Page 2 of Royal Flush

I had to race down twenty flights, but I couldn’t care less, jumping down several then taking a giant leap around every flight to the other. By the time I was outside near the entrance, a huge crowd had developed forming a circle.

What the hell?

My gut told me something was terribly wrong.

“Out of my way,” I yelled, pushing my way through, not caring how brutal my actions. My lungs burned, my heart thudding erratically. The moment I made my way through the crowd, I couldn’t breathe.

I wasn’t the kind of man easily shocked yet the sight in front of me was horrific enough, I was tossed into a horrible fog. I knew I was moving, my legs jerking as I headed closer, yet I had no understanding of what I was seeing. My mind was one huge blur.

My breathing difficult, I pressed forward, the horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach making it lurch. The sight of long, curly dark hair splayed across the parking lot pavement was telling. There was blood, so much blood, a man crouched down near a broken woman, her body limbs at awkward angles. The spell broken, I rushed forward. “Get away from her. Now!”

“Hey, I’m sorry, dude. I was just trying to help.”

As I dropped to my knees, I remained lightheaded. I eased wet hair away from her face and instantly threw back my head and roared.

It was her. Her broken body was right here in front of me, the woman I’d sworn to protect with my life if necessary. I’d failed. Failed! “Oh, baby. Oh, God. What happened?”

“She was hit,” someone said. “A huge black SUV came swinging into the parking lot. She didn’t have a chance.”

“No, it was a Dodge Ram,” another said.

“You’re both wrong. A racing car of some kind.”

Anger swept through me and I fought to keep from lashing out at them.

Stunned, I pressed my shaking hand against her pulse, praying as I’d never done before a miracle would happen. When I found one, the anger resumed, my heart beating rapidly for an entirely different reason.

“Call an ambulance. Now. Now!”

“Braxton!” one of my brothers called.

I didn’t care. I couldn’t respond. The woman I loved was lying in a pool of blood, her face white. “Get an ambulance. Find the fucker who did this.”

“Brax-ton…”

Her voice was faint, her eyes only half open. Oh, my God. “Don’t talk, baby. Just hush. Don’t die on me. Just hold on.”

“Li-sten,” she continued.

When I leaned down, at first all I could hear was the rapid beating of my heart echoing in my ears.

But the moment she whispered, the news hit me hard, the shock immediate.

“The baby. Our… baby. Save… the… baby.”

CHAPTER 1

“The power of an evil woman is her seduction. She has a golden cup in her hand filled with abomination and a wine of fornication.”

—Matt Starking

Four months earlier

Braxton

“There is nothing more heavenly than the sight, taste, and scent of a beautiful woman,” I said absently as I surveyed the lavish yet tropical lobby of the main resort building. As I drank in the various scents of perfume and floral arrangements, the flowers all fresh every other day, I had to admit the Royal family was lucky as fuck.

“You would know, Mr. Royal,” Travis said as he walked with me.

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