by Alexia Praks
I was so into my own sexy, pleasurable world that I didn’t realize William had slowly eased his teasing and eventually stopped.
Chapter 16
Savanah
With my breathing still heavy and my mind still a bit dazed, I watched him as he moved back and frowned darkly. Suddenly, there was an intense change in his mood, which alarmed me, made my heart race, and my stomach knot in dread.
He speedily pulled my pajama shirt back on and even buttoned me up, too. I was more than a little confused and was about to ask him what he was doing when he silenced me by kissing me hard on the lips.
Oh, Lord, he was squeezing me so tight against him that I couldn’t move or breathe. It was as if he was afraid to let me go or something, and I was mystified.
When he moved back, he stared long and hard at me, as if drinking in my features. And all the while his expression was dark.
No, that wasn’t all. The look in his beautiful pale blue eyes wasn’t just dark, there was a mixture of anger—more like pissed off—frustration, conflict, and fear.
Fear? William? But what could he be frightened of?
God, I wanted to know what was going on, because he was scaring me.
Suddenly, his body became rigid again. It was as though he had put up a barrier and readied himself for something threatening. I could sense the tension vibrating along the line of his body, just like a wild wolf perceived danger and got itself ready for a showdown.
William swiftly pulled up his seat, drew on the roof of the convertible again, and locked the doors.
I knew in my gut something wasn’t right and straightened up, too. My heart raced as I pulled the throw blanket up against my chest, as if that could protect me from whatever was about to happen.
I asked, “William? What’s wrong?”
I didn’t have to wait for his answer to figure that out, because loud zooming noises roared from the distance toward us. I knew we had unwelcome guests.
I searched around wildly to see where the noises were coming from. Then cars appeared as if out of the blue in the darkness. In a split second, they surrounded us, blocking our exit.
I glanced at William and saw that he had an intense look in his eyes. Every line of his features was hard and severe. God, but he looked lethal and ready to kill.
This was the side of William I had not seen. The cold, deadly personality that I assumed only those immersed within the deep, dark underground world had.
I felt my own body shaking. I was frightened of him and for him.
I reached my hands out and touched his arm. I wanted to calm him down and…
Oh, God! I didn’t know. I was both scared and confused at the same time, and I really had no idea what to do in this case.
William returned his attention to me and pulled me into his arms in a tight bear hug. His face was buried in the thickness of my hair as he said lowly, “Sorry, angel, to ruin our little party, but some fuckheads decided that Christmas Eve is a good night for revenge.” He moved back and kissed my forehead. Then he said, “Now, I have some shit to deal with.”
Outside, I heard engines stopping and doors slamming shut, which was followed by, “Oi! William, get the fuck out of the car.”
Instead of ignoring the taunting, turning on the engine and getting us out of here as I’d hoped he would, William opened the door.
I panicked and asked, “William, what are you doing?” Clutching the blanket against my chest tightly, I begged, “Please, let’s leave. It’s dangerous.”
William wasn’t listening to me, though. Before he closed the door, he said, “Stay inside and don’t come out. I’m locking the door.”
He didn’t even wait for my answer before shutting me in.
Still clutching the blanket against me, my eyes stayed fixed on William’s figure as he headed toward some menacing-looking thugs across the area. When he was too far away for me to see properly in the dark, despite the bright headlights from all the cars surrounding us, I moved over to the driver’s seat to get a better picture of what was going on.
In the distance, men started to surround William. I surmised there were at least ten to fifteen of them. I knew instantly and without a doubt that these were the gang members he had had a fight with that night I had found him near my apartment complex.
Suddenly, there were loud arguments. Because I was in the car, I couldn’t pick up what they were saying.
“William, please be all right, please,” I chanted, my body tense and my heart racing. My eyes never left William’s figure, not even for a moment.
Suddenly, something happened. Loud shouting could be heard, and then a fight broke out. Instantly, I freaked out.
From where I was, I saw two men charging toward William, and one bashing him in the face, sending him sprawling to the ground. William flipped himself up, his movement quick and precise. Then he kicked to his left, sending a man falling backward, and punched to his right, throwing that man off balance.
A big thug came up from behind and sent his mighty fist into William’s shoulder, throwing him to the ground.
I freaked out as I watched William being kicked continuously while he was on the ground.
Oh, God! William! What do I do? What do I do?
Cell phone! That’s right. Cell phone.
I searched about me for William’s cell phone because I hadn’t brought mine along, which was stupid of me.
Still in my panicked state, I glanced up again, worried for William. I found him already up on his feet and holding his own. He was more of the aggressor now, kicking and punching, sending his enemies down.
Quickly, I returned my attention to searching for William’s cell phone. Miraculously, I found it sitting in the back seat and hastily snatched it up. With shaky hands, I swiped it to unlock.
“Shit!” I swore, staring at the screen in disbelief. “Password. Password,” I muttered in frustration.
Oh, God! I didn’t know what William’s password was.
