Page 42 of Their Stolen Obsession

Finally, he spoke a full sentence. “Yes. We have the bitch. Come to think of it, she was yelling at those motherfuckers.”

Damn. A lightbulb eventually lit in his head that was full of hot air. He was onto my secret.

He turned his attention to me and grabbed my face.

“She was calling them by the names of Sin and Saint. I bet they got the drop on us because of her.” His hand pinched into my cheeks, pushed against my teeth and pain bit at me. “Got it, boss.”

The jerk hung up the phone and pushed me away. I rubbed my cheeks and moved as far away as possible. Right up against the door.

“Preston isn’t happy, man. I don’t like this.”

“Of course he ain’t happy, idiot! The Bravata deal got shot to hell by two psychopaths!” the driver yelled.

The two assholes argued back and forth for what felt like an eternity. In reality, the clock on the dashboard read five minutes. A whole three hundred seconds until the car came to a stop and the engine cut.

“Honey, we’re home.”

He grabbed me by the arm. “Let go of me!”

A struggle developed until someone cursed and yanked me out by my hair. We were back on Pitrone territory because Preston was there. He held my long strands and ripped at my scalp. The impact of being thrown from the vehicle onto the ground sent pain through me.

“I hear Sin and Saint came to your rescue. Who are they?” Preston asked, his voice on the verge of a snarl.

I ignored him. My mouth was only centimeters from the dirt as I huffed and particles of dust gathered. I wouldn’t even glance at Preston. He didn’t deserve my time. He was a waste of space on this planet, and he needed to be removed from it.

“Fine. Be a stubborn bitch.” Preston pressed his heel into the back of my head and the pressure forced me to eat dirt.

The soil from the earth went up my nostrils, and the particles made me cough. Grit got into my mouth and mixed with the taste of blood. Dust bit at my eyeballs every time I breathed too heavily, tears soaking the ground. After a minute, Preston eased off.

Instead of letting me go, Preston kneeled down and roughly grabbed me by the face with one hand. My cheeks pressed together until my lips puckered and he pulled me toward him. My nostrils flared as I stared at the monster sent to destroy me, and I knew I was in for the fight of my life.

“I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about, asshole.” I glared.

“Tell me…” Preston heaved out each word, hot against my face. “Who. Are. They?”

I spit in Preston’s face. A bold move I knew not to do, but I hated him with every fiber of my being. He was vile, pure evil, and had earned every horrible thing coming his way.

Preston wiped my saliva from his face. “I’m going to kill you.”

“Not iftheymurder you first,” I warned through clenched teeth.

Preston laughed in my face and pushed me away.

“You think your boyfriends are going to save the day?” Preston asked.

He stood up and peered down at me. I resembled a fly. A disgusting insect Preston wanted to demolish after he had plucked my wings so I couldn’t get away.

I didn’t respond. There was no point. Since the moment I met Preston Pitrone, logical thinking ceased to exist. We were far past reasoning and went straight to senselessness. No morals, only cold-blooded murder for power.

Preston gave me a shove with his shoe. “Well, whoever they are, they won’t ever find you. I’ll make sure of it.”

I lost my balance and fell to my side. Preston kicked me in the stomach, and I lost my breath. I recoiled into the fetal position, expecting another blow, but the harshness never came. Each inhale was agony searing through me.

“Take her back,” Preston ordered Zane. “I’ll deal with her later.”

Preston had more pressing matters to deal with, and he’d gather his men to search. Unbeknownst to him, the Pitrone army would have to lurk in the shadows and become one with the darkness. They’d have to display the characteristics of true phantoms, but Sin and Saint were one of a kind. They stalked me day and night because distance couldn’t keep them from me.Right?

Twenty-Three