by Tami Lund
Somebody came charging down the stairs.
“Get back,” Leo shouted in a nasally voice. “He’s dangerous!” And then he clumsily struggled to his feet and stomped toward Shannon and Davit like Frankenstein, each step sending shards of pain through his lower back.
“What the hell do you think you’re going to do?” Davit asked, his voice loaded with derision.
“Stop you,” Leo said. “Don’t hurt her.”
“I’ll do whatever the fuck I want to her. She’s mine.”
Leo shook his head. “She isn’t an object. You don’t get to own her.”
“Shows what you know.”
“Stop!” someone else shouted. Max. Shit, Leo hoped his brother didn’t try to stand up to Davit, because Max was smaller than him and would get the shit beat out of him.
Worse than Leo was currently faring.
Without waiting for Max to make a move, Davit turned on his supposed friend and punched him in the jaw and then delivered another to his ribs, and Max collapsed to the floor.
And then Davit reared back, like he was about to kick Shannon. Leo fell forward, fist at the ready, and thrust out with all his might, his knuckles making contact with Davit’s gonads.
Davit screamed and fell on top of Shannon, and while she struggled to get herself out from under him, Leo focused on standing. He needed to get Shannon away from this guy. He needed to check on his brother. He needed to call 9-1-1.
A click echoed in the sudden quiet of the room, drawing Leo’s attention to the gun in Davit’s hand.
The gun that was pointed at Shannon’s head.
“No,” she whispered, her eyes huge as she stared up at Davit.
“Get up,” Davit practically growled. But she didn’t move fast enough, and he grabbed her arm and jerked her to her feet. “I want you to watch while I blow your boyfriend’s brains out.”
“No!” Shannon stepped in front of Davit and raised her hands like she was surrendering to the cops. “Stop. I’ll go with you. Just leave them alone. He didn’t know. Do you hear me, Davit? He didn’t know.”
No, he didn’t. If he had, Leo sure as hell wouldn’t have gotten involved with her. Because this feeling in his chest, this hollow pain, it wasn’t from Davit’s beating.
No, it was from the realization that he was losing Shannon.
Davit stood there, staring at her, the gun still cocked while his chest heaved, as he clearly struggled to come to a decision.
There was a part of Leo that wanted to interfere, to tell her she didn’t have to go. That part of him was certainly willing to live dangerously, considering the beating he’d already received.
But another part of him, that part that had been adamantly opposed to all things mob-related ever since he knew anything at all about that organization, kept reminding him that she dated a mob leader. Sure, at some point she had felt trapped, had decided to flee, but she’d still dated the guy in the first place.
He thought about his own situation with Bridgette. Hell, his family didn’t even associate with the mob, and he’d almost married some woman he didn’t want to be with, but that was different. He knew Bridgette’s family, knew their business was on the up and up.
It was different.
It was, wasn’t it?
Even if there were similarities, for fuck’s sake, he’d made a vow when he walked away from Bridgette that he would no longer give too much of himself to please others.
Not that Shannon was even asking him to give of himself. Nope.
She was walking out the door with Davit. With her arm wrapped around his waist.
Like she was fucking escorting him away.
Chapter Fourteen
I’ll kill you if you ever leave me. You know that, right, baby? You know I can’t live without you.
There had been similarities between her relationship with Hayk and the one she had with Davit, undoubtedly a result of Davit’s desire to be just like his father. But those similarities were overshadowed by Davit’s much bigger, much more aggressive personality.
While both men had been obsessed with her, Davit had also harbored an all-consuming fear that he’d lose her someday. Hayk, on the other hand, had been entirely confident in his belief that he’d trained her and brainwashed her appropriately enough that she would never dream of leaving him.
Both men were justified in their individual beliefs.
I’ll kill you if you ever leave me.
How many times had Davit said those words to her? Whispered them over breakfast, while they were in the middle of having sex, just before he sent her off on yet another mission to take down whoever he believed was his enemy of the moment.
Frankly, it was amazing that her nightmares tended to focus on her time spent in that windowless basement, although that was where it all started, wasn’t it?
Yet she’d made a split-second decision when he said he was going to kill Leo. She couldn’t let that happen. Sacrificing her freedom was a small price to pay for Leo’s life.
She made this decision despite what she’d seen in Leo’s eyes.
I don’t want you anymore.
He might as well have said the words for how starkly she could see the message in his dark orbs.
The way her heart broke when he looked at her; it was worse than her fear when she was nineteen and had woken up in the dark and discovered she was never, ever going home again. It was worse than when she found out Hayk was dead. It was worse than Davit climbing into her bed and declaring her “his” and informing her that he’d kill her if she ever left him.
It was worse than the fear she’d felt when she finally did run away.
It was worse than the paralyzing fear she’d experienced when they walked into the room and saw Davit standing there, and Shannon realized he’d found her after all.
While her heart shattered into a million pieces, Shannon made the decision to save Leo and likely his brother too.
