Psychos (Depraved Sinners 1)

My eyes widen and I scramble right back toward Levi as I take in their father who stands with a wall of protection at his back, and despite the boys’ wicked skills for eliminating targets, there’s no way in hell they could stand against a force like this.

The way that he looks at his sons, it’s clear that this is some type of retaliation for their little excursion into the old industrial area, and judging by the sweat coating Marcus’ skin, this has been going on for quite some time while I peacefully slept upstairs.

My heart breaks as I desperately wish that I could somehow hide behind the boys, but something tells me that in a room like this, hiding is only going to see a bullet shot straight between my eyes.

I scramble to my sore, cut-up feet, disguising my cringe as my body aches from their rough hands. I stand before Levi, but as Giovanni steps around his security and fixes his stare on me, I pull back, pressing myself past Levi’s shoulder until I stand between him and Marcus, my arms brushing up against theirs.

Giovanni doesn’t stop, and as my instincts have me pulling further back, Marcus’ hand discreetly presses against my back, keeping me still. “Why do my sons care for you?” he demands, stepping right into me and trailing his gaze up and down my body as though he didn’t get enough of an eyeful of it over lunch.

I shake my head, my eyes wide as I feel my world coming to an end. “They … they don’t care for me,” I say, my words getting choked up in my throat, wishing that I could somehow find that courage I’d had when I’d faced him last.

“Is that so?” he questions, his chin raised as his eyes narrow on mine. “Because the way I understand it, Miss Mariano, is that after meeting Draven Miller and sliding your knife into his gut, my sons risked exposure to put him down. Tell me why they would do that?”

My back stiffens and I feel Marcus’ hand tightening on my back, warning me to tread carefully. “Are you suggesting that I put the idea in their heads?”

“I’m not suggesting anything. Merely trying to get to the bottom of this.”

“Then ask your sons,” I fire back at him. “I have absolutely no influence over the things that occupy their time, and I highly doubt that they give a shit about what I think. Congratulations, you raised your sons to be the perfect little henchmen, only you seem to be having a little trouble keeping them in line. Though perhaps that has a little something more to do with you, than me.”

A sharp slap stings my face and I let out a brief cry before biting my tongue, hating to show weakness in front of this vile man. “You watch your mouth, you filthy little whore,” he growls at me. “I trained my sons to be soldiers. They don’t step out of line.”

“Really?” I question, narrowing my gaze, positive that I can take at least one more hit. “Because from where I’m looking in, your soldiers have been stepping out of line a lot longer than you care to admit, otherwise you wouldn’t have them locked up here. Why is that? Are you scared of them? Do they make your knees shake? Send a cold chill sweeping through your body every time they look your way?”

His hand raises and I brace for another hit but just as it comes hurtling toward my face, Roman steps out, his strong arm snapping out in front of me and catching his father’s wrist just moments before connecting with my face.

My eyes go wide as I watch the two of them struggle, locked in a motionless fight for dominance. Giovanni’s men flinch, their hands hovering by their guns, more than prepared to put an immediate end to this.

“Leave her out of this,” Roman spits through a clenched jaw. “She had nothing to do with it. Killing Miller was our decision. He disrespected our home and knowingly touched what was ours. Adding his friends to the scoreboard was purely a bonus.”

The two of them stare each other down, strength against strength, and just as Roman begins to overpower his father, Giovanni presses a button that sends a fierce bolt of electricity shooting through Roman’s collar, dropping him to his knees.

I suck in a loud gasp and shove my hands against Giovanni’s chest, knocking him back a step. “STOP IT. LEAVE HIM ALONE,” I yell, my eyes widening further as I realize that not only did I just yell at the man, I put my fucking hands on him as well.

I go to shrink back again but his hand snaps out and knots into a tangled mess in my hair. He throws me down with an impossible force as my heart hammers away in my chest. Giovanni steps toward me, his eyes narrowed in curiosity. “They do care for you,” he muses as I clench my jaw, my breath coming in short, sharp pants.