Page 27 of Wicked Revenge

She lifts her head from her knees and looks between us cautiously before her eyes land on mine and stay there. Her breathing is starting to even out the longer she looks down at me, like our closeness calms her down.

I reach up and pull my mask off, showing her my full face for the first time. Her eyes widen comically as she drinks in my features, swallowing hard.

“I’m Alek, and this is my brother, Royal.” I nod my head at him and she looks in his direction. He removes his mask as well.

“Hey, Angel,” he says, grabbing her hand and bringing it to his lips for a gentle kiss.

“Our other brother, Maddox, is the one you stabbed tonight,” I say, giving her a little smirk. “You met him briefly at Twisted before that, I think.” She nods her head and blushes, and I have to wonder if it's because she is embarrassed that she stabbed him or whatever went down when they met before.

“Holy. Fucking. Shit.” Ella says, and I look at her. She stumbles back a second before steadying herself on the table with both hands. “You’re the Shadows, I don’t understand. You’re Kingsmen.”

Her words cause Raena to tense and try to pull her hands from us. I give her a gentle squeeze to let her know it’s okay as Royal says, “Not by choice.”

“It’s a long story, but all you need to know is that we became the Shadows to protect people like you and places like Twisted from King’s corruption until we can take him out,” I explain, feeling Raena relax once more, her eyes studying my face as if to see if I’m lying. Her reaction makes me think that King is involved in whatever she went through.

“Okay, but why are you waiting? Why not just kill King now?” Ella asks.

“We can’t. Not yet. He took our sister,” I say and Raena’s entire body freezes, and the look on her face tells me she knows exactly what happens to girls in King’s care.

“W-we…. We have to get her back. NOW.” Her voice starts off as a broken whisper before turning into molten rage as she speaks.

She swings her legs over the side to stand, but I’m still kneeling there. I place my hands on her waist, caging her in and stopping her from standing. She moved so fast that she was swaying with dizziness, even seated.

“Easy there, baby. You have a head injury. Listen, we know she is in danger, but he has her hidden, and we haven’t been able to find her yet. There is nothing we can do tonight. I need you to take a couple deep breaths for me so you don’t pass out.”

Her breathing is coming out in panicked pants. She listens to me though, breathing in and out a couple of controlled breaths until she can open her eyes. The tears that pool along her bottom lashes spill over and down her flushed cheeks. Bringing my hands to her face, I swipe away her tears.

“It was King, wasn’t it? He’s the one who hurt you?” I ask, because even though I know it in the depths of my soul, I need to hear it from her.

She searches my face for a few moments, like she is trying to decide if she can trust me now that I've opened up to her. Whatever she’s looking for, she must find it because she takes another deep breath in and out before nodding her head and letting out a strangled sob that shakes her entire body.

I know she’s fragile right now, on edge from everything that has happened tonight and whatever hell King put her through is fresh on her mind, but I can’t stop myself. I wrap her legs around my waist and pull her into my chest, turning us around and walking out the door.

“I’m taking her home.”

I don’t know where her home is, but for tonight, she is coming home with us. I need her to be okay, and there is no way in hell I’m letting her out of my sight right now. I can feel Ella and Royal following close behind me.

Maddox is out in the main room with Doc tied to a chair, a blindfold over his eyes, his mouth stuffed with something, and taped shut. When he sees me with Raena in my arms, he darts forward to meet me on my way to the stairs.

“Keep your eyes shut. Don’t open them until I tell you to,” I whisper into her hair, and I know she heard me because she presses her face deeper into my neck and nods. “Good girl.” I rub her back gently as I stop by the stairs, as far away from Doc as I can, and turn to face Maddox.

“Is she okay?” He whispers, his tone is serious and concerned, despite the manic look in his eyes. It seems that whatever information he got out of Doc has him halfway to losing his shit, too.

“She will be. We’re taking her home. Grab his stuff and put him in the truck,” I instruct. He nods while staring at Raena. His eyes finally move to mine, silently asking if I’ve got her, and it’s my turn to nod at him.

He runs back to the room to gather Doc’s supplies. Royal walks behind the blindfolded doctor. He places his thick arm around his neck, squeezing it into the crook of his arm until the doctor passes out. Ella works to untie him from the chair. Royal tosses Doc over his shoulder just as Maddox comes back out of the room, and I start up the stairs.

When I get to the top, I head back the way we came and push through the door leading outside. Ella comes up beside me, opening the passenger door. I place Raena on the seat so I can speak with the boys about what to do about Doc before we leave. However, when I try to let go, she whimpers in my arms and clings tighter to me.

Ella notices, looking at me with sympathy. “Just get in with her, we will handle this. Turn on the heat.”

She hands me the truck keys. It takes a minute for me to fold my large body holding hers into the truck. My knees are jammed into the dash, but I would endure worse discomfort to keep this little vixen wrapped around me like this a little longer.

Ella closes the passenger side door for me. I cradle her head with one hand, reaching over the small cab with the other to crank it over. The truck rumbles to life, and I let it warm up a few minutes before cranking the heat as high as it will go.

Raena’s sobs have quieted, her breathing steadier than before. I gently adjust her head so I can look at her face, running my finger into her gorgeous red curls to push them back. She is so beautiful.

Her long lashes kiss her high cheekbones, her pouty, kissable lips make me ache to part them with my tongue to see what she tastes like. Will she taste like cherries, like Maddox calls her? Or something else?

---