Page 40 of Accidentally Mine

Brent

E verything was going wrong. What the fuck were the police thinking, turning on their sirens? Why not just announce on a bullhorn that they were coming in on a St. Patrick’s Day parade float?

“Cut the sirens!” I hissed into the phone as I crouched behind the trailer. I couldn’t see the police cars, but hell, everyone in South Boston knew they were near. “Can you tell them to cut the sirens?”

“Dammit,” Kyle said. There was a long pause where I heard muffled yelling. “What’s going on now?”

“I don’t know,” I mumbled softly into the receiver.

I’d gotten down on the ground to make the call.

After I’d seen Roselynn leaning against the wall with the gun pointed at her, the body lying on the floor, I’d changed positions and looked through the other side of the back door window.

From there, I’d seen my sister, her face rigid with fear.

Thank god. I didn’t know who had been on the floor, but at least Claudia was okay. Still, I knew there wasn’t much time.

I told Kyle to hold on as I climbed up onto the platform again and ventured another look inside. My blood boiled when that Anthony prick walked right up to Roselynn and kissed her forehead as she cried, her limbs trembling in fear.

Anthony Markin, whose head I wanted to tear from his neck.

The older man with the same thick hair, only salt-and-pepper, had to have been his father, the mafia kingpin. The two appeared to enjoy terrorizing innocent women.

Women I happened to love.

I was not going to fucking just stand by and let this happen. I’d die first.

I watched as the younger one brought his gun up to Roselynn’s head as she shook against the wall, closing her eyes as if in physical pain.

“Oh, shit,” I breathed into the phone. “Kyle.”

“I’m on my way. I’ll be there in two minutes.”

“Two minutes might be too late, man. They have guns pointed at their fucking heads. There’s a man on the floor, and he’s bleeding.”

In the reflection of the window, I saw a patrol car speeding down the street toward the trailer. Ending the call and shoving the phone in my pocket, I waved to the car silently, and when next I looked back into the window, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

Roselynn had her arms around Anthony and was kissing him passionately.

What the total hell .

Then a moment later, everything changed.

It seemed to happen in slow motion. I watched as she jammed her forearm into his throat, throwing him back.

He let out a strangled curse and staggered for her.

She jumped forward, throwing an elbow, kneeing him in the groin, the gun swinging wildly through the air as she clawed at him.

Where the fuck had she learned to do that?

Claudia too jumped into the fray, punching the elder Markin, making him drop his gun. Another big surprise from the girl who never lifted more than light weights.

Another patrol car joined the first, and I motioned to them wildly as the trailer shook from the scuffle inside.

Muffled sounds erupted as I watched two other men burst inside, guns drawn.

Anthony got control of his gun and pointed it at Roselynn’s head.

His face was contorted with rage as he slapped her across the face, hard, and bit out the word, “Bitch!”

Sobbing, she sank to her knees.

This was it. No time to waste.

I reached for the handle on the back door, unsurprised to find it locked. I tested it by quietly pushing my weight against it. It wobbled, and the frame seemed flimsy, like it wouldn’t take much to send it flying. I turned back to the police, who were just climbing out of their car.

Then I heard Roselynn scream.

Without thinking, I backed up and rammed into the door with all my weight centered in my shoulder. Once. Twice. On the third try, it exploded open, and I staggered in, wildly punching the first man in a suit I could find.

Everything happened in flashes of chaos. A gun went off. The elder Markin ran for another room, shouting for his son. I shoved a man against a wall, and a gun went clattering across the floor. More screams. Someone’s fist connected with my jaw, knocking me to the floor and momentarily blind.

Locating the gun on the floor, I lunged for it. Blood rushing through my ears, I slipped my finger over the trigger as I turned to take aim.

Boom! Boom!

Shots.

The front door burst in, and the police swarmed through the doors. “Drop it! Drop it!” they yelled.

I watched as Anthony, still smiling smugly and shaking his head, lazily dropped his gun. His father, frowning, did the same. They lifted their hands up as ordered and Malcolm mumbled a curse under his breath.

“Fucking bullshit!” Anthony snapped, looking over at Roselynn, who was lying in a heap with Claudia. He started to point at her, but the police officer grabbed his hands, forcing them behind his back and shoving him face-first against the wall. “You’re mine!” Anthony screamed at her.

On her palms and backside, Roselynn backed up against a wall, putting as much distance between them as she could, like she didn’t understand that she was safe now.

Anthony’s eyes drifted over me and he smirked. “Are you fucking her? I bet you are. She’s nothing but a two-bit whore. Perfect for a prick like you.”

“Knock it off, Markin,” Kyle said, finally striding through the door and stepping over close to him. “We’ve had about enough out of you.”

The police went over to the elder Markin and cuffed him. Anthony fought against the police and his cuffs as he stared Kyle down. “I’ll get you. I’ll get every last one of you.”

Kyle shook his head. “Guess what, asshole? You’re going right back where you came from. And don’t think you’re getting out so easy this time. This time, you won’t be able to buy out a judge. You’ll need an act of God.”

Kyle’s eyes shifted to me, but before he could launch into why the fuck I didn’t listen to him , I crawled to the women.

Roselynn let out a sigh of anguish and threw her arms around me, and I held her tight as her chest heaved. She murmured nonsensical words into my shoulder as she sobbed, holding on to me for dear life.

My gaze honed in on Claudia, whose eyes had begun to flicker open. Still holding on to Roselynn, I reached for my sister, wiping stray hair from her face. “Hey. Claudia?”

She opened her eyes and blinked at me, dazed. Roselynn and I crowded around her, and Roselynn took her hand.

“Well, if it isn’t the man of the hour,” Claudia mumbled, her glazed over eyes slowly focusing on me. “Is it over?”

“It’s over. It couldn’t have turned out better,” I said, lifting her into my arms and hugging her tight.

She sat back and looked around, her dark eyes wild. “Oh, my god. I don’t ever want to do that again.”

I looked over at Roselynn, who looked shell-shocked. She had dealt with the Markins twice and had lived to tell about it. I got up and helped her to her feet. “Are you all right?”

She looked down at herself. “I think so.” She took an unsteady step toward the door and slumped against me.

“You’re safe,” I whispered, putting my arm around her. “You got that? You’re finally safe. And you don’t have to worry about them again.”

She blinked in surprise. “Really?”

I kissed her forehead. “Really. They’re not going to get out for a long, long time. And I won’t let anything hurt you again. But you have to trust me, Rebel. From now on, I need you to trust me.”

It was only when she saw the men being led out to the police cars that the realization hit her. She started to cry again, burying her face in my chest.

“Yes,” she whimpered. “I trust you, Brent. I should’ve trusted you before.”

“Shhh,” I crooned, my own tension draining the longer I held her against me. “I’m not going to leave you alone. Ever again.”

She nodded, clutching me tightly, like she’d finally realized she didn’t want to let go. And now, thankfully, she wouldn’t have to.