Page 7 of Wicked Games of Desire

Like Ian taught me, I bring my knee up and connect with his gut. He grunts out a complaint but holds me strong, using his body to pin me to the wall. With just one hand, he grips my arm, his long fingers digging into my flesh. Using his other hand, he retrieves his gun from behind his back in a warning.

Like the smartass I am, I respond by lifting my knees and kicking him with all the force I have, causing him to lose his balance. His fingers loosen their grip long enough for me to drop to the ground. I don’t wait for him to catch me again. I get the hell out of there and run as fast as my legs will take me.

“Fuck,” he growls, his curse vibrating off the cave walls. “Harley, stop!” he shouts, and I can feel him right behind me.

Last time I was too quick for him, I can outrun him again. After the sound of shooting stopped, he tried to drag me out of my room. Tried to convince me I was safe with him, that I just had to trust him, he was going to take care of me. I wasn’t having a bar of that bullshit. I kissed him and took off before he could react. I had already climbed out of my bedroom window and down the drainpipe before he knew what was happening, and knowing that I was running for my life, I kept sprinting up the road without turning back. I wasn’t going to be one of those silly bitches from the horror movies who looks over their shoulders for a split second too long. No fucking way.

And tonight will be no different, running for the light of the cave entrance as fast as my legs will take me. Until another man steps into the space, and I stop dead in my tracks, my heart racing like crazy. It’s the guard I choked out, his face murderous, with a gun aimed right at me. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

“Don’t shoot her!” blue eyes shouts from behind me, his voice booming off the cave walls in a warning.

I’m caught like a deer in the headlights with nowhere to go. Panic races through my body so fiercely I can hear the blood whooshing in my ears. If I move, I know I’m done for. But if I don’t, blue eyes will take me back inside the cave with him. I glance toward the light, and without another thought, move toward the opening in a rush. Choosing freedom.

Without hesitation, the guard fires.

Chapter 5

My horrified cry echoesoff the cave walls. A nauseating metallic smell fills my nostrils, making my head spin. I clutch my thigh firmly, trying to stop the pain now radiating through me. The motherfucking guard shot me right in the leg. I stagger forward, holding it tightly as blood soaks through my waitress uniform.

Another shot rings out, but the pain is so unbearable I can’t process what’s going on around me. All I know is, this time it didn’t hit me. Hobbling forward, my fingers find solid rock, grabbing onto it for support. The last six months flash before me. Relentless training with Ian, lessons at the shooting range, sleepless night after night, thinking I would eventually get my revenge on the men who stole my life.

It’s all for nothing now.

Out of nowhere, he effortlessly scoops me up and pulls me into his firm embrace, his striking blue eyes locking onto mine as he carts me back into the darkness of the cave.

“No,” I utter, shaking my head. I don’t want to go anywhere with this asshole.

Looking down at me, his eyes icy as the sea, meet mine, filled with pity—and something else entirely. “You need to learn to follow instructions, baby doll. If you didn’t run in the first place, you wouldn’t be in this mess.”

His angry tone confuses me, but I can’t process what it means. My head swims from the speed he’s moving at and the blur of pain pumping through my veins. “You were supposed to kill me,” I mutter, trying to stay strong, but I’m fading. Fading back into the black abyss I was in after my family’s murders. The only thing that was holding me strong was the notion that I would have my revenge on the men who killed them. And now that illusion’s been shattered. I have no fight left.

He chuckles darkly, as if this is all some twisted game—a fun Saturday night for him. And it probably is. “Why would I kill you?”

Fear combines with the loss of blood, causing nausea to wash over me. Given his capacity for greater harm, I’m sure death would be a blessing. One I’m not going to be granted. I’m sure there is more pain to come. That’s what these assholes do, isn’t it?

“Maddox, take Harley up to the surgery.” Holding me tightly against his chest, he speaks to someone out of my line of sight.

“She’s alive?” the man called Maddox asks in a gruff voice as I’m shoved into his massive ink-covered arms. The scent of cigarette smoke envelops me while I am met with the gaze of hazel eyes scrutinizing me.

I realize he has handed me over to the thug who held the gun when my family was murdered, and my heart feels like it’s about to burst out of my chest. He is the person responsible for their deaths. The dude with the monster tattoo. I didn’t like my chances with blue eyes, but I know the harm this guy is capable of. And now I’m helpless in his arms.

“She’s been shot,” blue eyes informs the other guy cooly, stating the obvious, since I’m covered in blood and quivering in pain. “Make her comfortable while I grab my bag.”

“Sure, Doc.” Did he refer to him as “Doc” that night too? I have a vague memory of something like that from a nightmare I had.

Maddox’s rough embrace is a stark contrast to blue eyes’ gentle touch, and before I know it, I’m dumped onto a cold flat surface, causing pain to throb through my leg as I bounce. “You’re alive,” he repeats like he can’t quite make sense of it.

A pained gasp tumbles from my lips as I suck in air, trying not to let the throbbing take over all my thoughts. I need to keep my wits about me. Through blurry eyes, I see the other guy better. He’s an imposing figure taking up more space than any man should. His eyes are mean as they bore right through me, making fear race through my already tense body. Tattooed arms bulging out of his oversized shirt reach toward me, and I flinch away—until I realize, he was reaching for a pillow.

He places the thin padding under my head, gently moving my hair so I can make myself more comfortable. “You’re right to fear me. No person in their right mind gatecrashes one of our joints and gets away with it.” He assesses the spot where blood is leaking from me. “You’re lucky you’re still alive.”

The murky room spins, a fog taking over me. A helpless desperation claws at me. I need to get out of here. This is bad. Really fucking bad. This room is probably their torture chamber. Is that what blue eyes meant by his bag? But agony takes over, and I can’t move to save myself, no matter how badly I want to.

“What the hell, Doc. Why did you bring her back here?”

“Do you know who she is?” I feel him,Doc, brush the hair off my forehead. “Sweet little Harley Havardi.”

His eyes meet mine as he examines me from head to toe.

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