Page 38 of Damned By His Angel

“Who is out there, Mom?”

“He found you, baby,” she says quietly. I try to pull back but she doesn’t allow it. “Let me protect you and my granddaughter the only way I know how.”

Tears fill my eyes. “Mom, no I won’t lose you?—”

“You protect that baby with everything you have, do whatever you have to in order to survive, do you understand me?” Gooseflesh dots my skin as tears fall down my cheeks.

“Mom, please?—”

“Hush. Go now, there isn’t time to debate this, baby girl. Your father won’t get here in time, so you need to be prepared for that. If you can escape out the back, you do that. Now go, Amelia!” She releases me with a gentle shove. I feel like a coward, the scum of the fucking earth as I turn my back on my mother. I peer back over my shoulder to see her standing there with a forced smile on her face and nodding at me encouragingly.

“I love you, Mom.”

Her shoulders deflate. “And I love you, Amelia, more than you ever know. When you hold that little girl for the first time, you will understand then just how much I love you.” A pit is forming in my gut, this is so fucking wrong. My family is the most powerful in the fucking world and my stupid decision to leave the safety and protection of my family’s compound to return here so I can prepare for the arrival of my daughter, has put us all in danger. “Go!” she snaps.

“Mom—” I sob.

“Amelia, that little girl inside you is the priority, you protect her and fucking run. Don’t you dare look back or try to come out. You find an exit and you take it.”

Cronos

I groan as I slowly blink my eyes open, my ears are ringing and my vision is hazy as I look around and see people running through the cloud of smoke and dust. I turn and hiss in pain, a large chunk of concrete is pinning my ankle. Suddenly King appears, limping toward me, cut up and bleeding. If he hadn't tackled me out the front door we would both be dead right now.

“Can you move?” he shouts, his loud voice can be heard over the ringing in my ears. I nod my head, bending down, he grits his teeth as he flips the chunk off my ankle. I bite down on my lip to keep from screaming out. King doesn’t give me a chance to recover, he grabs my arm and hauls me to my feet. Wrapping my arm around his shoulder, he helps me hobble across the road to my car. I feel like a fucking bitch, he has to help me inside the car but I draw the line at him trying to put my seatbelt on.

“Just get in the fucking car!” I snap. He growls but does as I say and rounds the front of the car to climb behind the wheel. The sound of sirens can be heard in the distance as King drives like a mad man through the streets.

“Where’s your phone?” he demands. I grab it from the console and hand it to him. He scrolls through the contact list and then hits dial before tossing it back to me. It rings through the car’s Bluetooth system, I peer down to see he has called Allison. “Come on baby, pick up!” he mutters to himself.

“The man himself.” My heart stops for a second at the sound of his voice, my worst fears are coming to light and from the way King is gripping the steering wheel—he is as fucked up inside as I am.

“Colson,” King snarls. The sound of a woman screaming in the background has the both of us tensing.

“Don’t be rude, Ally, I’m on the phone!” The sarcasm in Colson’s tone is thick.

“You fucking take me, you cunt! You let my family go?—”

“You don’t make the fucking rules, King!” Instantly he snaps his mouth closed, his breaths are coming in fast pants as he tries to control his anger. Allison can be heard whimpering and I can only imagine how that sound is killing him inside.

“What do you want?” King’s tone is even and calm, he is faking the hell out of his calmness.

“I want you to suffer the same way I did. You took my family from me and now I will take yours from you.” King turns the car hard left and the tires squeal but he never lets off the gas.

“You want me to suffer, then take me, I’ll come willingly, just let them go and you can have me.”

Colson tsks him, clearly loving having the upper hand. My stomach is in my throat as worry for my girl and our baby takes hold of me. “You wouldn’t suffer enough but this way, I know it will hurt so much more. You’re too far away to save them. I’ll do you a solid though, okay? I’ll let you say goodbye to her.” Before King can utter a word Colson presses on. “Say hi, Ally.”

“Suck my dick, you little cunt, my husband is going to slaughter all of you fuckers—Argh!” Allison screams.

“Don’t fucking hurt her!” King yells so loud I recoil.

“Say your goodbyes, Ally,” Colson grits out.

“Baby?” King whispers brokenly.

“You keep that shit bottled up, you save our girl and end this,” Ally gasps out. I can hear the pain in her voice but my mind is reeling, she said to save Amelia so she is still alive!

“I’m coming for you, baby, just hang on, okay?” King’s tone is filled with pain like I have never heard before, I can see him fighting back his own tears.

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