1. Layla

Imoaned as I regained consciousness. Looking around, I could see I was on the floorboard in the backseat of what I assumed must be the fucking truck that chased me down. My hands and feet were bound, and as I pulled against them to test their strength, I knew I wasn't going anywhere just yet. These fucking assholes, I thought, fuming. I was alone in the backseat but couldn't turn my head to see who was up front. I can't believe I let myself get captured. Six years on the run without getting caught until now. I wasn't too proud to admit feeling a bit embarrassed.

We drove for several more minutes until the truck slammed to a stop.

"The boss is going to be happy with us!" a man cheered.

"Shit!" the driver said.

"What?" his partner replied.

"I forgot to get rid of her fucking tracker! The boss is going to lose his shit if he finds out we led them to us," the driver replied. I could hear the fear in his voice and couldn't help but chuckle.

"Shut the fuck up, you dumb bitch," the driver yelled over his shoulder at me.

"Ok, this is fixable. I'll take her inside. You take the tracker across town and dump it. No one has to know," his friend assured him.

The most concerning part of their conversation was how the fuck did they know that I had a tracker on me? There was a leak in my ranks, and they'd better hope I never figure out who they are. Providing I get out of this alive. The back door opened, and I was dragged out of the truck by my hair. "Fucker," I mumbled around the gag. He ignored me as he ripped the necklace Tyler had given me off my neck and handed it to the driver.

"Here. Just get rid of it quickly before they catch up with you." The man threw me over his shoulder and entered one of the nearby buildings. It looked like we were in an abandoned industrial lot, but I couldn't place where in the city it was located. The door slammed behind me, shutting out all of the light. Dingy yellow lights lined the ceiling, but they may as well have been off for all the good they did.

He wound through the building until we reached a dirty concrete room. He looped my wrist restraints onto a hook hanging in the middle of the room and left. My toes just touched the floor, and I used them to turn my body and get a better look at the room. There weren't any windows, but a second door was at the back of the room. In front of me was a table with knives on them. Beside the table was a cable hooked up to a car battery. They had certainly put a lot of effort into scaring me. It's too bad I don't scare that easily. I tried to figure out if I had any weapons left on me, but I didn't feel the comforting weight of them against my body, so I was going to assume I didn't have any.

The door finally opened, and Anton and Tommy walked in. "I have to say, Layla," Anton said as he chose a knife from the table. "I thought snatching you would be more challenging. Killing you certainly has proven to be difficult. If I had known that all I had to do was grab you off the street and kill you myself, I would have done this sooner.

He stepped up to me and cut my clothes off, leaving me naked. He leered at me appreciatively. "I always regretted not being able to sample your body before the wedding. He leaned down, cut my ankle restraints, and slid his hand up my leg, spreading them open to look at my pussy. "I am surprised how tight you still look since you're whoring around with five men."

"That's not how it works, asshole," I said, breaking my silence. I kicked at Anton's head, wishing I had worn my stiletto boots today instead of my chosen riding boots.

"Fucking cunt!" he yelled as he punched me in the stomach twice before Tommy was able to pull him back.

"We aren't supposed to damage or kill her. That was the deal," Tommy whispered.

Who the fuck did they make a deal with?

"That's an agreement you made, not me," Anton snarled. "I'm going to make this little bitch heel."

Tommy moved between us. "No. You aren't. Stick to the fucking plan."

"Looks like you're the one coming to heel," I snickered.

Tommy turned on me and punched me in the stomach as well. "Learn to keep your fucking mouth shut, Layla. Just because I don't want him to lose control doesn't mean we can't and won't rough you up a bit." He looked back at Anton. "You got yourself under control?"

"Yeah, I'm fucking good," Anton growled. He stood staring at me for several minutes before his expression smoothed out. He reached behind his back and pulled out my gun and knife. "You know, I've always admired your weapon collection. I couldn't figure out why a little girl like you had so many weapons she didn't know how to use, but I couldn't deny how I coveted them and looked forward to taking them from you after our wedding and your tragic death."

Yeah, I would be getting my weapons back.

"Now, we brought you here because you're becoming a real thorn in my side, and trying to kill you is becoming expensive," Anton continued as he studied the gun Colton had given me.

"We have a proposition for you," Uncle Tommy said. "Keep your money; we can make more. Shut down your operations, take your money, and get the fuck out of Atlantic City. Go back to Alaska or wherever you feel called to, and we'll spare you and your fuckboys' lives. Stay, and we'll kill everyone you have ever cared about one by one."

I snorted. "That sounds familiar. Didn't I already give you that order? And yet, here you are. I didn't want to have to visit Aunt Cindy. I always liked her, and she doesn't deserve to be tortured and murdered because her husband is a dumbfuck who can't follow simple directions."

