Page 19 of Forced Pregnant Bride

I got up from the chair, walking past Arlo to the door as I watched them both. Like the colors of a rainbow, my brother had different sides. He had his days: good ones, bad ones, crazy ones, and bloody ones. I didn’t trust him to keep his cool with this foolishly brave girl. But fuck interfering. I wasn’t going to stop him.

Whatever he decided was going to be her fate. She was his problem to deal with now.

“Let him do whatever he wants. My only concern is those two.”

“But Enzo….”

“I’ll blow his fucking head off if it comes down to the worst.” I was unbothered, and I made sure he understood that.

“You know what? Forget your fucking brother….” The Italian and Rafa were still at it. “You’rethe piece of shit, you crazy fuck! Who stands in the middle of the road with a gun anyway? My papa’s going to have your head for this!”

“Boy, am I going to enjoy killing you. You called me a dog. Pleased to inform you that I barely bark; I fucking bite.” Theshinkechoed in the room, and silver pressed against her throat. I had to give it to the girl; she was audacious. Not even a blink. “You think you’re courageous and shit, right? Like one of those fucking Disney princesses who have everything go their way. Well, I hate to break it to you, but I’m going to have the pleasure of bursting that perfect bubble.”

“Go ahead,” she taunted. “Kill me if youhave the balls.” Her eyes met mine over his shoulder. “Deep down in that web-filled heart of yours, you know you don’t want a war with my father.”

I nodded toward my brother. “I’m not the one you’re pissing off right now, sweetheart. You should worry about the one with a knife to your throat.”

A moment of silence and palpable tension hung over the room as Raf pressed the blade deeper into her skin. I couldn’t see his face, but I knew him well enough to imagine him expressing the sick pleasure he derived from scaring her.

Then, he paused and journeyed his knife lower down her chest region, past the curve of her ribs, to her back. He hovered over her, leaning forward to whisper something into her ear before pulling back with cut ropes dangling in his grasp. Rising to his feet, he dropped the ropes and backed away from her.

Dusting her jacket, she stood up, smirking triumphantly, as she strode past him to the door, knowing she was right; as much as I was indifferent to her situation, and my brother did want to spill some of her blood tonight, we weren’t in the mood to handle Enzo’s madness at this time.

When she was close enough, I whispered under my breath, “Next time, you won’t be so lucky. Stay out of our fucking business. That’s your only and final warning.” And her back disappeared through the threshold. Arlo marched off after her, and not once did she look back.

“Now, that’s over with.” Rafa shoved the sheathed blade back into his pockets, dusting his fingers like there was dirt on them as he walked back to me. “I’m out of here to get myself a fucking drink. Those ones are your problems to deal with. And Arlo was right; even in that state, she’s sexy as hell.”

“I don’t need a reminder.”

When he smiled, I knew it came out wrong. I’d meant to address the former statement about not needing a reminder to know they were my problem to deal with, not the latter. And somehow, the more I thought about it, the more I felt a rising urge to punch my brother in the face.

I clenched my jaw.

When it came to her, the sunshine sister, I wanted to be indifferent, but somehow, knowing my brother was the reason she was lying on the floor in a crumpled heap stirred an uncomfortable constriction in my chest. Was this what it felt like to be concerned? It was slightly nauseating. And it didn’t help that his eyes lingered on her for more than a second.

Shaking his head, he patted my shoulder before leaving me in the silence of ragged breaths and unconscious captives.

I was about ready to follow him out of the room when movement from the ground caught my attention. She stirred, mumbling something under her breath while blinking rapidly. I strained hard enough to hear the name flowing like a rushing river from her lips.

“Jay….” It started like a soft purr, a silent mumble. Until it became incessant, and her eyelids parted open. “Jay!” she screamed as if coming out of a bad dream.

Leaning my shoulder against the doorframe, I watched her intently. She kicked her feet and fought with the ropes tied on her wrists behind her back, with tears streaming down her cheeks—all efforts to get to her unconscious brother.

“Stop moving. You’re only going to hurt yourself more.”

I didn’t care about this girl.

I just didn’t want more blood smeared across the floor.

She stopped moving, only realizing now that I was in the same room. In a calculated, slow move, her head followed the sound of my voice, stopping when her eyes met mine. Seeing her now, I’d almost forgotten how vibrant the blue in her eyes was and how brightly purity and innocence shone. It was like a neon notice, reminding me that the world was not all bad, and there were some guiltless ones around, and it was still fucking irking.

“Please….” Serena was whimpering, lips trembling. “Please, don’t hurt him. Don’t hurt us. We’ve been hurt enough.My brother—he’s been bleeding. He needs a…. He needs to see a doctor. Please, I can’t…I can’t lose him. He’s the only one I have left. I can’t—”

“I don’t like tears or begging. They’re sickening.”

The instant flow of tears ceased, and she hiccupped, her cheeks turning a deeper shade of red as they swelled. She was holding it in, trying not to upset me even more, and I was unsure what reeled me in, dragging me closer to where she lay.

I dropped to my haunches. Maybe it was her willingness to sacrifice her emotions to save her brother or the surreal glow that radiated over her like she was some fucking saint. The last time I saw someone that looked like this, she’d been used to force information out of her parents. Two bullets went through her heart that night.

---