Page 49 of Cora

“CORA!”

They all came running outside, pulling their weapons as soon as they saw Queen. “My, my, my,” Queen purred, her demeanor changing as soon as she saw them. “I guess you don’t know how scary it is to be alone. Hello, boys. I wouldn’t mind having you handsome hunks to keep me warm at night. What do you say, big guy,” she asked Trent, taking a step toward him, “want a fiery redhead in your bed? I promise you won’t regret it. The word no isn’t in my vocabulary.”

This bitch! Before she could take another step toward my man, I shot the ground again, this time much closer than three feet. Queen yelped in surprise and immediately jumped back as she glared at me. “There’s no need to be greedy, Cora. You don’t need all four of them.” She brazenly started to take another step, and this time, I lifted the gun and pointed it at her chest.

I wasn’t fucking around.

“We aren’t interested,” Trent stated, moving closer to me.

“And we’d appreciate it if you got off of our property. This is Cora’s land, and you’re trespassing,” Isaac said firmly.

“I’m just trying to find my friends,” Queen replied, her bottom lip trembling as she switched tactics, attempting to garner sympathy.

“We haven’t seen anyone but you,” Remi replied. “Now that you know they aren’t here, it’s time for you to continue your travels.”

“You would toss me back into the wilderness to fend for myself instead of offering me a place to lay my head?” Queen asked dramatically.

“I think we all know that a pretty girl like you is rarely alone for long, don’t we,” Derrick replied.

I glared at Derrick for calling Queen pretty and took another step toward her, my gun pointed at her head this time.

“OK, I get it,” Queen said, holding her hands in a sign of surrender. “I’ll leave, but I can’t promise I won’t be back with some friends. This is a nice place, and while it may have belonged to Cora in the old world, this is the apocalypse. Old rules don’t apply anymore.”

“You’re right,” Isaac replied smoothly, “they don’t. We’re following mountain rules. Shoot first and ask questions later. You’d be wise to keep that in mind before trying to come back here.”

“We’ll see,” Queen said, blowing them a kiss and then running off.

I growled at her retreating back, itching to shoot her anyway. Four heads snapped in my direction.

“That was out loud!” Remi exclaimed. He pulled me into his arms and spun me around in a circle.

“That’s progress, Cora,” Isaac said, smiling. “You’ll be talking in no time, and then you’ll be able to tell Queen to fuck off all on your own.”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Derrick said, bending to kiss me. “I think she conveyed that message quite well.”

Trent was still watching the area where Queen had melted into the forest. “I think we should take this inside. It isn’t safe out here.”

As I followed them inside, I turned to look out at the forest again and thought I saw a flash of red deep in the trees. I didn’t doubt that Queen would be back; this time, she’d bring her goons.

Chapter twenty-four

Remington

Iwas on edge for the rest of the day, constantly pacing between the windows to make sure we weren’t under attack. Queen showing up here was currently my worst nightmare. Cora watched me sympathetically. She was the only one who understood the true depth of my fears regarding Queen. She was the only one who knew the truth about what happened and what could have happened.

“Brother, you’re driving me crazy,” Derrick said after dinner. We were in the living room relaxing before bed— well, they were relaxing, and I was pacing.

I sighed and turned to face them. “I have to tell you something because I think it’s important to truly understand the type of people Queen and her followers are.”

Everyone straightened in their seats slightly, giving me their full attention.

“I didn’t tell you the entire story about when Queen’s goons broke into the house,” I admitted. “They did kick my ass, that part was true. But they weren’t going to torture me forinformation in the kitchen. Terrence was going to— he was about to—“

I closed my eyes, breathing my way through my emotions so I could fucking say what I was trying to say. I felt a small hand slide into mine and squeeze it tightly. I smiled as my eyes filled with tears. I looked down at Cora and squeezed her hand back. She tipped onto her toes to kiss my cheek and brush the tears leaking from my face before giving me an encouraging nod. Cora had my back then, and she had my back now.

I looked at my found family and blurted out my truth. “Terrence was going to rape me. His friends were holding me down for him, and he was about to penetrate me when Cora came out guns blazing and saved me.” I clung to Cora’s hand as I waited for their reactions. Derrick and Isaac looked murderous. Trent stood, screamed in frustration, and punched a hole in the wall.

“Trent!” I gasped, not used to seeing him react in anger like that.

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