Page 88 of Striker

“No,” I hear myself saying, thinking of the way Delilah holds her. We’ll lose her if we send Cora back. “She can’t go.”

Reaper spins to look at me. It’s like he can see what I’m thinking and his jaw tenses. I was right. Some part of himwanted Cora for Delilah and he knows the second she finds out we sent her best friend back, we’re going to lose any chance we may have at making her ours. “It’s already done.”

Chapter 35

Cora

Delly isn’t anywhere tobe found. I’ve searched every unlocked room in the house and the back garden, and can’t find her in the large ornate one out front either. I hope she’s not trying something stupid. She won’t tell me what happened between her and the men last night, but I know it must have been intense, considering they dragged me from the library and locked me in the fucking room. Not to mention the state she was in when they brought her to me. She was a mess. Her ass red and welted.

She finally calmed down after I sated her, and we both fell asleep. When I woke this morning to an empty bed, I scrambled up and went searching for her or one of the boys so I could find out what happened. But I can’t find them, and now I can’t find her either.

Delly’s words ring in my head.

We aren’t going home.

I know she’s been hoping that Rune and Clyde were coming for us, but I’ve already figured it out. We weren’t leaving.The four have something planned for us. What it is, I’m not sure, but I know men work differently than women. Women are cunning with their revenge. It’s delivered with precision, making sure it cuts cleanly, deeply like a scalpel. Men, though, their cruelty is rough, with jagged edges delivered with brute force. I know because Rune took his hatred for my parents out on me.

Whatever revenge they have planned for Rune will be hard. Effective, and it won’t just cut him, it will leave him with a jagged, open wound.

Like, say, taking his daughter and never bringing her back.

I can’t say I’m upset at the idea of not returning. I like it here. Even if it’s boring and we barely see the men, I like it just being Delly and me. I like getting my hands dirty and picking fresh herbs from the little garden. I like the domestic feel, the slowness of being cut off from the world. It’s like we’re living in a fairytale mansion, protected by four large guardians.

Even though we’ve barely seen them over the last two weeks, I know they’re around and it provides a weird, reassuring tingle every time I think about them, I feel better knowing even if Rune tried to get us, they’d not let him have us. It sends a sliver of excitement through me that someone wants me so badly that they’d kill to have me. It’s a crazy thought, but then all of this is crazy, so I embrace it.

The rumbling of a car engine snaps me back and I stop in the middle of the large garden, listening. We’ve been here just over three weeks and I’ve not once seen a car.

My heart hammers and I run toward the sound at the front of the estate, skidding to a stop, my boots slipping over the gravel walkway, when I see a shiny black unmarked van in the drive.

My chest tightens as I rush toward the vehicle, stopping to see if anyone’s inside. I place both hands to the tinted window, but don’t see anyone in the back, or the driver’s seat as I walkaround the van. My eyes move to the open front door. A shiver passes through me, settling grossly in my belly.

Hesitantly, I creep up the large stairs to the front door. Using just a finger, I push the door open and it swings, bright morning light spilling in from behind me, illuminating the dark foyer. I take a deep breath, my eyes moving to the doorway of the library, when I hear a deep rumbling voice I immediately recognize.

We’ve only seen them a handful of times over the last two weeks, and my stomach flips. Knowing they’re just a few feet away suddenly feels more intimidating than comforting after whatever they did to Delly last night. Hearing his stern voice ring out again makes me question if I want to storm in there and demand answers.

“We fucking have to, Breaker,” I hear Reaper grate, and the deadly tone makes me shoot forward, my eyes rolling.

He’s just a man. A large, sexy man, a lethal looking one, but still just a man. I’ve dealt with far worse than the likes of him.

As I pass through the doorway, I see all their masked faces and large black-clad bodies sending heat to my core, remembering their heavy breathing and primal energy when they dropped Delly at my feet last night.

And there’s a new face. Anactualface.

I know right away he’s a driver. Like the guys who deliver packages for people like Rune. Runners and delivery guys have a certain look about them and I wonder what the men had delivered.

When I step into the room, all eyes turn to me. A slippery sensation slides through my gut, the heated memory slipping away. “Have you seen Delly?”

Striker shakes his head and looks away. Reaper closes his eyes briefly, then glances over at Breaker sitting in the largewingback chair, tapping his foot on the floor, while Viper won’t even meet my eyes.

“What’s going on?” I ask, picking up on their body language. They’re upset. Angry. Something has them on edge. “Is something wrong with Delly?”

“No, Baby Girl. Kitten is fine.” Reaper holds his hand out for me to take, palm up, fingers beckoning me forward. I hesitate, the midnight hue of his eyes intimidating, even with the silvery light of morning reflecting brightly in them through the open curtains. But I take his gloved hand, letting him pull me forward. His arms wrap around me, hugging me to his massive chest like he would a child. It sends a calm wave through my middle, easing the tension in my shoulders. Inhaling, I take the deep woodsy scent of him into my lungs and I get why Delly felt that way with him that night. Maybe I should have spent more time with him. He’s not as hard as he looks.

When I look up into his onyx eyes, what I see makes the tension in my jaw return. He pets my head, looking absently over at Breaker and Viper. I can’t see his face, I can’t see any of their faces, but Reaper’s eyes tell me all I need to know.

They know.

I had hoped when I realized they had watched us long enough to stock up on our preferred supplies they hadn’t figured out the relationship between Rune and I, but I was fooling myself. They’ve known all along.

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