by Ella Miles
Except I’m terrified for Enzo.
Enzo is all business as he calmly walks over to greet the man who dared to step foot on his yacht unannounced. To my surprise, Enzo extends his hand to the man, but the way the new man grips it, most likely draining his hand of blood, I know it’s not a friendly shake.
“Phin,” Enzo says.
The man just nods back.
“What are you doing? You don’t need to do this. You are just wasting both of our times. You can’t challenge me for leadership. That’s not how this works. Even if you win, it will change nothing.”
“It’s not about winning. It’s ensuring you are still strong enough to lead.”
“How much did my father pay you to do this?” Enzo says, letting him know he knows the truth.
“Plenty, but I would do this for free,” he says.
“You know the consequences if you lose. This action can’t go unpunished.”
“I don’t plan on losing.”
“Then that’s foolish; you should always plan on losing. Not everyone can win all the time. Everyone loses. You might win, but this could be the time you lose. Do you really want to pay with your life?”
The man ignores Enzo and steps forward. “I want to challenge Enzo for leadership. I understand if I win, I won’t become Mr. Black, but then I never was a mister anything. But I want to prove to you all, that Enzo isn’t fit for the title either.”
“You do understand if Enzo is deemed unfit to be leader, the job would fall to Kai?” one of the crewmen says.
I glare at him. I need to protect myself and stay out of this game, but I don’t like being treated like a weakling by any misogynist.
I open my mouth, but Enzo steps in. “Don’t talk about Kai that way. She’s more than capable of being a leader. She would do a better job than I would. So don’t act like she’s less than.”
“She?” Phin says. His eyes travel to mine.
I glare at him as I stand taller. I will not let him think less of me. I’m strong. I’m powerful. I could lead this organization easily. I am worthy.
He smirks at me.
“If she’d rather challenge me, I’d gladly swap her for you, Enzo.”
I frown.
Even if I had a gun and this man had no weapon, I’d lose. He’d beat the crap out of me, and I’d lose my child. I can’t fight him, even if I want to put him in his place.
“Beating up on a woman doesn’t make you worthy,” Enzo says to Phin.
He smirks.
“What are the rules of your challenge?” Enzo asks.
“Rules? There are no rules. We fight to the death,” Phin says.
“The death, really? You’re willing to risk your life against me, all to prove I’m not worthy?”
“Yes,” the man grins, revealing teeth that look like they’ve been shaved into points. The tattoos around his eyes turn into sharp horns ready to ram into Enzo.
No rules.
Death.
That means they can use any weapon. They can use any other person to help them. They can cheat, play dirty. Everything goes. Which means this won’t be fair. Enzo was blind-sided with this challenge. Phin was prepared. He will be ruthless in his pursuit.
Please, Enzo back out. Don’t accept his challenge. Shoot him dead before the challenge even starts. Do something, just don’t die.
“You’re a fool, Phin,” Enzo sighs.
Yes, he’s not going to accept. The crew will understand. They won’t vote him out and me in. It would take a lot for them to vote me, a girl, as their leader. Enzo would have to fuck up, lose hundreds of men to an enemy kind of fuck up. Not accepting a stupid challenge won’t make them vote me in.
Enzo holds out his hand again. “I accept.”
Phin smirks, shaking his hands.
I gasp.
Liesel shouts, “No, this is stupid! Don’t fight!”
But her cries go unnoticed. The men are already locked in a battle where only one will survive. Enzo’s father hired a crew member to fight Enzo to the death. How fucked up is that?
Draw your gun, Enzo! What are you waiting for?
Apparently, weapons are reserved for later in the fight. Testosterone has taken over, and both men drive hard at full force toward the other with nothing but their bodies to attack their opponent with.
“I can’t watch,” I whisper, my hands flying up to my face.
I hear the impact like a crack of thunder in the distance.
I spread my fingers, allowing my eyes to see through the slits.