I glanced up to see how William was getting on again and saw that he was being swamped this time. In only a moment, the thugs fell back again as William aggressively fought back, his movements precise, fluent, and graceful. He must have done that a lot, I thought, fighting with street gangs.
Then I thought I had no choice. God, I couldn’t just sit here and not help. I knew in my gut that there was no way William would win against some fifteen-odd street gang members who were bent on taking him down.
“Weapon,” I said, looking around me like a maniac. “Weapon,” I muttered again, searching high and low in the car, checking every nook and cranny. Then I pulled the back of the rear seat down, which allowed me access into the trunk. Reaching my hand out, I blindly searched for something—anything—that could be used to hurt people.
My hand touched something cold and hard, like steel. I hastily pulled it toward me and all the way out. It was a lug wrench.
Thinking this would have to do, I unlocked the door and headed out—barefoot with cell phone and lug wrench in hand.
It was cold, and the ground was rough and hard against my feet, but I ignored the discomfort and headed straight toward where the crowd of gang members was.
I noted that there were about four or five down already, sprawling on the ground and groaning in pain.
Once I was close, I called out, “William! William!”
William spun round at the sound of my voice. The look on his face, so pale and ghastly at the sight of me, made me feel sick. I knew in my gut that I shouldn’t be out here, presenting myself to William’s enemy like this. That was when I realized they hadn’t known I was in the car with William, and I knew I had blown my cover. Shit!
But what was done was done, and I thought it was better to get this over and done with.
“Here!” I shouted, throwing the lug wrench in his direction. He understood me immediately and rushed over, grabbing it before the men could react.
“Password!” I shouted again. “Password!” I waved the
phone at him.
A man rushed over and swung his mighty fist in William’s direction. William swiftly moved to the left in time, missed being hit by an inch. Another came kicking, but William moved and missed that one, too. Then William rewarded the two men with a swing of the lug wrench, hitting one right in the face and sending him to the ground, while the other was hit on his chest, throwing him back.
“Back to the car!” he loudly demanded. “Now!”
“Password!” I shouted. “I’m calling for help!”
William looked pissed for a second but then shouted his password to me. I quickly entered it, and the phone was unlocked.
“It worked!” I shouted back.
“Back to the car and lock the door!” he commanded as he kicked a thug in the face, sending him flying.
I obediently raced back, and the moment I hopped into the safety of the convertible, I locked the door. Then I turned my attention to the phone. I was about to dial 911 when I changed my mind, remembering that William didn’t deal with authorities. Instead, I looked up the contact list for Joseph. Thank God he was at the top, just below four other names I didn’t know.
The butler picked up on the second ring.
“Joseph! It’s me, Savanah!” I said into the phone before the butler could say anything. “William’s in trouble. There’s a gang here and they’re hurting him. Please do something.”
On the other end of the line, I heard Joseph calmly say, “Thank you, my dear. I will inform Mr. Bosworth’s friends. Where are you now?”
I told him the place as I eyed the group across the area. Oh, God! Would they make it on time?
“Don’t worry, Savanah, Mr. Bosworth can handle his own just fine,” Joseph said.
I wasn’t convinced, so worried that I was. “Are you sure?”
“Very sure,” Joseph said. “And please be safe, Savanah.”
I said, “I know. Please hurry, Joseph.”
As I hung up, there was the crashing sound of glass. I jumped in my spot and I hastily turned to look behind me. A beefy hand reached inside the car and unlocked the door.
“Shit!” I swore under my breath and scrambled to get away. I wasn’t fast enough, and a man lunged into the car and grabbed me by the arm.
I reacted by bashing his face and kicking his chest, wrestling with him with all my might. He was twice as big as me, though, and no matter how hard I fought him, in the end, he got me tight and good and pulled me out of the car.
“Let me go!” I screamed. “Let me go!” I punched him, and when that didn’t work, I scratched his face. That must have hurt him because he loosened his grip on me. I took the opportunity and scuttled away. He was on me in an instant and pulled me back. He growled loudly and slapped me good on the cheek, sending my face twisting to the side.
The pain burned hot and spread, while my head spun dizzily and my whole body shook in reaction.
I became weak and limp. That was when he held something against my temple, and I froze.
He was pointing a gun at me, and I felt my face drain of blood. My throat tightened, and tears began to brew in my eyes.
Oh, God! He was going to shoot me dead, wasn’t he?
He made me move with him toward William and his gang, the brawl still hot.
“Drop your weapon, William, or I’ll shoot your girlfriend!”
In the distance, I saw William freeze, and the moment he saw me, rage erupted. He gritted his teeth and roared, “Let her go, Kyle! She has nothing to do with this.”
Kyle pressed the tip of the gun against my temple, which made me flinch in fear, thinking that the gun would go off any moment now. I felt tears flowing down my cheeks as I unseeingly looked at William. My brain was numb, and I couldn’t think straight. I was consumed with terror.
Kyle shouted, “Drop your fucking weapon, William, or I am really going to kill your girlfriend.”
William obediently threw the lug wrench onto the ground. Instantly, another thug appeared beside William and pointed a gun at him.
I felt terror charging through me and was frightened for William’s life.
