Page 5 of Caught in the Crossfire

“Suck my dick.”

“Enough,” Max warned, though whether he was speaking to me or Buzz Cut I wasn’t sure. He angled his body between us as if he were trying to block me, toprotectme.

Buzz Cut stepped forward. My fingers flexed into a fist. How was I supposed to play this? Fight back? Let him threaten us and pretend to be afraid?

What would my guys do?

“What do you want with the Camorra?” I asked.

Buzz Cut laughed, but it was all venom and hard edges. “We’re at war, little bitch. It’s simple hostage negotiation. You two will give us the upper hand once and for all.”

War. I looked at Max, eyes wide, but his betrayed no surprise at all. What did he know about this? Was this what he was talking about witha war on all sides?

“I’ll help you negotiate if you let her go,” Max said, avoiding my questioning gaze.

Buzz Cut threw his head back in a guffaw. “Not a chance.”

“The Camorra won’t care about her,” Max insisted.

His teeth split into a feral grin. “She’s recompense to our bosses. We can do whatever we want with her.”

“So your bosses want her,” he argued. “You can’t hurt us then.”

“I might not kill you, but Icanmake you wish you were dead.” Buzz Cut pointed the gun in my face again, and I held his glower. He couldn’t kill me. He’d already admitted it.

Whatever he planned to do, I could survive.

My thumb pressed against my engagement ring, trying to process everything going on. Max, thinking he can defend me even though he put me in this position. This asshole wanting to use me. A war across the world putting my life at risk. My father causing it all.

It was all bullshit. Fucking bullshit.

I wanted to behome. I wanted New York. I didn’t give a fuck about Italy or Albania or whatever shit Max had stepped in.

Adrenaline spiked in the pit of my stomach. The combination of my addled brain and my anger at being caught in the middle of all this shit fueled the worst decision I’d made all day, but I couldn’t help it.

I spat in Buzz Cut’s face.

The glob hit the middle of his cheek, and even though I knew he’d retaliate, it filled me with a sick satisfaction.

The room went silent as the two of us stared each other down.

I steeled myself for the inevitable slap. When he moved to hit me, I ducked under his arm and kicked his feet out from under him. Chaos erupted. Max yelled something at me, but I ignored it. I only got one good punch across Buzz Cut’s face before the other Albanians leaped on me and pulled me back.

My face slammed into the cold, hard ground, and a weight settled on my back. The force of someone yanking my shoulders back made them scream in their sockets. His weight drove the air from my lungs as I tried to wiggle, but he was so much larger than me.

“I would fuck you until you bled, but the bosses want you in relatively good shape so you’ll fetch a high price,” Buzz Cutgrowled in my ear. His breath was hot and foul, with a heavy aroma of cigarette smoke. He licked all the way up my ear, and my entire body convulsed. I couldn’t move my arms. I couldn’t get free. “Youwillmake up for what we lost. But before that, we’ll have our fun, won’t we, boys?”

The sharp sensation of my engagement ring’s gems digging into my thumb kept me focused. Tears stung my eyes, but I wouldn’t let them fall. He wouldn’t break me.

Suddenly, the weight lifted from my back, and I coughed before sucking air into my lungs. Before I could relax—or even wipe the spit from my ear—Buzz Cut’s boot slammed right into my ribs. I tried to scream, but there was no air to form the sound. Pain radiated across my torso. My vision spotted.

Another kick.

I rolled into a ball. Blood coated my teeth. Somewhere, Max was shouting.

My head jerked backward, my neck straining at his grip on my hair. “It’s a long boat ride back to Dürres. I don’t want to hear another word from either of you, or this little beating will be the least of your worries.”

“You have to keep us both alive!” Max shouted.