Blood spurts everywhere from the two men. I’m shocked to see them both still upright after the collision. I expected Enzo to be knocked on his ass. His frame is too small to win a hand to hand combat fight against this giant.
Enzo spits blood—probably from a loose tooth.
Slowly, I lower my hands. I can’t watch. But I have to watch.
Phin slowly pulls back his fist and tries to throw everything he has into punching Enzo in the jaw.
Enzo ducks easily, the punch moving far too slow to make contact.
My shoulders relax just a little. Phin may be stronger, but Enzo is faster, and hopefully smarter. To win, Enzo just has to tire the giant out. Enzo has had a lot of practice against Zeke, who was a giant in his own right. He can do this. He has to.
More swings, more ducks.
“Are you just going to dance around or are you going to fight me?” Phin says.
“It’s not my fault you can’t land a punch,” Enzo says cockily back, not even bothering to try to get his own punches in.
Phin gets annoyed with Enzo’s antics. I don’t know what he’s going to do, but I can tell things are about to escalate.
As quick as I’ve seen the giant move, he pulls something from his pocket and slings it at Enzo.
“No!” I shout.
Enzo tries to move out of the way of the blade, but it still hits his arm.
I can’t breathe.
There is a knife in Enzo’s arm. It doesn’t look too deep. But I can’t stand this fight.
Enzo grins as he pulls the knife out. “Thanks for the weapon.” He grips the knife, and this time, he goes on the offensive. He hits Phin in the hands several times as the man tries to block Enzo’s cuts.
I wince at all the blood oozing off of Phin’s hands.
Enzo has this.
But then just as I think Enzo will win easily, Phin grabs his wrist and forces the knife from Enzo’s hand. And then he punches Enzo over and over as he grips his wrist. Enzo tries to duck, but Phin anticipates this and punches lower. Hitting him in the face and stomach.
I gasp as Enzo’s eye turns purple, and his mouth swells with blood.
The crew can barely watch.
Liesel stands frozen, unable to watch yet unable to stop watching. She’s speechless, unusual for her. She’s as terrified as I am.
Phin changes his tactic from punching to kicking with his steel-toed boot—doing serious damage to Enzo’s stomach.
Dammit, stop him Enzo.
I know he can take pain. I’ve seen him in worse situations before, but it still makes me sick.
I grip my stomach as the queasiness washes from my stomach up my throat.
I will not be sick. I will not be sick.
But I know it’s only a matter of time. The morning sickness combined with the anxiety of watching Enzo getting beat up and knowing there is nothing I can do is too much.
Enzo spots me from the corner of his eye. His face pales for a second when he sees me in this much pain, and then he winks at me.
He fucking winks. How is that supposed to make any of this better?
Stop fucking around and kick this guy’s ass, I mouth sternly.
He laughs.
I shake my head sternly. No laughing. Stop making me care about you. I can’t care about you. What don’t you get?
Enzo smiles and then in one quick movement he gets out of Phin’s hold and quickly fires several punches back until Phin looks like the bloodied one and E
nzo looks like the stronger.
I smile, thank you.
Enzo sweeps the knife off the floor and then kicks Phin to the floor, pressing the knife against Phin’s neck.
“This is your last chance, surrender and I’ll let you live, although you will be punished for your actions,” Enzo says, barely breaking a sweat, while Phin pants heavily, drenched in blood, sweat, and his own loss.
“Never,” he says, his eyes flickering somewhere. And that’s when all hell breaks loose.
Men attack the boat from every angle. Guns drawn, knives in their hands, or just their fists curled.
At least a dozen. This has gone from an unfair fight to a complete ambush. Unfair isn’t a strong enough word for what is happening.
Enzo simply laughs as he draws his own gun.
“Really? You can’t even fight me one on one; you need a dozen men to back you up?” Enzo laughs more.
Stop laughing and start killing men.
