“I get why he likes to fuck you,” the other one said in a low rumble. His meaty fingers twined in a lock of my hair, tugging hard enough to pull a few strands free from my scalp. “You’re so small and fragile. Like a pretty little bird.”
My soft whimper was lost in my captor’s restraining hand.
“You wouldn’t last ten minutes with me, princess,” the one behind me cooed. “I’d break you far too quickly.”
My heart hammered against my ribcage, and I twisted in my captor’s grip. He easily kept my arms pinned at my sides, and his hold on my mouth silenced my cries for Max. My dark protector was so close, but he hadn’t seen me get pulled into the alley. He would’ve come to my rescue already if he’d witnessed my abduction.
I had to get free from his cousins, or I might not survive this. I had minimal instruction in self-defense—my father had insisted—and my body acted on instinct. I slammed my high heel down on the top of my captor’s foot, putting as much power behind the blow as I could muster in my restrained position. The one at my back howled in pain, and his hold on my mouth faltered. I wrenched my head to the side and screamed for Max.
I’d barely released his name when the monster in front of me slapped me with shocking force, cutting off my cry. Fire lashed my cheek, and my brain bounced against my skull. My knees gave out, and the one behind me locked his arm tighter around my middle as his other hand firmed around my mouth once again.
The beast in front of me bit out a curse, and a sharp click echoed through the alley, followed by a flash of silver. He lifted the blade to my throat, and all my muscles locked up tight, my body going utterly still. If I so much as drew a deep breath, the knife would nick my skin. And it was so close to my vulnerable artery. I could feel the hot blood pumping through my veins, far too close to the cold steel at my throat.
“We didn’t even get to play with you yet,” he growled, his eyes flashing with irritation. “I can hear my cousin running to come save you, princess. We’ll have to finish this later.”
“Get away from her.” Max’s savage snarl reverberated through the alley, but he skidded to a stop several feet away from us, his dark eyes fixating on the blade at my throat. “If you hurt her, I will fucking kill you. Both of you.”
Ice skittered down my spine at the ring of truth in his warning. I’d never believed Max when he’d told me how dangerous he was. But now that his sharp features were almost feral with suppressed rage, his massive body vibrating with barely leashed violence, I could see that he meant every menacing word.
“Put the knife away, John. I’ll let you and Paulie walk out of here without breaking any of your bones.”
Cold crept over my limbs, encasing me in ice. There were three monsters in this alley with me, all lethal and terrible in their own way.
But the cruel men who’d captured me were far more monstrous than Max. He wasn’t a threat to me, but they still held me captive with a knife at my throat.
Slowly, the blade lowered, scraping an icy trail downward. The sharp steel hooked behind the top button of my blouse, and a casual flick of John’s hand snapped the delicate thread that held it in place. The fabric parted a few inches. Even though he’d bared no more than my collarbones, I felt stripped and horribly exposed.
“You weren’t supposed to come back to your pretty princess,” he mocked Max. “Your father told you what would happen to her if you did.”
Max’s fists flexed at his sides, but he remained rooted to the spot, his eyes flashing as they followed the knife that threatened me.
“My father didn’t order this,” he seethed, his chest rising and falling on heaving breaths, as though he was struggling against an insurmountable weight. “She’s Ron Fitzgerald’s daughter. My dad isn’t stupid enough to allow you to brutalize her.”
The man holding me—Paulie—tensed, but John wasn’t deterred. He flicked his knife again, and another button popped free. The soft pinging sound of it hitting the asphalt was completely obliterated by Max’s furious growl.
“Give her back to me, or you’re dead.”
“We’ll let her go if you swear to keep this little meeting a secret from your old man,” Paulie said. “You’re right. He didn’t directly order this, but we decided to give you a warning, cousin. You should be thanking us for the reminder of where your loyalty should lay. Unless you want to end up as an errand boy, you’ll leave this bitch alone.” His grip on me firmed, his iron arm hard enough to shove the air from my lungs. “I’m sure she has a tight little cunt, but no pussy is worth the humiliation of getting cut out of the family.”