Page 61 of Slay King

When had she found out? How long had she known? Fuck! Rumor was pregnant. Was she sick? I had to get to her. She needed me. She had to be so fucking scared. She would be terrified for the baby. I was fucking terrified for them both.

Mine. They’d taken what was mine.

“Why didn’t she tell me?” I asked, not sure it was directed at my father or not.

I would have stayed with her. Taken care of her. I’d have fought to stay there.

“Maeme. This is her doing. She knew you wouldn’t finish the job. This was her way of protecting you and Rumor … and my grandchild.”

I sucked in a deep breath. The sharp, stabbing pain in my chest was worse than the gunshot to my leg had been. I had to get to her.

“Get me crutches,” I said through clenched teeth.

My dad shook his head. “No. You can’t go. It’s the fucking Insantos. You can’t walk.”

“I’M GOING TO GET WHAT IS MINE!”

My father took two steps in my direction with his finger pointed at me. “If you want to be alive for your child’s birth, then you will use your fucking head! We will get her. This is all our fight now. You heard Blaise. He’s taking this personal.”

“She needs me! It should be me going to get her. This is fucking Gage’s fault!”

Dad raised his brows. “You know better than to mouth off to that psycho. You’re lucky it was your leg he went for.”

I felt fucking helpless as the beast inside me paced back and forth, wanting to go get what belonged to me and kill everyone in my path.

• Twenty-Five •

I will fight until the very end. I swear it.

Rumor

The four walls of the windowless bedroom seemed to get smaller and creepier, the longer I sat in there. I’d memorized every corner of it. Looked for anything that I could use in an attempt to escape. But so far, I had nothing. The door to the room wasn’t even locked. They were so sure of their security that they didn’t worry about my walking around.

Perhaps I should go out and get an idea of my surroundings. Mentally map the place out. Part of me thought it was a good idea. But there was a larger part that feared what I would find. Or who. How many of them lived here? Heck, as far as I knew, there was a guard on the other side of my door.

I laid my head back on the headboard and closed my eyes.

Did King know I was gone now? He had to. Sebastian would have eventually looked for me last night. He would have found I was gone. Realized I wasn’t at Maeme’s. King would have been told then.

I glanced over at the clock on the wall. It was already four in the afternoon.

Would I get fed again? Not that I wanted to eat, but I knew I had to. I tried not to think about the beatings that Falcon had mentioned if they didn’t give him the money. Could I get him to not hit me near my stomach? Maybe he had a heart … or not. I didn’t know for sure.

He could have already hurt me, and he hadn’t. Either he wasn’t completely evil or he was just that scared of the family. I had a feeling it was the latter. He seemed to not want to fight them. This was his way of just getting them to pay him. Why hadn’t they done that already?

If he would just tell them that I needed to talk to King. Or even Blaise. I would talk to him. Tell him just to give Falcon all the money they had put back for me. I didn’t need it. I could get a job, support myself. King would help with the baby. I knew he would. He was a good man even if he didn’t love me. Besides, even if he wasn’t a dependable guy, Maeme would make him do his part.

I’d lived in wealth, and it had been a hell I never wanted to go back to. Money did not bring happiness. In my case, it had brought a nightmare. Churchill had made sure of it. Being self-sufficient and depending on no one but myself was the most secure I could ever be.

A knock at my door brought me out of my thoughts, and I sat up straight as Tabor walked into the room.

His gaze found mine, and he gave me a small smile. “You doing okay?”

I almost lied but decided to be honest. “No. I’m scared.”

“I see. You think they won’t agree to the money.”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve met the boss once. He doesn’t seem … like someone you can demand something from.”

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