“William…” I half-whispered, half-sobbed. “William… Please let William go…” I begged Kyle. “Please…don’t hurt him.”
William scowled and growled in fury, “I did what you said, Kyle. For fuck’s sake! Let her go!”
Behind me, Kyle laughed like a maniac as if he found William and the whole situation hilarious. Once he managed to calm down, he said, “Like, I’m going to fucking do that. You already fucked up our gang, man. Everything is gone. Everything! And you’re telling me to just ignore every fucking thing? Every fucking thing I’ve lost? I lost fucking millions, man. And you fucking beat my men up good, and I am not happy about that.”
William narrowed his eyes and said through gritted teeth, “Fuck you, Kyle. You fucked with me first. You double-crossed me, and nobody double-crosses a Bosworth. Now, let her go or I swear I’m going to beat you into a fucking pulp and destroy your whole community. Your whole fucking organization. Your whole fucking world. And believe me, I have the means to do it.”
Kyle increased the pressure of the gun against my temple again, the metal burning hot against my skin. My body was tight and tensed, and my mind was so numbed with shock that I couldn’t register clearly what was happening around me. Just that there was a lot of argument and swearing and shouting.
And William? Oh, dear Lord, he looked so frightened and pissed and angry at the same time that it broke my heart.
“It’s going to be all right,” I half-sobbed, half-whispered to myself and to William, even though I knew he couldn’t hear me because he was a good distance away.
“It’s going to be all right.” I tried to soothe myself, to calm myself, to ease my fear of the terror I knew was going to take place any moment now. Which was either my death or Williams’. Or both of us.
Then through the cloud of my teary eyes and in the loud buzz of the shouting and swearing, I glimpsed William moving. His body was smooth and fluid, his actions quick and precise. In the matter of a second, he snatched the gun from the thug behind him and snapped his neck. Then he turned right and shot. He twisted and shot again, and he turned to his right again and shot. He continuously shot around him, and men fell to the ground like flies.
Kyle moved behind me, and before I knew it, William ran straight at us and fired the gun.
I held my breath as I stood there, paralyzed.
Bang! Bang!
Behind me, I felt Kyle stagger back and fall to the ground. And then William was upon me and pulling me into his arms, hugging me tight. It was only then that my body relaxed, and I was left shaking.
“Savanah, sweetheart,” William whispered into my ear, his voice broken. “Are you all right?”
Through my teary eyes, I looked blankly at the man who only some fifteen minutes ago had made my heart soar with delight and my body buzz with pleasure. And then…
Oh, God! What had just happened? Did William just kill Kyle? And all those men?
I blinked and then really cried as my whole body shook in his arms. I buried my face against his chest as I clutched him for dear life.
“It’s all right now, sweetheart,” he said softly into my hair. “It’s all right now, angel.”
Chapter 17
PRESENT DAY
William
“Sir, your mask,” a man in a tuxedo said, offering William an intricately designed black silk mask that sat on a silver tray.
He snatched the thing up, and before the man could inform him that he must have it on at all times during the private show, he strode through the door. A few moments later, he came into a dimly lit theater. He paced toward his allocated seat, which was in the very expensive front row, and then sat down as he put on his mask.
His eyes were glued to the exotic stage before him as other guests—powerful billionaires and influential men of society wearing black suits and black masks—began to arrive. They silently went about taking their s
eats and avoiding each other’s presence and eyes.
One took the seat adjacent to William, and though he tried to ignore the man, he did not miss the strong excitement and expectation that exuded from him. In fact, he could feel the same excitement and expectation from almost all of the bidders here tonight.
Sick! These were sick bastards who, in front of the world, were powerful and influential people of society, pretending they fucking cared, but behind closed doors, this was their true color.
They didn’t give a fuck. Everything that they did was for their own benefit. And when they succeeded this far and climbed this high, this was their ultimate reward: a pretty young girl to be used as they wished.
Instantly, his mind switched to Savanah.
Savanah, he thought. Fuck, Savanah, what has the world come to?
He had thought he had done the right thing by leaving her behind, by running away. After what had happened that Christmas Eve three years ago? After that fucking incident? He never wanted to see her get hurt again. He never wanted her to experience such an atrocious thing again. Being held at gunpoint like a fucking hostage. That had been why he had left, and simply dismissed her from his life, to keep her safe.
But now? Fuck! How ironic it was that fate had somehow intervened again. Fate had cunningly and coldly thrust her into his world, and with the help of none other than that bitch stepmother of hers.
“Sir,” Richard, one of the men he had put to watch over Savanah for the past three years, said through the phone late the night before. “We have a problem.”
“What?” William had asked in his usual cold manner, fucking tired from over-working.
“Miss White is in trouble. Her stepmother is putting her up for auction.”
As soon as he heard that, he had felt sick to his stomach. “Give me the details,” he demanded darkly. “Now.”
Once he had gotten the information he wanted and hung up, he told his PA to cancel every appointment he had for the next few weeks. Then he immediately flew in his private jet back to Vegas.
