Page 132 of Never Say Never

I coughed and pushed myself up, using my forehead and abs. The pain nearly took me back out. I fought through it until I was on my knees again. "He's been pulled off the investigation for weeks. Why continue to go after him?"

Qiang glanced my way for a second before focusing back on York. "Half my imports have been seized. Money has been cut by a quarter because of his interference. Not to mention, my oldest son has gone missing. I have it on good word that the FBI might have picked him up."

Who the fuck told him that? The only people who knew about Qiang’s son was me, Dad, and Benito. I knew for sure Benito would never come up with such a flimsy lie.

"Spiky black hair, beady little eyes, and a smart mouth?" I asked.

Qiang finally gave me his full, undivided attention.

York's eyes widened. "Paolo, what are you doing?"

I ignored him, shifting to sit on my ass. My shoulders burned. Another ache to add to my already damaged body. Sometimes I felt like I was getting too old for this shit.

"What do you know?" Qiang asked.

Tasso took a step back like the bitch boy he was. Yeah, I knew he wasn't running shit. He could have ambitions all he wanted, but if he didn't have the balls to go for it he'd always be under someone.

"Maybe I know a lot, maybe I know nothing. It’s unclear.” I rocked from side to side with a grin on my face. "I've been hit in the head so many times, I might have forgotten the koi fish on his right arm and the dragon surrounded by lotus flowers on his left. But who knows?"

"Stand him up," Qiang said.

The goons snatched me off the floor. The quick change in position left me light-headed.

Hope I'm not bleeding internally.

"Start talking," Qiang demanded.

I curled my lips in and batted my lashes. Not getting shit out of me, kid diddler. I hope you die first when my brothers get here. I was only upset that I might not make it to see that. I'd hold out as long as possible to make sure York and the girls stayed unharmed.

"Beat him, but leave him alive. I still have questions that demand answers," Qiang ordered.

"No!" York moved toward me but he was forced down.

Tasso kicked his feet from under him. It took everything in me not to react, but I swore I'd cut Tasso's fucking legs off before watching him die.

The first hit came to the back of my spine and knocked the air right out of my chest. A barrage of fists and kicks came my way. Pain was quickly becoming the only thing I knew. I could endure it, I could take it all. They could set me on fire and I'd take it so my family didn't have to.

I was going to be sick. As they laid into Paolo, something inside of me snapped. I had always been the patient one, I knew what to do in situations like this, how to talk men like them down until some kind of backup arrived. I also knew that my daughters weren't far and had a target sign painted on their heads. The logical thing to do was to sit back, relax, stay calm, and keep the situation level.

But I was well beyond logic.

I steeled myself as blood decorated the floor. Paolo's blood. The moron had baited them out. I saw it in his eyes, that crazy look that said he was going to take whatever came his way. Yelling and begging them to stop wasn't going to work. These men were heartless, nothing like the man I gave a damn about who would happily sacrifice himself for us.

Now, it was my job to keep him alive.

I continued to wind my wrists behind my back like I'd been doing since we were in the van. The tape had already started to loosen a bit, but it was still tight. Good. I lifted my arms above my head while all eyes were on Gianpaolo and grunted as I flexed and yanked my arms in opposite directions. The tape broke, still sticking to my skin and leaving behind a searing pain as it ripped out some of my hair.

The pain didn't even register. I moved swiftly and snatched a gun off the man standing next to me. Without a thought, I clicked off the safety, aimed, and shot him in the head. As the bang echoed through the room, others went for their guns, but I pointed mine at the man in charge. Qiang.

"Do it," I said calmly. "And he'll be dead before I am."

"York, what the hell are you—" Paolo started coughing so hard he couldn't speak.

"Breathe," I said, refusing to take my eyes off of Qiang or the room full of jackals that I was in. "Everything's going to be fine."

A loud bang drew our attention to the back of the warehouse. I watched as a man raced up to us, took in the situation, and hesitated.

"What the fuck is going on?" Tasso growled.