I own nothing but Nicki.
CHAPTER EIGHT
"Screw your courage to the sticking place."
"So rude," he returned, taking another step, now standing toe to toe with her. "I think my boys and I should teach you how a proper woman acts." He reached up to stroke her cheek and she pulled away.
"I'll pass." She retorted. He snatched her jaw violently, pulling her face close to his.
"It wasn't a question." She reached for her knife and drew it up quickly, managing to cut his hand with it. He cried out and in pain, but before she could make another move, two of the others reacted, catching her by the arms and hauling her back into the alley. They slammed her into the wall, causing her to drop the knife on impact. Neeko, still nursing his hand, glared at her as he approached. Picking up the fallen knife, he traced her collar bone with the cold metal. Clicking his tongue he raised it to her throat. "So much fire in this one," he mused, his breath hot and smelling of alcohol. "We'll have to fix that."
"That's enough," a voice called from the end of the alley. Oswald had emerged from hiding and now stood, scared but determined. "Let her go." He ordered, hoping he sounded more intimidating that he felt. He was disappointed to see that it didn't appear to be the case. Neeko and the others broke into a laugh and with a toss of his head, Neeko signaled for the three that weren't pressing Nicki to the wall to take care of the intruder.
"Well it seems that your "real man" has come to your rescue," Neeko chuckled, squeezing her face and inching closer. She could feel his hot breath on her lips and squeezed her eyes shut. He pulled away quickly as sickening thunk and horrified yelp rang out. All eyes turned to Oswald who was standing over one of the hulking men, a brick in his hand. All was still for just a moment, and the other two pounced, only allowing Oswald one more hit in before they set upon him with punches and kicks.
Taking advantage of the distraction, Nicki slammed her knee into Neeko's groin causing him to double over in pain and brought the spiky heel of her shoe back down on the foot of the man beside her. The thug let out a howl and she broke her arm away, clawing at the face of the last man holding her. She rushed to Oswald's aid, and gripped the shoulders of one man, trying desperately to pull him away as he landed a hard kick into the umbrella boy's stomach. She finally forced him to stumble back and trip over the unconscious goon Oswald had taken out with the brick but the other was quick to take her by the shoulders and push her to the ground.
Through bleary eyes, Oswald saw a server saunter into the alley. With relief he realized it was Lazlo. The poor server was just taking out his cigarette, presumably just leaving for his break when he saw the scene before him and froze. "Get help!" Oswald yelled before he felt himself being lifted by the collar and felt a fist connect with his eye. The hand dropped him to the ground and panting he saw Neeko, now recovered, approaching Nicki who had once again been hoisted up by two of Nikolai's men and was now propped in her former spot against the wall. As soon as he was close enough, Nicki spat in his face. With a snarl, he took her face in his palm and slammed her head back into the wall. She went limp from the blow and her head nodded as if she were barely retaining consciousness.
"STOP IT" a wild voice screeched. Turning his head, Oswald saw Fish Mooney herself marching down the alley, Nikolai hot on her heels. Her footsteps echoed as she came at them, a picture of sheer rage. "Get your damn hands off of her! Do you have any idea who that is?" Neeko had abandoned his prey and was now completely attentive to the enraged woman. With all the force she could muster, she slapped him in the face, actually taking him down to his knees. "That's Don Maroni's daughter," she hissed, glaring into his face.
Oswald, who had been struggling to lift himself, almost fell over. Don Maroni's daughter? All he could do was gape. No… he thought, staring wide-eyed at the scene in front of him. Neeko, however, did not share his amazement. In fact, the arrogant man seemed thoroughly unimpressed. With a dark chuckle he met Fish's dagger-like gaze, and smirked. "So? Not our family."
The unmistakable click of a gun echoed through the alley, and Neeko froze. "No…" a calm, blank voice sounded from behind him. "But she is mine."
Seeming to materialize out of the shadows came a bald man, wearing a nice suit and a very serious expression. A feeling of tension filled the air, and even though Oswald had never seen the man in person, who knew exactly whose presence he was in. Victor Zsaz.
Don Maroni? Victor Zsaz? Whaaaaaat?
Thank you for reading! More updates coming soon! Also I appreciate the encouragement from Guest reader! It means a lot that people are actually interested in this story! I'm about to get really busy with Student Teaching and some theatre shows I'm a part of but I send you all much love and I'll keep the updates coming as quick as I can!