She now understood that it wasn’t the death sentence Davit had always threatened. His obsession was too all-consuming. Here it was, a year after she’d left, and he showed up and still spouted that “you’re mine” crap and flew into a rage when Leo touched her.
He would never destroy his own obsession.
Which was the problem.
Because she’d just agreed to return to her living nightmare. To being his obedient little toy, to be played with when he felt like it, to do his bidding when it worked to his advantage. To being whatever Davit wanted.
For the rest of her life.
She’d finally come to terms. Nina Sarvilli had managed to escape twice, yet Shannon couldn’t get out, not ever.
Easily falling into her role because all those years of programming could not be wiped away so easily, Shannon wrapped an arm around Davit’s waist and urged him toward the door. She drew his attention to her, to her low voice, murmuring the platitudes she used so often in the past when he lost it like this.
He let her lead him away, out onto the porch, down the steps, to the black Escalade double parked in front of the bed and breakfast. She didn’t have her purse or her luggage or anything at all, but it didn’t matter. That stuff was all replaceable.
Leo was not.
Using her arm around his back as a guide, Shannon urged Davit toward the SUV. He’d expect her to drive, that was his way, so she walked him around to the passenger side door.
“Do you have your keys?” she asked, and he thrust his right hand into the front pocket of his jeans.
Click.
Suddenly, there was a man standing behind them, and a gun pointed at Davit’s temple.
“Step away, Shannon,” a deep voice commanded.
The guy knew her name?
Davit tensed. Shannon did as she was told.
“Hands up,” the man demanded before pressing the gun more firmly against Davit’s head.
Davit slowly lifted his arms. Shannon raised hers much more quickly. And then she glanced over her shoulder.
Marco Romano. Holy crap.
There was a hard set to his features, like he was wholly focused on this task, which apparently was to disarm Davit.
“Give me your weapons,” Marco demanded. “All of them.”
He didn’t even glance at Shannon or threaten or warn her in any way. And when Davit didn’t obey fast enough, Marco pressed the barrel of the gun more firmly against his head. “Give me an excuse to pull the fucking trigger. Please.”
After another moment’s hesitation, Davit began to pull guns and knives out of various hiding places, handing them one by one to Marco, who stuffed everything into his pockets. The whine of a siren could be heard in the distance, growing closer by the second.
“Here’s how this is going to go down,” Marco said while he pulled a pair of handcuffs from somewhere on his person and clamped them around one of Davit’s wrists. The other end he hooked to the doorhandle on the SUV. “Those cops that are almost here are going to arrest you for battery and whatever the hell else they can come up with. And this lady is going into witness protection. She’s going to disappear, for good this time. And you’re going to let it happen, because I know your brother doesn’t want the federal government sniffing around the family’s business dealings. Or better yet, go ahead and try to find her again. I’d like to see you and your brother both rotting in prison. Nothing would make me happier.”
The pitch of the sirens was almost painful, which meant the authorities were close. Shannon hoped there was an ambulance in the mix because Leo had looked like he was in some serious pain.
Damn Davit.
“Okay, time for our exit,” Marco announced, tugging on Shannon’s arm. She let him lead her around the house, not the side where the patio and guest parking lot was, but into a jungle of bushes and flowers separating the B&B from the yard next door.
They crossed through that yard and then through rows and rows of grapevines, until they stepped onto a narrow, unpaved road that was so far away from the B&B, she couldn’t even see the flashing lights in the distance anymore.
“What’s going on?” she asked. This didn’t seem like proper protocol for someone who acted like he was a cop or maybe an agent of the federal government. She had no idea Marco had gone into law enforcement.
“I’m getting you out of here. Something tells me once the police start questioning Davit, he’s going to implicate you.”
No doubt. She’d done a lot of shady shit at Davit’s behest.
“Are you protecting me?” She tried to stop so she could look at him, but Marco tugged harder on her arm.
“My truck is right over there.” He pointed.
“Where are we going?”
“I’m going to take you to my cousin’s cabin, and you’re going to wait there until I return. Hopefully, if all goes well, I’ll be back with Leo and Max, and both of them will be okay.”
Holy shit. “Why are you doing this?”
He dropped her arm when they reached the truck and then hurried around to the driver’s side, without opening her door. She climbed into her seat, and he cranked the engine and toddled off down the road like they were in no hurry whatsoever.
“Are you sure it’s a good idea to leave Leo back there?” She glanced over her shoulder and bit her lip.
“He probably needs medical attention. I didn’t see everything, but he looked pretty abused when I finally got there and peeked in the window.”
She dropped her head against the headrest. “God, I hope he’s okay.”
“He will be. And, hopefully, this will convince Max to stay the hell way from the Armenian mob.”
“So you’re putting me into protective custody? Can you even do that? Are you an FBI agent or something?”
He snorted. “Not hardly. That was all bullshit. I was warning Davit away from trying to track you down again. I suggest you go even farther away this time, in case he doesn’t heed my advice.”
She stared at him. “You’re helping me escape? Why?”
