Page 3 of Heart of a Villain
Rafael Henriques spun her around and struck out with the butt of a black handgun. She dodged the strike, and his hand sailed through the passenger window, turning the solid pane into shards. Before she had a chance to recover, he swiped again, this time catching her chin and sending her flying backward into the car door. The bag fell, taking the steak knife she’d snuck from the kitchen with it, and this man was the only person she loathed more than his brother.
“Bitch, you don’t get to leave without our permission.” He pinned her against the door using his body and stuck the nozzle into her mouth. “What about that can’t your simple brain comprehend?”
She would watch this man die.
Even if it meant meeting the reaper one second later, she would watch the light go out of his eyes. First him and then his bitch of a brother.
The muscles in Rafael’s hands tensed.
As if remembering who she was and who she belonged to, he growled and released her, yanking the gun from her mouth. As he took a step back, he spit in her face, and rage tears built so quickly that she no longer cared that he had a loaded gun trained on her.
She reached for the broken window.
The skin on her palm split around a shard.
Rafael opened his mouth as if to speak, or spit, and she broke off the shard, brought her hand around, and didn’t care where it landed.
Blood oozed from the notch in his throat, and the pistol fell from his grip. She picked it up and thought about finishing him off, but footsteps approached from the dark.
“Stay back.” She raised the gun. “I don’t give a fuck who you are. I will shoot you.”
Lorenzo, arms in the air, stepped into the light, waving a white pocket square. “I told him to stop you, Acoisa, not soil you with his filthy fucking mouth.”
A coisa.
The thing.
He never addressed her by name.
“If you want to stop me, kill me.”
Rafael groaned, clutching his neck. Unfortunately, she didn’t cut deep enough; it looked like the fucker would live—for now.
Lorenzo didn’t spare his brother a glance. “For the next several fucking months, I’ll have to keep my dick to myself because of that slut Cipriano calls a daughter,” he began. “Everyone hails her as a beauty when she’s ugly as sin—just fucking rich. But, once that’s over, be certain I’ll be unwrapping my gift. You know how this works, Acoisa. I own you. Think of how your ancestors must be rolling in their shallow, unmarked graves.”
Her finger graced the trigger.
A red light danced near her hand before settling on her chest, but if she fired, it would mean killing only one of them before she was killed.
She needed to live long enough to see Julien again, thank him, and let him know how much she’d appreciated his friendship and guidance over the years. And there was something about “Eesh.” She couldn’t place her finger on it, but she felt unnaturally compelled to meet this woman for herself.
“Let’s compromise here, Acoisa. If you don’t shoot, they won’t. And they won’t shoot unless I tell them to. You are free to go.”
“And why would I be free to go?” she spat.
“For the chase.” He slowly returned his hands to his sides. “So, what will it be? This is the only chance you’ll be given. I do want to make sure I thank you, however, for this little bit of excitement you’ve given me on an otherwise shitty night.”
Without lowering the gun, she retrieved the bag from the ground. At the moment, he had the advantage, but her advantage would come into play the moment she arrived in Sweden.
Lorenzo had no idea who she knew.
No bullets pierced her skin, even as she scooped the driver’s lifeless body out from behind the wheel. Once she was far enough away from the Chamas compound, she would ditch the car, change, and take the bus to the airport.
“See you soon,” Lorenzo called after her.
She sped away, frantically tapping her phone screen.
Cipher