Enzo looks around at the room at men, who I assume work for him. “Surrender now, and you get to live. I understand you all loved and respected my father as leader, and you want to do your part to ensure I’m just as strong, but this isn’t necessary. We have enough enemies I can prove my strength against.”
Enzo waits, but he already knows none of the men will back down.
Langston moves to back up Enzo, but Enzo shakes his head.
My heart stops. He wants to do this himself. Why won’t he let Langston help him?
“Fine,” Enzo says, not waiting for them to attack. He fires his gun rapidly, and men start dropping.
Bullets fly all around me, and Liesel jerks my arm as we dive under a table. Langston runs to our side, using his body to shield us. He pulls his gun but doesn’t fire it. Just using it to protect us.
“Fire your gun,” I yell at Langston.
“Enzo would kick my ass for interfering in his fight. He has this. He’s fought more men than this by himself before. His father trained him well,” Langston says.
“Still, he doesn’t need to risk his life like this. He doesn’t need to be such a show-off,” I say.
Langston stills, staring down at me. “You change your mind about your feelings?”
“No.”
“Good.”
I hide behind Langston’s shoulder, not afraid of the bullets for myself but for my child. But needing to know Enzo is still standing. A few stray shards hit him, but he doesn’t seem fazed. The men that survived the initial string of bullets move closer and begin hand to hand combat.
One grabs Enzo’s neck from behind as two others punch from the front, and yet two more try to grab Enzo’s arms.
I’m going to be sick.
My stomach burns with acid and anxiety. This can’t be happening. Enzo can’t fight off this many men.
“Trust him. He does this for a living. I’ve seen him do this countless times. He’s the best fighter I’ve ever seen. Brave to a fault. He never lets anyone else risk their life for him. He won’t let me or anyone else he cares about. And he won’t die.”
I watch in horror as three men hold him while two start their ring of punches.
“He can’t get out of that,” I whisper, doubting him.
Langston shakes his head. “Just watch.”
Sure enough, Langston is right. Enzo swings his legs up, kicking both men punching him back hard to the ground, he head butts the guy clinging to his neck and then twists his arms free of the other two before clunking their heads together.
He fires his gun twice before punching several more. His moves are fluid like an orchestrated dance he’s done thousands of times.
I feel him again for the first time since I got on this yacht. His heart rate is slow and steady. Blood pumps warm through his body but not so hot that it makes him unable to move. The adrenaline is just enough to keep him fighting.
I no longer doubt he can win, but I still don’t like it. Enzo shouldn’t have to risk his life.
He takes down all five men that attacked him at once, and it seems like the fight is almost over.
Liesel says something, but I don’t hear it.
Langston turns to say something to her, his grip on his gun loosened.
Phin is all that is left. Enzo pants heavily holding his own gun limp in his hand, his back to Phin. I know he’s waiting for him to fire and then Enzo will fire back.
But I’m pissed.
This shouldn’t have happened in the first place. Every drop of blood Enzo spilled is because of Phin. And I won’t let anyone else hurt my man. Not one drop of blood.
Never again.
I may not be able to love Enzo. I may not be able to put him first in my life. But right now I can do something to protect him.
I grab Langston’s gun from his hand and then quickly fire at Phin. He drops instantly to the ground.
Enzo turns quickly, shocked by the sudden loss of his enemy.
And then he spots me.
I figure he’ll be angry for me interfering. He wanted to do this by himself. He wanted to prove he was worthy. That he was capable of winning by himself. To ensure he kept the power in this game. To prove to the voters he deserves to be Black over me. But I don’t give a fuck what he thinks.
Instead of all those things, I see a bright grin on his face as he looks at me.
“That’s my girl. She’s back.”
9
ENZO
I’VE NEVER WANTED Kai more than I want her now.
I’m dripping in blood and sweat. My shirt is torn in a dozen places. My jeans are scuffed, and I have several bullet wounds and cuts that need attending to, but none of that matters. It will never matter as much as Kai does.
