Page 47 of Bathed in Blood

Whore by In This Moment

Lana, Spring

The rose quart dangles from my neck as I bend, shifting the dirt around before patting it into place. Even outside, I know the moment my husband fills the space, but I pretend I don’t. A smile teases at my lips as his footsteps approach. I know he’s doing it for my benefit, that if Christian intended to sneak up on me, I would never know he was there, not until he wanted me to.

He stops inches behind me, but still I ignore his shadow, pretending to be engrossed in the flowers I’m tending. I can already hear the gardeners bitching about me ruining the gardens, but these plants, oddly enough, have healed me almost as much as the man at my back. So Christian and my father-in-law tell them to deal with it while I learn.

A soft grumble comes from behind me as I raise my ass higher than necessary, bending my back more than the situation calls for, hoping he likes the view of my scrap of underwear peeking out from under the light purple skirt I tossed on. Even now, my core aches in the best way, his cum still leaking from me, wherehe insists it should stay for as long as possible. I have no doubt he can see it glistening on my tacky thighs. I’m still not sure how I feel about my husband’s apparent breeding kink, especially now that I know it could result in actual babies. They promptly removed the birth control implant I had when I arrived here months ago,withoutmy knowledge. My periods haven’t started back up, but that’s to be expected. With time, everything will settle.

Liquid heat pools deep in my belly as he bends, his hand tracing a line up my back before gently knotting in my hair, tugging me back up from my exaggerated position. “Careful, wife. The last time I fucked you in the garden, two good men lost their lives.”

Blood surges up my neck, spilling a blush on to my cheeks. I open my mouth to respond as the patio doors fling open, Jessie all but hopping out to point accusingly at us. “She should be inside planning your proper wedding, one your family will not be absent from, andyou,brother, are officially,” he pauses to check his watch, “fifteen minutes—”

A slinking shot rings out, Jesse's eyes widening before his head snaps down, blood quickly bleeding through his suit jacket.

Everything next happens all at once. I don’t know if it’s my scream or the gunshot that alerted the guards, but Christian bellows his brother’s name as he rips me from the ground, shoving me towards the patio. “Get to the safe room now!”

I stumble forward before turning back to him. “Come with me!”

“Lana, go!”

My heart stops in my chest as Christian grunts, stumbling forward, a hole punched through his shoulder the second a line of armed men flood out from the wood line. Guards around us drop like flies, and I can’t stop screaming. Christian’s left arm hangs limp at his side as he grips my neck in a punishing hold.

“Get inside now!” He shoves me again, making me stumble.

Sobs and screams clog my throat as he jerks his gun out of his waistband. Guards from other sections of the compound flood in, but it’s not enough. I rip off my cardigan, desperately trying to pack it around Jesse’s wound before I bolt inside.

“Aurelio! Aurelio, help them!” I scream as I hit the foyer.

“Lana…”

Tears blur my vision as I stop cold, my chest heaving, that voice injecting ice into my veins. I can’t look. I can’t fucking move.

“Lana, come now. It’s time to go home.”

“You fucking bastard! You touch her, and I’ll rip your fucking intestines out and use them to string up your fucking mother!” It’s my father-in-law’s voice that snaps me out of my panic.

Vince’s face, if you can call it that, is a gnarly cacophony of scars. Gone is his long black hair and sharp, handsome features, one eye milky white as he holds a gun to the back of Aurelio’s head.

“You listen to me, Lana: run!” the proud man bellows. “You run now!” His face is bloodied, his suit ruffled, unfamiliar bodies behind him on the landing.

“Now, Lana, I wouldn’t do anything like that. I’m not here for them; I’m here for you. To bring you home.”

“I—" My mouth snaps shut as something crashes, and Christian is on top of a man, bludgeoning him with the end of his handgun. Shattered glass scatters around us from where they crashed through the nearby windows.

The moment his eyes meet mine, he lets out a guttural sound filled with so much rage, it nearly liquefies me. “Lana, go!”

The next blow he lands ends in a squelch, the end of the gun denting the man’s skull. It's then he sees Vince, and he stills in shock.

“I’m not angry with you, my love. I can’t fault you for leaving, not the way you did. I hated my brothers for what they did to you, but it’s over now. I won’t punish you, you know that, not even for baring your cunt for him!”

I flinch as Vince shoves Aurelio, making him stumble down a few stairs before he rights himself. It’s only then that I notice Vince’s sorry state, the damage my father-in-law did. Aurelio must be in pain, but it doesn’t show. I watch as he readies himself, clenching his fists.

“Speak to her again, and I’ll fucking—” Christian bellows.

“Speak to her? She’s mine!” Vince screams, his voice going hoarse. “You come to me right now, Lana, or they both die. Look at him. He’s bleeding out, he’s out of ammo, out of options. You come home, and they live. My purpose is with you!”

The gunfire goes mute all at once as I shake, staring down at my dirty hands, at the soil and blood caked in around the band of my wedding ring.

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