Page 130 of Princes of Carnage

“Run,” he commands.

The order is so familiar that it jolts through me like an electric shock, making my nipples harden.

I lick my lips, glancing around the room. It’s a big enough house, but…

“Where?” I whisper.

Killian grins darkly behind the mask. “It doesn’t matter, siren. Run anywhere you like, because no matter where you go, I’ll always catch you. I’ll always find you.”

It’s a threat and a promise all in one, and it sends my adrenaline skyrocketing. The truth in his words is clear, and it terrifies me to know that he truly would never let me go. Killian is intense enough to mean it, and the connection between us is starting to feel just as intense. He’d find me anywhere and wouldn’t give up until he did.

Maybe that thought should send panic racing through me, but it doesn’t. And I don’t say my safe word.

Instead, I get to my feet and bolt, running flat out. I hear Killian moving behind me, still so impressively quiet for someone so fucking big.

I have speed on my side, and knowing the house well enough to use that to my advantage. I duck around the couch and then sprint for the door, barely evading him as he chases after me.

I wrench the door open and flee into the night, my feet pounding on the ground. My adrenaline is so high right now that it takes me a second to realize that it’s raining. The cold drops pelt my body as I run, but I don’t let them slow me down.

In the distance, I hear one of the men call my name, but I don’t turn around to see who or why.

There’s a flash off to my left, and I turn my head just enough to catch sight of someone in my periphery. Too small to be Killian, so it must be either Atlas or Nico.

Holy shit, they’re working together.

That thought rockets through me, making me almost stumble as my heart skips a beat. The three of them are essentially hunting me down as a team.

There’s something sick and twisted about that, but at the same time, it makes arousal pool low in my gut.

My heart pounds hard and fast, beating a furious rhythm as I keep running. I’m soaked as I slip and slide my way through the grass of the empty lot at the edge of the neighborhood. There’s not much in the way of cover here, but there’s a cemetery at the end of the lane that’s dark and heavy with willow trees.

I fix my eyes on the gate that leads into the cemetery, not looking back to gauge where the Princes are.

I’m soaked when I reach it, my clothes sticking wetly to my skin. The gate creaks open as I throw myself against it, and shove it shut behind me before racing along the gravel lanes between the sections of graves.

I weave in between gravestones in the near pitch black, my hands out to try to feel any obstacles before they can trip me up.

My shoes squelch in the muddy ground, and I curse when my foot catches on something, taking a second to shake it free before setting my gaze on one of the willow trees up ahead.

Maybe I could climb into it and use that to get a vantage on where the Princes are. Or maybe that would just turn me into a sitting duck.

I could—

Before that thought is fully formed, someone grabs me.

The hands are unyielding, yanking me back hard against a strong chest.

“Fuck!” I gasp out, my chest heaving from exertion and adrenaline. I fight against the hold, and I can tell from the strength in it that it’s Killian who’s caught me.

Of course it’s Killian.

I try to wrench away from him, jabbing with my elbows and kicking back with my heels, trying to catch something sensitive in my thrashing.

But his arms just tighten more tightly around me, making it harder to move and a little hard to breathe.

We’re both soaked through enough that I manage to wriggle downward in his grip and slip away for a split second, but he’s on me again even faster, pinning me against his massive body.

I’m caught, my back pressed hard against his chest.

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