Everyone else disappears in my world. The crew members judging us. The dead men lying on the floor. Langston. Liesel. None of them exist.
My vision is solely on Kai—the strongest fucking person I know.
I grin looking at how incredible she looks, standing with a gun in her hand after killing a man threatening to shoot me in the back. I was ready for the attack, I wouldn’t have let him shoot me, but I appreciate the support from her all the same.
She won’t apologize for killing him or for interfering in my fight. She won’t apologize for looking stronger than me in the eyes of the crew watching, who will most likely vote her as their leader tomorrow. They would have already done it if they were smart.
Everything about her is strong—except her eyes. They soften for me. And I know. Her heart is stirring again, coming alive like a bear awakening from hibernation with unsure feet. It will take her a while to realize her heart is open again. That she feels things again. That she’s vulnerable to loving me again.
For now, I won’t push too hard. I don’t want to scare her into closing her heart again. For now, she cares if I live or die, and it’s enough. But soon she’ll feel everything I feel. She’ll love me as I love her. And for once, we will both be on the same page when it comes to our feelings for each other. And I can’t wait to see how incredible that would feel.
I take the gun from Kai’s hand and toss it gently to Langston.
And then I hold out my hand, begging her to take it.
She does, and I sigh into the touch.
She won’t open up any more here. I need to get her alone. I tug on her hand as I race inside the yacht. I want to pull her into my bedroom, but settle on hers, figuring she will feel more comfortable there.
I know nothing is going to happen; I just need her alone and close.
Fuck, do I need her.
I slam the door too loudly behind her and flip the lock.
She jumps at the sound but doesn’t release my hand. That has to be a good sign, right?
“Thank you for saving me,” I say.
She bites her lip to keep from speaking. Probably because she would say more than she wants to admit.
Slowly, she pulls her hand out of mine, and I feel the loss of my soul. There is nothing that can fill it, only her.
“You’re bleeding. You should call the doctor,” she says, her words cold and calculated.
I won’t let this end with her feeding me some bullshit excuse of why I should leave.
“I will when we are finished,” I say, stepping into her space, pushing her just a little.
She retreats until her back is against the wall.
I sigh, and my hands land on the wall behind her, instead of grasping her like I want. I cage her in with my hands, our breathing mixing between us like a sweet perfume.
Her fingers move up in the empty space between us.
I stop breathing. My heart stops pumping. My eyes stop blinking. All that exists are her beautiful hands. I watch them, desperate to know what she is doing.
Gently, her thumb brushes against my bottom lip where I’m bleeding.
I can’t decide between closing my eyes to soak up her touch or keep them open to soak up her look. Ultimately, I decide to keep them open, because I can’t stand to not watch her every chance I get. It’s the right decision, because I see her pain at feeling things for me.
My breathing starts again, slow and steaming, like a caged bull preparing to take an arena and buck off his rider. That’s how I feel, ready to attack. Ready to go to war for this woman.
But my fighting abilities won’t make her love me. Rushing her won’t win her heart. I have to be patient. I have to help her heal and remind her that loving me is worth it. That even though I’ve hurt her, I know when both of our hearts are synched, when we both declare our love for each other at the same time, there is nothing that will stop us. That I will never hurt her or let any other man hurt her. That our connection will only amplify and that will be what keeps her safe.
I don’t know how to prove that to her. She’s been hurt so many times before, by me included. I understand she is leery of love. But love is what will save us in the end.
Her hand carefully retreats from my lip.
“A part of you still loves me,” I say.
She blinks but doesn’t say anything. She doesn’t immediately say I’m wrong.
“I gave you part of my heart. And that part opened your heart to the idea of loving me again. I didn’t understand the love you felt for me before. But I do now. You might think it’s safer for you not to love me. But no matter how you fight your feelings, you will end up loving me. It’s inevitable. You can’t control your feelings any more than I can,” I say.
