جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 350

The lock scraped and Suzi tensed. Her back straightened, fingers tightening against the edge of the thin mattress. The door swung open with a slow, deliberate sound as Ricci stepped inside.“Well,” Ricci said, rocking back on his heels, smug as ever. “By now they’ve seen my little gift. I imagine Max is foaming at the mouth, Antonio trying to calm him down, Landon pretending he has control.” He chuckled, pleased with himself. “I sent them a rose bouquet. A nice touch, don’t you think?”Suzi stayed seated on the edge of the bed. She didn’t flinch, didn’t look away. Ricci didn’t know Max was in a coma. Her throat was tight, but she lifted her chin like Max always told her to when she wanted to hide fear. “Flowers?” she said flatly. “Really?”Ricci’s grin twitched. “You don’t like the idea? I included a nice note too.”“I think it’s cheesy,” Suzi said, her voice steady though her pulse raced. “Cliché. Almost lazy. You kidnap me, lock me in this hole, and the best threat you can come up w

Ricci’s jaw ticked, his fingers tightening around the hilt of the knife until his knuckles paled.Immature.The word rang in his ears louder than her voice had. Nobody called him that. Not the men who followed him. Not the ones who feared him. And sure as hell not some soft-voiced girl sitting on a bed.His chest burned hot. He stood so fast the chair behind him scraped against the floor. Suzi flinched at the sound but did not move from the mattress. That stillness only poured fuel on his rage.He stalked forward, the knife glinting in his hand. “You think I’m immature?” His voice was low, sharp as glass.Suzi’s chin lifted, though her pulse fluttered hard in her neck. “I said what I said.”That did it. Ricci swung the blade down hard. The steel buried itself into the wooden table beside her bed with a loud crack. The impact rattled through the room, the knife quivering in place.Suzi jerked at the noise, her eyes flashing to the blade only inches from her side.Ricci leaned close, bo

Max filled the doorway like a storm. His body was pale and battered, his shirt stretched tight across healing wounds, but none of that mattered. His eyes burned hotter than Ricci had ever seen, locked only on Suzi.Her chest heaved. For the first time since being taken, her voice cracked. “Max.”Ricci felt his pulse spike, fingers tightening around the knife. This wasn’t how it was supposed to feel. He should have been smiling, taunting, watching Max crumble at the sight of his wife bound to a crate. Instead, his stomach twisted.Max stepped forward, slow and steady, each stride echoing in the hollow space. Landon flanked him, eyes sharp and unreadable, and Antonio followed, his presence heavy as stone. They didn’t need to speak. The air already felt like it belonged to them.Ricci forced a laugh, though it came out raw. “Well, well. The Prince has come to the rescue, huh?”Max didn’t answer. His gaze never left Suzi. Every step closer made her shoulders shake, her eyes shining in the

Suzi stumbled back against the wall, her wrists still bound, her chest rising in panicked gasps. She called out, “Max!”Ricci clawed at Max’s arm, nails digging into raw skin, but the man didn’t budge. He was pale, beaten, yet he was relentless, fury and love pouring through every fiber of him.“You think you can take her from me?” Max growled, his forehead pressed close to Ricci’s. “You think you can threaten my wife? My child?” His grip tightened, knuckles whitening. Ricci’s vision blurred at the edges.Max slammed him again into the wall. The plaster cracked behind Ricci’s head, dust raining down. He choked, gasping for air, his legs kicking out uselessly against the ground.“You picked the wrong man to test,” Max said, his voice low, guttural, shaking with restraint he barely had left.Landon’s voice carried from behind, sharp but controlled. “Max! Don’t kill him…”Ricci gagged, spittle at the corner of his lips, his fingers clawing for the knife on the floor but coming up short.

Six months later…Max was dead asleep when something jabbed into his ribs.“Max,” Suzi whispered, then nudged him harder. “Max. Wake up.”He groaned, rolling halfway onto his stomach. “Little rabbit, it’s four in the morning. Go back to sleep.”“I can’t.”He cracked one bleary eye open. “Bad dream?”“No.” She sat up, rubbing her round belly with both hands. “I need ice cream.”Max blinked. “…Ice cream?”“Not just any ice cream.” Her eyes narrowed, deadly serious. “That mint chocolate chip from that place downtown with the sprinkles they make fresh. I can taste it, Max. My whole body is screaming for it.”He buried his face into the pillow with a groan. “We bought six tubs of ice cream yesterday.”“That was yesterday. The baby wants this one today.”Max peeked up at her, and despite the bags under his eyes, a crooked grin tugged at his mouth. “So the baby has expensive taste already. Great. Just like his mother.”Suzi swatted his shoulder. “Don’t make jokes, I’m dying.”Max sat up, rak