Cristiano just stood and watched it all unfold like the big lug he was, then raised his hands slowly as Vaughn stepped into view with a gun aimed in his direction.
Vaughn took in the scene with flat eyes, showing only the briefest hint of concern when he noticed his twin’s limp. But he hid it fast and turned his attention to her and Giuseppe. “Hurt her, and you can say good-bye to your son and nephew.”
Cristiano finally clued in to what was happening and charged at Cam—
And all hell broke loose.
A gun went off and the bullet pinged wildly off the cage near her head. Giuseppe released her and spun around like he intended to join the fight for control of the weapon, but Cristiano had already subdued Cam with an arm twisted up behind his back. Tommy now held the gun, and Giuseppe grabbed her again before she could get away.
He smirked over at Vaughn. “The tables have turned. So what’s your next move, Wilde?”
Vaughn didn’t move. Not at first. He glanced from her to Cam and back. Then, slowly, he lowered his weapon to the floor and held up his hands in surrender.
“See, I knew you were a smart man.” Giuseppe nodded and passed her off to Cristiano, whose hands felt like sandpaper on her skin.
She was forced down to the concrete beside Cam and watched helplessly as Vaughn followed orders to walk forward with his hands locked behind his head. Giuseppe indicated he should sit at Cam’s other side, and he did so without protest.
“You okay, bro?” he asked softly.
“I’d be better if there wasn’t a gun pointed at us,” Cam muttered.
“Yeah, you’ll live.”
“Kinda doubting that right now. Is my wife—”
“Losing her mind. Which is exactly why you need to go home to her.” He leaned back enough to see around Cam. “Vixen, are you hurt?”
“No,” she managed. Despite the burning in her throat, she wasn’t really injured. Not yet anyway. But Giuseppe was like a cat, always playing with his prey until he tired of the game and finished it off. He was only toying with them, and she shuddered to think of the horrors he had lined up for her.
“We’ll be okay,” Vaughn said.
She wanted to believe him. She never wanted to doubt him again, but she couldn’t see how any of this would turn out okay.
Then he climbed to his feet. “Bellisario! I want to make a deal.”
Giuseppe turned. “You’re not in a position to make deals.”
“I’ll fight you.”
“What?” Cam said.
Giuseppe crossed his arms over his chest. “You know what happens to men who get in the octagon with me? I’m undefeated.”
“Because you haven’t fought me yet,” Vaughn said.
“I do enjoy your bravado.” He thought about it for a second, then a smile lifted the corner of his mouth. “All right, I’ll humor you. What are the terms of this deal?”
“I win, we walk away. All of us, including Dahlia.”
Giuseppe’s smile morphed into a sneer. “She’s not up for negotiation. I’ll make the deal for you and your brother.”
Vaughn looked at her. She nodded slightly, telling him it was okay. She hadn’t expected to walk away from this warehouse anyway.
He scowled, shook his head, and faced off with Giuseppe again. “I’ll only fight if Dahlia’s safety is included in our agreement.”
“No.” With that, Giuseppe walked toward the door.
“That was a quick no, huh?” Vaughn said conversationally over his shoulder to his brother. “Think he’s afraid of me?”
Cam looked as if he had to unglue his jaw to speak, and his blue eyes were full of I’m-going-to-kill-him-for-this. Still, he played along, his voice almost matching Vaughn’s for casualness, as if they were talking about nothing more life-threatening than the potential for rain. “Yeah, he’s definitely afraid.”
“From all the rumors, I figured he’d have bigger balls than that.”
“Cut him some slack, bro. He’s what? Twice your age?”
“Mm. Old man.”
“You’d put him in a nursing home.”
“In adult diapers.”
“On a puree diet.”
Dahlia’s gaze ping-ponged between the twins. Jesus. They were both completely suicidal.
Giuseppe swung around, color filling his face. “Enough.” Spittle flew with the word. He crossed the room in a handful of strides and grabbed the front of Vaughn’s shirt, got in his face. “Do you have a death wish?”
“Yeah,” Cam said wearily and side-eyed his twin. “He does.”
You both do, Dahlia thought but kept her mouth shut.
“No,” Vaughn countered. “I only want a fighting chance to save the people I care about.”
Giuseppe stared at him for a long time, then finally released his shirt. “Fine, but there will be no tapping out of this match.”
Dahlia’s stomach dropped. No tapping out? She didn’t know much about cage fighting, but that sounded bad, and Cam’s muttered cursing confirmed her fears. This wasn’t going to be any fight. This was going to go on until someone was on life support. Or worse.