Page 126 of Rising Queen (Blood Empire 1)

“You don't have to talk to me. You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to. But I want to help you.”

“Y-you don’t want me?” he asks, his voice cracking.

My brows pinch. “Want you? How so?”

“Like all the others,” he whispers.Others. As in people who fucking held him captive. I don't need him to tell me that he's been beaten and raped for years.

“No,” I say softly. “Can I tell you my story?” I ask. Maybe hearing that I understand what he's going through and that I'm no threat to him will help.

He slowly nods his head.

“When I was 18, I was taken by some really bad men. They held me in the basement of a club for years. But this wasn't just any club. They took girls and sold them to the highest bidder.”

“You were sold?” he asks, sounding unsure.

“No,” I shake my head. “They saw me as something more valuable than most. They saw a pretty woman who could dance, so they kept me in a cell and only let me out to dance, and well... whenever they wanted my body.”

His eyes flush with understanding. “You were raped,” he states, knowing there's no question.

I nod. “Every day. More than once, for years.”

“So, you don't want me like they do?” he asks, meaning to keep him as a prisoner and take advantage of him.

I try my hardest not to let my anger show, not wanting to scare him. “No. I would NEVER do something like what they did. I want to make sure nothing like that ever happens to you, ever again,” I swear.

“My name is Sam,” he says.

A bright smile takes over my face. “It's nice to meet you, Sam.”

“Are you my guardian angel?” he asks in a whisper.

My heart flutters at his words. How do I answer that? I'm far from anyone's guardian angel. If anything, I'm more like the angel of death, the grim reaper to all things evil.

“I'm whatever you want me to be,” I say.

“Good,” he says and gives me a beautiful smile, and fuck me, I’m almost knocked on my ass from how stunning he truly is.

“I have nowhere to go,” he confesses, his smile slipping. “I lost my home years ago.”

Fuck.

“If you're okay with it, I'd like to take you back to my place. I have a little community of town homes that I own. All the women who were in that club with me live there. You will be safe. I promise.” Sincerity ringing true in my words.

“I trust you,” he says hesitantly, but getting off the ground and giving me his hand. “I don't know why, but something tells me everything is gonna be okay as long as I'm with you. Thank you, Harlow,” he whispers, and his gaze is intensely searching mine with a mixture of hope, relief and gratitude written all over his gorgeous face.

I'm speechless. To be granted such trust from someone who’s so truly damned from his past is a major fucking honor.

Well, that just set his fate. I'll be his protector for as long as he will allow me, and if for some reason I can't be, Evie will take my place. Something tells me these two are gonna be like two peas in a pod.

Lacing my hand into his, we make our way to the waiting girls.

“Come on, ladies. Time to go home. Your nightmare is over.”

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