Page 90 of Striker

My heart rattles when his muscles bunch and tighten more in his shoulders. “Please,” I whisper.God, I can’t believe I’m begging him to keep me here.“I can’t go.”

He closes his eyes and shakes his head. Then his gloved fingers clasp over mine and he rips my hands from his shirt.

“What are you doing?” Delly asks as he pulls me toward the doorway, shoving past her to the foyer. “Why is just Cora going back? Why aren’t I going back?” Before we’re halfway across the foyer, she marches forward, grabbing Reaper’s arm. She grips my wrist and yanks me toward her, but he doesn’t let me go. “I don’t understand.”

“You don’t have to,” Reaper snarls, shoving her away. She stumbles back into the railing. “We have orders to send Cora,justCora, back to Gavin.”

“No,” I whisper, my entire body melting in horror, like my bones may slip out of my skin. I jerk violently, a scream building in my throat as Reaper shoves me toward Striker, who grasps my arm and pulls me toward the door.

It feels like that day they took us all over again. When they were dragging me away from Delly. But that day I didn’t know I was being saved. That day, I thought I was being taken somewhere to be hurt. Today, right now, I know what will happen to me when I return. Without Delly there, nothing will keep him from me. In his paranoia, he’ll somehow blame me for Delly not being brought back and take it out on me.

I spin toward Striker, grabbing at his shirt. “You know what he’ll do to me if I go back.”

His eyes shift to Reaper.

“Striker, please.” Tears burn my cheeks. “Please. You know he’ll hurt me.”

“Who?” Delly shouts, but Striker ignores her and grips my arm tighter, yanking harder when I dig my heels into the wood floor.

“Please!” I scream, dropping to my knees.

“Fuck,” I hear Breaker yell behind me. “Reaper, I swear to fucking god.”

I can barely hear past the thundering in my head, my heart beating wildly, making my entire body shake. The realization I’mgoing back alone, with no protection, with no Delly to counteract his cruelty, ripping terrified sobs from my throat.

“Reaper,” Viper yells, but I can’t see anything other than the front door Striker’s dragging me toward, my legs flailing behind me, boots catching on the ragged grooves of the wood floor. But then suddenly he lets me go.

“Fuck!” Striker stalks forward and slams the front door, so hard the windows rattle, the sound echoing like a gunshot, but it pops back open like fate or the devil himself insists I leave this place.

“I fuckingknow, Strike,” Reaper growls as he wraps an arm around my waist, pulling me to my feet, then bends over and tosses me over his shoulder, my scream catching in my throat.

“Stop!” Delly screams. “What do you mean?”

My trembling hand’s grip the back of his shirt, and I push up, trying to look at Delly. Striker grabs her arm as she lunges for me, but she hits him hard enough that he lets her go. The sight of her face, contorted with fear as she follows us outside, only intensifies my crying.

“Reaper, stop,” Delly pleads as he places me down on the dirt drive next to the van. She shoves past him, eyes locked on me. Cupping my cheeks, she wipes the tears away and says, “Who will hurt you?”

My insides twist painfully. I want to wrap myself up in her, around her, protecting us both from him. I glance frantically at Reaper. He crosses his arms and takes a step back, like he’s waiting. Like he’s saying,Go ahead, Baby Girl. Tell her. Tell your best friend you’ve allowed her father to fuck you so he won’t hurt you anymore.

My legs give, but Delly keeps me upright. She always has.

I can’t tell her. It will destroy her. She’ll never forgive me. She’ll blame me. Why would she even believe her father, herdoting, loving overprotective father, loves to bend me over his desk and slap the shit out of me afterwards? That he’s cruel. That he turned on me before I even had the chance to fall in love or give myself to someone else. She’ll never believe he stole my safety the day he killed my parents and forced himself on me all those years later.

“Tell her.” Reaper’s hard voice snaps me out of it, and I glance his way. Striker shifts at his side, his entire body tense, and Viper moves forward to stand on his other side. Reaper glances at both men, then says, “Tell her, Baby Girl. It’s okay.”

I shake my head. Delly grips my cheeks, fingers digging into my skin so tightly, I don’t know how they’d manage to rip me away from her.

“Cora, my love,” she whispers. I swear it’s like she already knows. Her eyes frantic, brows knit, body vibrating with fear. Maybe she’s not as blind and maybe I wasn’t that good at hiding it.

I open my mouth and a sob escapes, creaking out of me, rusty and old. Useless because all the tears I’ve shed over the years never stopped bad things from happening. The only thing that can stop Rune is me.

By talking.

She wipes my cheeks again. “Cora,” she whispers my name so gently, heart feels like it’s about to crack open. “Tell me.”

I glance at Reaper. Those dark eyes wait. I swear it’s like he wants me to tell her. Like he’s just been waiting for me to say something. Part of me wonders if that was his plan all along. Force me to tell her the truth about her father, so she’d hate him as much as he hates Rune.

As much as I wish I could.

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