WANTED: Love of my Life

50. The Knife

I don't know what I was expecting when I burst into the room. Giacomo on the ground maybe, being beaten to death by several brawny gangsters? What I definitely wasn't expecting to see was two men on the ground and Giacomo kicking the crap out of the remaining three. I watched agape, the emergency doorhandle still in my hand as he dodged a knife thrust at him and sent his attacker to the ground with a swift strike The remaining two came at him from both sides. There was a smirk on his face. His fist struck, and struck again. Now, only one man was left standing. He looked around in a panic. His terrified eyes focused on me, and so did Giacomo's. But he saw me a second too late.

The gangster had already jumped towards me with a triumphant yell. I was thrust against the wall, and something sharp was pressed against my throat. O God, this couldn't be happening! I would have closed my eyes, but then I wouldn't have been able to see Giacomo's face anymore. How could I do that? Only, his face didn't offer me much reassurance just at the moment. His eyes were still burning, lit with that fire that I now recognized: rage. The joy of battle.

He started towards me.

“Not one step closer! Not one step!” I recognized the rough voice. It was Neil. A hairy hand pulled me back, and I felt the knife prick my skin. A gasp of pain escaped my throat. It was that little sound that extinguished the light in Giacomo's eyes. He came to a stop. For a moment, I thought I saw a dazed, terrified expression cross over his face. But it was gone so quickly that I couldn't be sure. In its place there came a terrible calm that was almost worse than the burning fire before.

“What kind of psycho are you, kid?” Neil's voice was a mix of fear and anger, as his eyes swept over his fallen men on the floor.

“The killing kind,” Giacomo whispered. He raised a single finger and pointed to me. “I would suggest you let her go. Now.”

“No dice! What do you think I am, kid, stupid?”

“Yes. You haven't let her go yet.”

Neil sneered. “Oh, so you care about this little hooker?”

No answer.

“I figured,” Neil sad, now sounding confident again. “Why else would you've locked her up? Possessive of your women, are you?” He squinted down at me. “Whoops. Did I say women? Sorry, darling. My mistake. How old are you exactly?”

I opened my mouth, but no sound came out.

“Tell me how old you are!”

The point of the knife raked over my skin. I couldn't help it. I whimpered. “F-fourteen.”

“Fourteen?”

Neil laughed. How could he be enjoying himself? Four of his friends were unconscious on the ground! He was hurting someone! How could he be enjoying himself? And yet he was, I could hear it in his voice.

“Man, I already got that you're a psycho, kid. Didn't know you were a pedophile.”

A noise came out of Giacomo's throat, somewhere between a growl and a moan.

“Hit a nerve, did I? Well, suck it up. Me and your pretty little friend are going for a walk now. And if you follow us, I'll cut her, do you understand? I'll cut her good and proper.”

“Let her go,” Giacomo said. There was no feeling in his voice. “You do not realize what you are about. Your cronies over there,” he pointed over his shoulder. “I just knocked them out. They were just trying to kill me. They didn't deserve to die. But if you touch her...” Now one could hear the emotions in his voice, smoldering under the surface, like a volcano about to erupt. “If you even touch one hair on her precious golden head, I will hunt you down. I will find you. And then I will do things to you that your mind cannot even conceive of.”