Making the Rent the Hard Way - 50

 

 

I started toward Luca when two men, shifters, stepped between us.

Bracco put his arms around me from behind, locking my arms against my sides as he pulled me tightly against his body. Damn, the bastard was strong, but I knew that.

"Now, we wait until the sedative starts to wear off," he said, "which should be any minute now. Then you get to watch while my friends kill Mr. Montana—very slowly—while he's still too out of it to escape his fate. He snitched to you about Farnham. We don't like snitches, especially when they're shifters."

"Touch him and you die," I snarled. False bravado? Yes. But I meant it nonetheless. One way or another, Bracco and his pals would die.

"Big words from a puny human," Bracco replied, laughing low. His next words were for his cohorts "Might as well give Mr. Warner an idea of what's going to happen to his friend."

One of the shifters pulled out a knife. The other one took a cord from his pocket, wrapping it around Luca's throat then pulling Luca's head up so I could see his face. The bastard with the knife slashed it down Luca's chest. Luca groaned, and I knew he was coming to.

"God damn it, leave him alone. It's me you want," I shouted, struggling to break free from Bracco.

Suddenly, the room seemed very crowded when the door slammed open and Rocky and the others arrived. Relief would have taken hold when Gino tackled the man with the knife, but he was seconds too late. The bastard had stabbed Luca, the knife piercing his chest. Blood flowed from the wound, melding with that from the first cut.

"No!" I screamed as all hell broke loose. Every shifter in the room reverted to their animal forms—except Luca. Free of Bracco's hold at the point, I raced to Luca, pressing my hand to his chest as if that would stop the bleeding. It didn't.

I could hear the fighting, the growls, the roars of pain as wounds were inflicted, but my attention was locked on Luca as I said, over and over, "Don't die on me. Please, don't die. I love you. I can't lose you now. Dear God, don't let him die."