"You dare threaten my family, little girl?" Tommy roared as he punched me again. This time, it was Anton who pulled him back.

"You threatened mine first," I replied. "You're the traitor here, Tommy. This is my city. You'll have to kill me because I'm not going anywhere."

"That can be arranged, Layla," Anton promised softly. "We're trying to resolve this with the least amount of bloodshed out of respect. This is a limited-time offer. Why don't you hang out here and think about it? We'll be back to get your answer." Anton set my weapons on the table and shoved Tommy toward the door.

They left the room, leaving me hanging from the ceiling. On any other day, I might have appreciated his pun, but not today. At least he left my weapons, not that they will do me any good now. "Ok, Layla. Get your shit together. You can get out of this," I said, giving myself a little pep talk. The problem was that my hands were already going numb, and my arms were screaming. As much as I struggled, I couldn't get the grip I needed on my restraints to pull myself off the hook. After being treated like a punching bag, my abdomen wasn't feeling it either. I thought briefly about the human-growing blob inside me but quickly pushed those thoughts aside. We would see what the blob was made of today and if it had the strength for this life.

All I could do right now was hang out and think. This time, I chuckled.

I reviewed what I knew. I had a spy in my ranks somewhere. Someone else was behind the scenes controlling Anton and Tommy. Maybe Anton's dad? There used to be a certain level of respect in the old guard. Perhaps his father is still one of the good ones, even if he is on the wrong side of this. Or there is an even bigger player involved that I'm not aware of yet. Something to look into if I ever get out of here. As the situation stood, it wasn't looking good for me. I had no intention of agreeing to leave town and hand my businesses over to them, even if it meant my release.

What felt like an eternity later, Anton and Tommy returned, and they brought some friends with them.

"Lower her and bring the table," Tommy ordered.

I was lowered to the ground and felt relief in my muscles as soon as my feet landed on the concrete floor. I stood there with my hands bound in front of me and contemplated my options. Fighting my way out of here would be a challenge. Before I could even begin to put a tentative plan in motion, their two lackeys grabbed me from both sides to keep me in place.

"So, Layla," Anton said, standing in front of me. "do you agree to our terms?"

"You know," I said thoughtfully, "I honestly did give it a good think, and I'm afraid I don't. I won't lie to you just to get out of here. My word means more to me than yours does to you. I know it hurts your egos and fragile masculinity, but I'm not going anywhere, and I will continue to run the Romano syndicate as I was born to do."

Anton grinned, and I saw in his eyes that he had never expected me to take his offer. He just needed to go through the motions to show that he offered me a way out before getting to what he wanted to do. With his grin still locked in place, he reeled back and punched me in the stomach again.

Tommy sighed. "I did try to help you avoid this, Layla. You always were a stubborn child."

"And you were always a dick," I replied. This time, the punch came from Tommy, and it was to my face. I tasted copper as my mouth filled with blood from my busted lip. "You know, I might enjoy this more than I thought."

I spit the blood at their feet and laughed. "You mean like how I enjoyed cutting your brother into shark bite-sized pieces? Should I tell you how he screamed? How he begged for his life? How, in the end, he wasn't anything more than a pathetic little bitch?" Oomph. The air rushed out of my lungs as Tommy started pummeling my body. It's definitely not my preferred way to accumulate bruises.

"Enough!" Anton bellowed, shoving him away from me. "If you can't control yourself when she is trying to provoke you, then you can fucking leave!" Anton turned to me. That same creepy grin split his face. "I'm going to enjoy this. I'm going to beat you until you don't think it is possible to hurt anymore. Then, I will take what should have been mine six years ago. After I use all of your holes and treat you like the whore you are, I'll probably beat you some more."

He stepped close to me. His sickly, sweet breath washed over my face as he kissed my cheek and then stroked it tenderly. "I'll be honest with you; we'll probably do that repeatedly until the novelty wears off and you're a broken little girl. Then, I'll clean you up, and once you've healed, I'll sell you to the highest bidder. I can make a fortune off of a former mafia princess. We like our toys broken, and the proud ones always make the best additions to our collection. The truth is, I'd keep you for myself, but the price I'll get for you is worth more than the hassle it would be to keep you."

"Do what you want with her," Tommy said as he grabbed a knife from the table, "but I'm going to trace over all those pretty scars my brother put on her body. I'd recognize his handiwork anywhere."

"No," Anton growled. "I told you, no knives. We aren't scarring her more than she already is." Anton slapped the knife from Tommy's hand, and I watched the silent standoff between them with interest. They aren't as tight as I thought. There is definitely a power struggle going on between them. I chuckled. They'll turn on each other as soon as they don't need each other anymore. That could be a play worth exploring if I leave here alive.

