Ethan turned his cold gaze slowly toward Brother Drake, who was still pressed flat against the wall with his men."Why has this shop been making things difficult for me for years?" Ethan asked. His voice was quiet and carried the patience of a man who would only ask once.Brother Drake nearly choked on his own tongue. He spun around and grabbed Old Lou by the collar, dragging the blind, bleeding man up from the floor."You brainless animal," Brother Drake screamed into Old Lou's ruined face. He slapped him so hard the sound echoed through the wrecked shop."You have been provoking this man for four years," Brother Drake shrieked. He slapped him again, harder. "Do you have any idea what he could do to every single one of us?"Old Lou wailed through the blood pouring down his face. His fat body shook uncontrollably in Brother Drake's grip."I did not know who he was," Old Lou sobbed. "I swear on everything I have, it was all a misunderstanding.""Every time he came in I just saw a broke

"Sophia, save me," Tyler screamed from the corner. His voice was raw and barely human anymore.The Doberman ripped another strip of flesh from his calf and swallowed it without chewing. Tyler's body convulsed against the chains and a fresh stream of blood ran down his dangling feet onto the marble floor.Sophia forced herself to look away from her brother. She could not afford to fall apart right now. She reached into her purse, pulled out a silver bank card, and placed it carefully on the glass coffee table in front of Chad."That covers his gambling debt in full," Sophia said. Her voice was controlled and professional despite the horror still burning behind her eyes.She straightened her back and took a measured breath before delivering the words she had rehearsed in the car."I divorced Ethan yesterday," Sophia stated. She held Chad's gaze without blinking."During our entire four year marriage, I never let him touch me," Sophia continued. Her chin lifted with deliberate pride. "No

Chad's open palm cracked across Sophia's face so hard her head snapped to the side. Her tears splattered onto the glass coffee table beneath her.His fingers tore through the collar of her blouse and the expensive fabric ripped apart with a loud, ugly sound. Sophia pressed her face against the cold glass and wept, her body trembling violently under his grip."Struggle," Chad ordered. His voice was low and thick with cruel amusement. "I have no interest in a lifeless doll."The hundred Black Tiger Crew elites pressed closer, forming a tight ring around the coffee table. Their eyes burned with something feral and their mouths twisted into vulgar grins. Shouts and filthy encouragements echoed off the marble walls.Diane stood frozen against the far wall, her face white and her hands shaking too badly to lift. Ashley pressed herself into the corner beside her, both palms clamped over her own mouth. Neither of them moved a single step forward.Tyler hung silently from his chains in the cor

The Black Tiger Crew elites stumbled backward in a wave of blind panic. Their empty guns shook uselessly in their hands as they stared at their boss dangling from Ethan's grip like a ragdoll."There are over three thousand men in this building," one of the elites screamed. His face was drenched in sweat and his voice cracked on every word."Let him go right now or none of you walk out of here alive," another shouted. He fumbled to reload his pistol with fingers that would not stop trembling.A tall, broad shouldered fighter near the elevator grabbed Sophia by the hair and yanked her upright from the floor. He pressed the cold barrel of a loaded pistol against the center of her forehead."Release the boss or I put a bullet through this woman's skull," the fighter threatened. His arm was steady but his eyes darted nervously toward Ethan.Ethan looked at Sophia for exactly one second. Her tear soaked face was twisted with pure terror, her torn blouse hanging from one shoulder, her body s

Sophia spread her arms wider. Diane and Ashley scrambled to their feet and pressed their bodies against hers, forming a wall of three trembling women between Ethan and Chad's broken body on the floor.Their calculation was simple and entirely selfish. If they saved the Black Prince's life, the Morgan family would earn the most powerful underground ally in Chicago. If Chad died here, his father Henry Bennett would unleash thirty thousand men on everything connected to the Morgan name.Either way, protecting Chad was protecting themselves."Go ahead and kill us," Diane dared. Her voice shook badly but she forced the words out through clenched teeth. "Kill three unarmed women and prove to the world what kind of coward you really are."Ashley stepped forward with tears still running down her bruised face. She clasped her hands together and looked up at the ceiling as though appealing to heaven itself."How could you face your mother's spirit after killing women?" Ashley cried. "Helen woul