“The hell I am,” I demand. “How many times do I have to tell you? I’m not yours anymore. You can’t order me around, and you sure as hell can’t hold me against my will. I’m the leader of the fucking Wolves now. This isn’t just some high school, possessive ex-boyfriend shit anymore. You’re playing games that you don’t want to get your men involved in. So yeah, I’m fucking leaving and if you want to stop me, then you better not miss this time.”
Nic laughs. “In case you have noticed, this isn’t a negotiation. This is a hostage situation, and unless you’d actually like to test my aim, then I suggest you sit your sweet ass back down.”
I step back into him, refusing to let his gun and attitude defeat me. “Where are the boys?” I ask. “Do they know you have me locked up in some shitty warehouse, waving your fucking gun around like a psychopath?”
“They know exactly where you are, and you know what, they fucking approved of my plan.”
I scoff, dropping into an exaggerated curtsey. “Congratulations. That’s some first place bullshit if I ever heard any. How would you like your trophy engraved? World’s biggest douchebag or just straight up liar?”
“Sarcasm?” he grunts. “That’s the way you’re going to deal with this?”
“Then tell me oh wise one, I skipped out on ‘how to escape psychotic kidnappers 101’ last week. Whoops. How do you suggest I should be dealing with this?”
“How about sitting your stubborn ass down, so you don’t end up getting yourself hurt.”
“We’ve been over this, Nic,” I say, grabbing his hand that holds his gun and pressing it right against my temple, watching as his eyes narrow, unsure of how I’m about to play this. “You wouldn’t do it. You can’t hurt me. You’re all talk and no game. And despite how much you wish you could, you’d never even try. I'm too important to you, and it’s killing you that I'm standing with the Wolves and not with you. You hate that you love me, but no matter what, you can’t stop. To hurt me would be to hurt you too, and we both know that you’re too selfish to do that.”
“You’re wrong,” he tells me, pulling the gun away and turning it on himself. He raises it to his temple, keeping my hand firmly in his grasp. I suck in a terrified breath. “I’d hurt myself every fucking day of the week if it meant keeping that goddamn fucking smile on your face.”
His hand doesn’t shake, as steady as the baddest motherfucker in town. “Don’t you dare,” I tell him through clenched teeth. “I’ll never forgive you.”
“Take it then.”
Without hesitation, I tear his hand off the gun, keeping it tight on my own, yet I find myself unable to lower it. I mean, I am in a hostage situation after all. “Where are the boys?”
A grin pulls at his lips, and for a moment, I truly fear the darkness in his eyes. “They're busy.”
“Call them. I’m getting out of here.”
He laughs, not bothered by the gun I still hold at his head, knowing I wouldn’t pull the trigger just as much as he wouldn’t. “I told you, they’re not coming. They’re more than happy for me to keep you away.”
My brows dip. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”
“What do you think it means, baby?” he questions. “We’ve been over this. There’s not a goddamn thing I wouldn’t do to keep you safe.”
“Safe? Safe from what?” I ask, panic beginning to rise within me. I step into him, really pressing the gun against his head in the same way he’d done to me. “What did you do?”
His smirk is terrifying, and for a brief second, I see the real him, the one that he usually tries to keep concealed. “Nothing, just dealt with a little wild dog issue that I’ve been having.”
Terror settles into my chest, and I clench my jaw, my breath coming in sharp, jagged gasps. “What. Did. You. Do?”
Nic leans into me and lowers his voice to a whisper. “Shhhh,” he says, holding his hand to his ear as if trying to listen carefully. “If you’re really quiet, you might be able to hear them scream as they burn to ashes.”
Fuck no. My eyes bug out of my head, and I turn for the door, only Nic instantly blocks my path with a wicked grin stretching across his face. “Move,” I shout, desperate to get to Blaxlands Grove and make sure it’s not true. “I swear, Nic. If any of my guys are hurt …”
“You’ll do what?” he laughs. “Come on, baby. You’re way out of your league here. You can’t handle this shit, so I handled it for you. No more Wolves, no more fucking problems.”
I shake my head. “You’re fucking sick.”