting ramrod straight. Yeah, she's got her emotions in a death grip.
"What happened?" Violet asks me with remarkable calm. "Your friend Ivan here would only tell me there was a complication."
"There is," I say. "Go pack an overnight bag. You have five minutes." The two girls - Rose and Iris, that's right - both scramble to their feet, hauling ass down the hallway.
Violet stalks toward me. "You said this would be simple," she whispers in a choked voice. "You said it would be no problem."
"We had an interruption," I say.
"What does that mean?" She gets a little wrinkle between her brows that's fucking adorable but it seems like the wrong time to mention it. "An interruption?"
"Somebody shot at us when I was about to finish off Jack," I say, keeping my voice low for the benefit of her sisters. My men are pacing through the apartment and looking out windows, checking for activity on the street. "Whoever it was could have been there to finish Jack off themselves, or he may have protection that we didn't know about. What is certain is that he is planning to sell you to those country club fucks - what did you call them?"
"The Chads," she supplies.
"Your sisters, too. They're paying off his twenty-million-dollar gambling debt with the Bianchi Mafia. Oh, and they're throwing in aseniormanagement position," I say with a wry twist of my lips. "So, you can see why Jack finds this perfectly reasonable."
A slow flush blooms on her cheeks, spreading out until her entire face is red and her jaw's clenched so tightly I'm concerned she's going to shatter a molar. "That son of a bitch," she rasps. "A senior position?" Her voice pitches higher. "A senior position? He was going to sell my sisters for asenior fucking position?"
"He was what?"
One of the girls is standing by the kitchenette, clutching her overnight bag. I can't tell which one, I'm going to have to tag them or something so I can keep track. "You don't have to worry about that, uh, Iris?"
She shakes her head "I'm Rose."
"I'm taking the three of you somewhere safe," I say. Her eyes dart to my hand and I realize I've been holding my Glock this entire time. I holster it, feeling like a dick.
"Sloppy, boss," Ivan leans close. "Surely, you're not shook up by losing a target?"
"Of course not. Admittedly, pulling Jack's eyeball out was a lot of fun," I huff.
"You might be understandably giddy." He nods solemnly.
"But there's no excuse for not practicing gun safety," I say.
"Here," Iris says, handing a duffel to Violet. "I packed a bag for you. I got your night mouth guard." She looks at me. "Violet grinds her teeth in her sleep. She's very tightly wound."
Seizing the backpack from her, Violet forces a smile. "Thank you, sis." Lifting her chin, she looks at me. "What's next?"
My guards surround them. Rose jumps a little, looking at the tattooed guard towering over her.
Pressing my hand gently against Violet's back, I give them what I've been told is a reassuring smile. "I'm taking you someplace safe."
Chapter Nine
In which we learn that no, Roman does not have a stripper pole in his living room.
Violet…
How thehelldid this happen?
I'm sitting in the back of an SUV with blacked out windows and a door that shut with a resounding 'thud!' making me jump halfway out of my seat.
"Sorry ma'am," Ivan smiles at me. "This car is bulletproof, so it's quite heavy."
"Oh, that's so cool!" Rose blurts. "So how many bullets can this sucker take?"
Ivan chuckles nervously, unprepared to open that can of worms, which raises him in my estimation. He's driving while I'm huddled with Iris and Rose in the back. Roman is in the passenger seat, still texting rapidly and there's another SUV following us.