He gave her a swift glance before focusing back on the road. They were heading north, farther up the peninsula. “Nina told us what you did for her in the airport last year. That was pretty fucking brave, considering who we were dealing with.”
Shannon had no idea how to respond to that other than, she supposed, a thank you. Marco spoke again before she could get it out.
“And I saw the way Leo looked at you. He’s crazy about you, and Leo’s an amazing judge of character. I have a lot of respect for the guy. He could have easily fallen into the same trappings that Max and Davit have, but he never did. Which means despite whatever the hell you had going on with Davit, you must be a good person.”
She shook her head. “Not really. I think Leo’s senses were off this time.”
“I’ll let you hash that out with him.”
They turned down a narrow, dirt two-track that was actually a long driveway, at the end of which was a small cabin surrounded by tall trees, with a lake in the background. The porch light was on, and most of the windows were glowing.
Marco led her inside a cozy, if outdated, home and introduced her to his cousin, Dante. And then he left again.
Shannon stepped out onto the porch and watched the taillights of his truck until they disappeared in the trees.
She dropped into a chair. And waited.
***
Leo had never ridden in an ambulance before.
It wasn’t fun, for the record.
Neither was it fun at the hospital, where they poked and prodded and x-rayed him, trying to determine if anything was broken or if he had internal bleeding. Luckily, he escaped his beating with only some serious bruising.
Oh, and the broken nose, which they set for him, which hurt worse than the actual break.
Leo was going to need a vacation from his vacation at this rate.
When he was released several hours later, it was the middle of the night. Max and Marco were waiting for him. The attending nurse had taken pity on him and gave him some pills for the pain, and they were making his head fuzzy. He wanted to ask a million questions, but he couldn’t get the words to connect from his brain to his mouth.
Once they were in Marco’s truck heading who knew where, Marco said, “I understand you guys already gave statements to the cops.”
Hell yeah, they had. He hoped fucking Davit rotted in jail.
“So you’re good to go, other than having to testify, if the charges stick and there’s a trial.”
Leo didn’t like the dubious note in Marco’s tone.
“Shannon’s fine, by the way.”
He groaned. Fine wasn’t what he wanted to hear. Safe, away from Davit would be better.
“She’s at my cousin’s place. And her bags, and yours, are in the back of my truck.”
“What?” Leo’s mouth finally started working.
“I don’t know how much you know, so I’m not going to go into detail, because it’s her place to tell you. Just know that I think you should hear her out. With an open mind.”
Leo shook his head, trying to clear the fuzz. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“She can’t go back to her life. She needs to disappear. The reality is, the charges probably won’t stick. Davit’s family has top-notch lawyers, and they’ll have him out by morning, so she needs to get the hell out of here as soon as possible. He will never stop looking for her.”
“He’s right,” Max piped up from the backseat. “The guy’s crazy obsessed with her. It’s all connected to his father. He’s got some major daddy issues, and Shannon is somehow tied into it.”
Leo rubbed his forehead, which was a mistake because the action tugged on his nose and sent stabbing pain through his face.
“I’ve bought her a little time by pretending to be a federal agent and telling him that I’m putting her into protective custody, but I suspect that will not stop him forever,” Marco said.
What the fuck rabbit hole had Leo fallen down? And here he’d thought he was unhappy with his p
revious life. But at least there’d been no danger, no attacks that broke his nose and stole away his…
“I don’t even know how I feel about her.”
Marco snorted. “I think you do. I think you’re just freaked out right now.”
“He also almost married some other woman a couple days ago, so he’s probably gun-shy,” Max added.
Marco gave him a swift look. “Are you serious?”
“He wasn’t in love with her,” Max said helpfully. “It was totally a business arrangement.”
“I’m so glad my family doesn’t come from money,” Marco muttered, shaking his head. “You people have some seriously fucked up ideals, you know that?”
“Yeah,” Leo managed to get out, “I do.”
Chapter Fifteen
Bright lights flashed across her closed lids, and Shannon’s eyes popped open. She was up and out of the chair she’d fallen asleep in, rushing to the front window, barely refraining from pressing her nose to the glass as she waited for the truck to come to a stop.
When she was certain it was Marco and not Davit—which had become a greater and greater fear throughout the night, as the hours ticked by as slowly as decades—she wrenched open the door and fled down the steps.
As soon as Leo gingerly climbed out of the truck, she threw herself at him. He groaned, and she quickly let go, taking a hasty step back. “Sorry.”
“S’okay,” he said, the words slurred. He shook his head. “Pain meds.”
Max and Marco stepped up, flanking him. She looked to Marco for answers.
“He’s fine,” Marco supplied. “Well, he’s in a lot of pain, but only his nose is broken. They set it, so it should heal without the need for plastic surgery. He has a bruised back, which means he’s going to need a lot of TLC for the next few weeks.”
“I can do that,” she said without even pausing to give it a moment’s thought.
Marco handed her a prescription pill bottle. “Two every six hours. Keep his head elevated to help with swelling. No strenuous activity for at least three weeks.”
