Page 36 of Born in Depravity

“How nice,” he said. “A present.”

I pushed myself back on my feet.

I was not a present.

They both walked toward me.

I didn’t know what the look in their eyes meant, but I had a feeling it wasn’t good for me.

“What’s your name, sweetheart?” the blond man asked.

I shook my head.

He raised an eyebrow over amused glinting brown eyes. “Cat got your tongue?”

I took off toward the mouth of the alley.

I could hear footsteps behind me, and just before I reached my freedom, I felt one large hand snaking around my waist, and then I was slammed against the brick wall.

I grunted in pain and looked up.

Two shadows loomed over me.

Their breath smelled like cheese and cigarettes.

I gagged.

“Where are you going?” one asked. I couldn’t tell which one, not when black dots danced around my eyes in my panic.

I shook my head.

They laughed.

I closed my eyes shut, bracing myself for whatever they might have planned, for any blow that would come toward me.

Nothing came.

Two grunts and the sound of something falling to the ground had my eyes flying open.

No, no,no.

They found me.

The three men who had taken me were standing between me and the two other men.

How did they find me?

I blinked away the burn in my eyes.

This was worse than dealing with the two men. Because these three weren’t going to let me go. Not unless I was dead.

The one with dark eyes turned to me.

He took me in, and something in his eyes shifted, giving way to his anger. My legs shook, and had I not had the wall behind me, I would have fallen to the ground.

“Do you want to know what happens when someone touches what belongs to us?”

I shook my head. I didn’t want to know. I had a feeling I was the “what” he was referring to.

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