Page 24 of Wicked Revenge

That will never happen, Angel.

Sliding to my ass and sitting back against the wall, I lift my eyes from her tear-soaked face to see Alek pinning Doc to the wall by his throat, rage burning in his eyes. Maddox grabs a blanket from the bed, covering us both before slowly turning back to Doc.

“What the fuck did you do to her?” Maddox says in a slow, psychotic tone, his head tilting to the side just adds to it.

“N-Nothing, she woke up when I was trying to hear her heart rhythm, and I told her I was going to take a listen and she just p-panicked,” he stumbles out the words around Alek’s tight grip on his throat.

Ella pushes forward, kneeling in front of me, gently placing her hand on Raena’s cheek. “Rae, it’s me, it’s El. You’re safe. Can you open your eyes?” She asks in a soothing tone, one like you would speak to a child in. All eyes are on my Angel as she slightly shakes her head no, keeping her eyes tightly shut. “Okay. That’s okay, Rae. The doctor was just checking you out. You had an accident. Do you remember what happened?” Ella continues to stroke her cheek softly as I gently rub her back, and we get another no.

“H-he, he….” She cries harder as she tries to speak, and her angelic voice hits me right in the chest.

My arms tighten around her, holding her closer against me. Finally coming back down from her panic and realizing there is a strange man holding her, she finally lifts her head. I am greeted with the most stunning, emerald green eyes. My breath catches in my lungs when she finally locks those eyes on mine.

She doesn’t know me, but she doesn’t panic like I feared she would. She just stares into my soul as I stare back into hers.

And I know, without a shadow of a doubt, she is mine.

Chapter 14

The aqua blue eyes staring into mine through the black mask should terrify me.

Instead, I feel like they’re burrowing their way deep into my soul, never to be removed, and I’ve never felt safer in my entire life. It doesn’t make sense, but I can blame it on my throbbing head later, I guess. His arms are cradling me as he sits on the floor, and I have this overwhelming urge to see the rest of his face.

So, I do what any mentally unstable and possibly concussed girl would do when she is being held like this by a masked stranger, I lift my hand to his neck and try to push the mask up.

He immediately stops me, grabbing my wrist in his strong hand and bringing it to where his mouth is, kissing the inside of it through the thin material. My breath catches in my lungs as I finally hear his voice clearly.

It comes out gravelly when he says, “Not yet,” against my wrist, before he places my hand back on his chest and runs his hand through my hair. I wince at the pain that shoots from my head when he touches a particularly tender spot, and I am gifted with his deep, low voice once more, “Will you let Doc take a look, Angel?”

Angel?

Why does that make my heart beat so fast in my chest? It takes me a moment to realize what he said before it. Panic seeps back in, and I grip his jacket tightly with my fist again. My fearful gaze finds my best friend crouching down beside me, and the masked man goes rigid beneath me.

“I… I remember h-his voice,” I whisper to her, locking eyes with her, silently pleading with her to understand what I mean.

I can’t talk about it right now. The memories of what happened tonight start coming back to me, and I can’t make myself relive that panic right now. I take a few deep breaths into this stranger's chest, smells of fresh rain, forest dirt, and a hint of cologne hitting my nose. His scent calms my breathing in a way I don’t understand, but I’m too exhausted to question it.

“He was there… before?” Ella asks calmly, her tone is nothing short of murderous. I nod my head and I hear her stand and move away. “Get him out of here!” She says angrily, causing me to finally look around the room.

I see two more masked men, all in black from head to toe. One is holding an older man by his throat against the wall, and the other is pacing the floor. When their eyes lock on mine, my breath catches again at the intensity of their stares.

“Wait… what’s going on? I haven’t done anything,” the old man shouts, and he must be looking at me because I hear a deep growl come from across the small room.

A deep voice grits out, “Don’t fucking look at her.”

I can now hear the doctor being forcefully removed from the room.

“Tie him up in the main room out there,” Ella says before crouching down beside me again. I peek my eyes open at her, and she looks at me, not with pity but with compassion and love. “He’s gone, Rae. Can I take a look at you now?”

I nod my head. The man holding me shifts me slightly to stand, his muscles flexing around my body, trying not to hurt me as he moves me to the table I rolled off when the doctor's voice caused me to freak out. When he lays me on the table, my clutch on him tightens, my need to keep him near confusing me.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper, embarrassed at myself for how I’m reacting to these strangers. His hand gently pushes my hair back that has fallen in my face, then cups my cheek.

“Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere.” He straightens up when I release his shirt, grabbing my hand in both of his and squeezing.

The loss of his body heat makes me shiver, and I realize I’m only in my bra and panties. My cheeks flame; I’m sure they match my fiery curls right now, and I close my eyes and use my hands to cover my body quickly. Immediately, I feel the warmth of a blanket covering me.

Sighing heavily in relief, I open one eye to see the masked man staring at the blanket like he can see through it. My body is a road map of marks and scars across my skin, a daily reminder of my time in hell.

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