The Dark Protector (Kingpin's Property 1)

“Kill him.” She averts her gaze from the scene behind me. “He should die for trying to kill you. A life for a life.”

“That’s my girl.” I kiss her forehead gently before motioning for Julio to lead her away. He slowly accompanies her to the safety of three more guards, but she peeks over their shoulders like a thirsty onlooker. She needs to see the consequences of her own actions. I was going to spare her the sight of the roach beneath my shoe, but if she’s so eager, I’ll happily let my angel watch me crush him.

“You heard her, didn’t you?” I ask Bernardo. “She chose for you to die. Isn’t that nice?”

“Yes,” the piece of meat mutters. “I want to die, please, I want to die, kill me.”

“Your wish is my command,” I smirk. “But let’s make this a little more fun...”

Chapter 14

TALLULAH

I stare over the guards’ shoulders at the scene unfolding before us. Given the state of Xavier’s captive, I thought killing him would be a mercy. I know the sight of his limbless body will haunt me in my nightmares. I shake my head to get the thought out. And yet I can’t stop staring.

“Do you want to help me, Tallulah?” Xavier asks me over his shoulder. “Would you like to make your first kill tonight?”

“No,” I get out, swallowing the please that’s desperate to follow. “No, I don’t want to.”

“Okay, angel.” He blows me a kiss before grabbing a gun from the holster around his waist and approaching Bernardo’s somehow still breathing remains. “Here we go, Bernardo. You ready to give us all a show?”

The man screams and I curse myself for thinking this was going to be a small mercy. Xavier’s bound to make him regret trying to take his life, and I should know this is going to be gruesome. I swallow thickly, blaming myself for everything. Just another life on my conscience.

Xavier shoots the first bullet up the man’s right upper stump. Shock buzzes through me as Bernardo begs for mercy. But Xavier isn’t done yet. He fires a shot into every one of the raw wounds before kneeling down next to Bernardo, who is now crying openly.

“Are you ready to give me a name?” he asks. “Are you ready to die?”

“I’m ready,” Bernardo whimpers before whispering something in Xavier’s ear. All of us lean forward, but it is too quiet for any of us to hear. But Xavier nods, clearly understanding what the man has said. He taps his shoulder, making Bernardo wince before sending one last bullet through his skull.

“I’m sorry, angel,” Xavier speaks up, wiping his gun on his trousers as he approaches me. “I had to show you what it means to take a life. This is what they want to do to you. And this is what I’m going to do to anyone who threatens you or me.”

I stare to Bernardo’s somehow still twitching body as she smoothes my hair down. The guards part for him, but he’s clearly only interested in me. Shivers go down my spine. This man is capable of anything... I don’t want to imagine what he’d do to me if I ever crossed him. Intense passion can turn into hate quick. I should know...

“You should go with Antonio now,” Xavier mutters softly, pressing a kiss against the top of my head. “Go on, Tallulah. You need some rest. I’ll find you soon.”

“You h-haven’t forgotten?” I ask.

“Of course not. I’ll be there when I can.”

I nod and allow Antonio to lead me away. I’m completely in shock from what I’ve just witnessed. This was my first real, raw glimpse of the cartel world. Of course, I’m not oblivious to what my father and Xavier do. But this... this is the sickening reality that Dad has been trying to protect me from.

“Are you okay?” Antonio asks me in a low growl as we make our way into the bedroom.

“I’m fine.” I kneel and allow my dogs to excitedly lick my face. “I’ll be fine.”

“Are and will be are two different things.” Antonio leans back against my dresser, his hand on the gun as always. “That wasn’t right.”

I don’t answer. I crawl into bed instead, allowing the dogs to jump in with me. Antonio narrows his eyes but doesn’t forbid it. Usually I wouldn’t risk this, but tonight I need my dogs’ comforting presence.

“If you want to talk about it...” Antonio says, catching me by surprise. I pull myself in bed, watching him closely.

“Why are you being nice?”

“Because I’m worried about you.”

“First time you gave a shit,” I hiss. “I told you, I’m a prisoner here. And you didn’t want to help me then. So what’s different now?”

“He shouldn’t have exposed you to that,” Antonio mutters. “It... it was wrong. You shouldn’t have seen it.”

“He would’ve done it, anyway.”