Rafa cleared the field and was on the mobster like a fucking animal. He shot the gun right out of his hands then pounced on the guy, hit him with the butt of his gun upside the head. I ran to untie Fio as Rafa clobbered him to the ground smashing his skull in with repeated blows.
“You okay, kiddo?” I asked her. I took the blindfold off.
“Holy Christ, Malik. I’m sorry. I was stupid to take off.”
I heard the distinctive crack of bone signaling Rafa had gone too far.
“Do me a favor, Fio and call off your boy, before he loses his mind.”
“Might be too late for that,” Fio muttered as she took in the gruesome scene.
“Rafa, please, help me up,” she called to my brother.
Rafa turned and snapped out of his murderous rage. He dropped the gun, stood, and kicked the dying man once in the ribs. He turned and stalked over to Tatum, his face a blank slate of shock.
“Did they touch you, Tate? I’ll kill them all,” he heaved as his eyes searched Fio for any sign of injury.
“Hate to cut your reunion short, but I’m heading back. I left Trudy alone at the house and I’m not comfortable with that,” I told them.
“Nice work, brother,” Rafa said, slapping me on the shoulder. “Hopefully, when Gabrielli hears, he’ll hesitate to send more.”
Tatum looked between the two of us, concern marring her brow.
“Gabrielli’s here himself. They picked me up from the cabin drive and Gabrielli was in the car,” she told us, her eyes wild with fear.
I didn’t stick around to hear another word.
My legs had never carried me faster.
I wouldn’t let them take from me the one woman who could save me from myself.
Chapter 14
Trudy
“Malik, I’m coming!” I said as I stepped out of the tub.
But as I walked toward the bathroom door, it blew up and shattered right in front of me. I fell backwards and dropped my towel, hitting my head on the porcelain of the tub. I tried to open my eyes and stay alert, but the room was starting to blur. I smelled gunpowder and freshly splintered wood, and saw a man in a suit standing over me with a .38 which he cocked and lowered the barrel until it touched my damp forehead.
“Get up, genius hacker. I need you to crack some fucking code for me.”
Long dark hair, you’re my girlfriend, she’s your younger sister, the tracker is looking for a young woman, not a party of three.
I staggered to my feet clutching the towel to me.
“Don’t make a sudden move,” he said, directing me with the barrel of the gun.
He was going to blow my brains out as soon as he saw my skills were as basic as they come. I white-knuckled the towel and eyed my gun on the counter.
Gabrielli grabbed it and stuck it in his suit coat pocket.
“Don’t get any ideas, princess. We’ve got the whole place covered. If you were lucky enough to aim right, my security would take you out before you could draw your next breath. It ain’t worth the trouble. Besides, I’ll let you go as soon as you fix the firewall for me and teach me how you breached it in the first place.”
I walked forward like I was walking the plank and Gabrielli held the gun to the middle of my back.
“Let you go as soon as you teach me your little techie tricks and maybe give me a nice blowie for taking up my time.”
I froze and stopped. Gabrielli ripped the towel off of me and because I was gripping it desperately, it tore one of my fingernails almost completely off. I grasped my bleeding finger and stood speechless in place. I’d promised myself for so many years that this would never happen to me again, that I would never have my agency taken from me by any man.
“Fine, have it your way. You don’t like work before pleasure, huh? Look at those juicy lips, perfect for sucking cock.”
He shoved me to my knees and pushed down on my shoulder. He pinched my nipple and I slapped his hand away.
Gabrielli didn’t like that and he grabbed my chin violently and jerked my face to look at him.
“I want you to look at me while you suck me off, you got that, whore?”
He undid his belt buckle and unzipped his pants.
A crash sounded downstairs and then gunfire erupted followed by an eerie silence. Gabrielli shoved me to the floor and refastened his pants. He took out his phone to call his goons who were probably right downstairs.
“Trudy!” I hear Malik call my name. The sound of his voice made my heart soar, like heaven had opened up and swallowed me whole.
“Upstairs!” I called back to my lover. “He’s armed!” I screamed. Gabrielli grabbed me by the hair and yanked me to standing, then he shoved me back into the bathroom through the rubble he’d created shooting through the door.