I'll be honest: Anton's plans didn't sound like a good time, and I'd very much like to avoid them if possible. I knew my men were out there looking for me. I had to keep the faith that they would find me soon. My best bet was to keep them talking.

"Uh oh! Do I sense a little trouble in paradise?" I asked. "I'd watch your back with that one, Anton. Think of how easily he betrayed my father, who had been his best friend for decades. Having a traitor like him in your ranks is risky. Why do you think I fired him?"

"Shut your fucking mouth, you dumb cunt!" Tommy yelled. "You don't know a fucking thing about me. I gave your father everything I fucking had. And what do I get in return? To eventually be shoved aside for the next generation! As if you children had earned the right to run a fucking thing."

"A Cato will never run the Romano syndicate," I replied. "That's something you should have come to terms with over a decade ago."

"I didn't need to come to terms with it. Once I learned your mother was having a girl, I ensured she could never give your father a son. Sure, the doctors thought her death was due to complications from childbirth that they hadn't caught in time. But the reality was far different," he laughed.

My blood ran cold. Did he mean? No. "So then you've always been a traitorous bastard," I replied evenly. I refused to let him see how much his words affected me.

"I knew your father would never remarry. Your mother was the love of his life," Tommy sneered. "No one would have ever been able to replace her. What I didn't consider was that he would name you his successor. I underestimated his love for you and didn't anticipate his willingness to let a woman rule in his stead. If I had known, I would have killed him when you were still a child so that I could take over. If I could go back, I'd make sure to kill you off, too. You ended up being a much larger pain in my ass than I would have expected."

"Thank you," I smirked. My head whipped to the side as Tommy backhanded me.

"I can't wait to see your spirit broken. I might record the process so that I can relive it whenever I want," Tommy said softly.

I met his eyes and grinned. "You mean like I rewatch turning John into shark chum?"

He roared in anger as his hands wrapped around my neck, and he began to choke me. The look in his eyes when he snapped was worth it.

"Enough!" Anton yelled. He tried to pull Tommy off of me, but he wasn't budging. I had pushed him over the edge, and he was going to kill me with his bare hands—a far better way to go than what Anton had planned. As my vision got fuzzy, I saw Anton pull a gun and press it to Tommy's head. "I will drop you before you can finish killing her. Back up." The cold barrel pressing against his temple seemed to be enough to get through to him as his hands dropped, and I started gasping for air, sucking it into my deprived lungs with deep gulps.

"Sorry," Tommy said begrudgingly as he took several steps back.

"I think it's best that you leave. You can't seem to control yourself," Anton sighed.

"No, I can. It won't happen again. I want to be here for this," Tommy replied.

"That wasn't a request," Anton said cooly. "Leave. Now."

Tommy looked like he was going to argue, but in the end, he thought better of it as he trudged to the door and left.

Anton looked at me and sighed. "Do you know what my biggest regret is? Not getting to know you better before our wedding. If I knew this was the person I was betrothed to, I wouldn't have agreed to kill you. Having a queen like you by my side? We could have been unstoppable. It's too bad things ended up the way they did."

"I would have ended up killing you in your sleep," I told him.

Anton laughed. "You know, I believe you. That shouldn't turn me on, but it does. The thought of sleeping next to a killer every night. The sex would have been explosive." He moved closer to me and ran a hand from my neck, over my breast, down my side, and to my ass, pulling me against him so that I could feel the proof of his reaction. His nose trailed across my jaw as his lips ghosted against my neck. "Maybe I'll keep you after all," he whispered. "I have half a mind to have my men take all the weapons out of the room and leave us alone. The idea of fighting you into submission has me ready to come in my pants."

"So do it," I whispered back seductively. One-on-one, even beaten the way I was, I knew I could take him out. He moved his face back a few inches to meet my eyes. I could see that he was considering it when the door slammed open.

"We've got a problem," Tommy said. "Hang her back up."

Wolves howling echoed through the building, and I started to laugh. My men and my boys were here for me. Anton nodded at his men to do as Tommy said, and I was strung back up as they rushed from the room. I was still cackling when Anton turned and came back to me.

"I'll be seeing you again, pet," he promised, kissing me quickly before following his men out of the room as the howls grew closer.

Well, shit. Making Anton fall into his twisted version of love with me was not the plan.

"Arooo," I howled back, laughing. "That's right. You're in trouble now!" I yelled after them. "Run like the little cockroaches you are!"

"Layla!" I heard Zach yell. "Howl for me again, baby!"

I did and laughed when I heard the responding howls from my boys... and Zach.