Page 53 of Savage Princess

“He cheated,” one of them growls, pointing at Levin. “He’s got his bitch over there, bringing him drinks and pointing out our hands. I saw her.”

My heart nearly stops in my chest as the other men start to turn toward me, and I see one of the players at the table nod in agreement.

“I saw it too. She’s in on it. He didn’t win fairly–”

“Enough!” Levin snaps, standing up. “That’s fucking ridiculous. If you can’t lose like gentlemen—”

“It’s not a gentlemen’s game if it’s played with cheaters.” The man who accused Levin to begin with gestures towards me. “Someone grab her. We’ll show this one what happens to women who connive and cheat.”

Three men close in on me before I can move, and Levin springs into action. The chips and cards have already been taken away to exchange for his winnings, but the other men don’t seem to care that the game is over. The ones still at the table are closing in on him, and I see Levin square off towards one of them, ready for a fight.

“Levin!” I shriek his name as hands grab my arms, pulling me back, and I feel other hands where they shouldn’t be, sliding over the silk of my dress, feeling me up as they shove me toward the table. I have a very clear idea of what they have planned for me, and I scream Levin’s name as I twist away from them, feeling my skirt rip a little as I step on the edge of it with one heel.

“Don’t fucking touch her!” Levin snarls, and I see his fist fly out, connecting with the jaw of the man in front of him. He’s already swinging at the next man coming towards him, but even I can see that there are too many. He’s outnumbered, and I have a horrible, sinking feeling that there’s only a matter of time before someone pulls a weapon.

Rough hands shove me down, face first over the table, and I kick out, trying to catch someone, anyone, somewhere that it hurts.I’m not going to let this happen,I think frantically, twisting around to claw at the arm of one of the men trying to hold me down and at the face of another.

“She scratches like a fucking cat!” one of them exclaims, jerking back. I take that opportunity to twist around further, kicking out and hitting one of the men squarely in the balls with the point of my heel. He howls and lurches back, and I manage to get myself off of the table—just in time to see one of the men pull out a long, wicked-looking knife as he dives into the fray toward Levin.

I shriek his name, and he turns towards me, seeing the man coming towards him. But it’s too late.

I see the knife sink into Levin’s side, jerking upwards, and I scream.

Elena

All I can think is that I have to get to him.

I don’t know how to fight. I’ve never fought anyone in my life, but I feel as if I’ve lost my mind as I see the blade tear through Levin’s shirt and sink into his side, blood blossoming out over the cloth. I scream, my throat feeling raw from the sound as I kick and claw and elbow my way through the men, rushing towards him. The knife is still buried in his side, and I don’t dare pull it out, but I grab him as I knee one of the men in the balls and scratch another across the side of his face, feral with fear and rage as I try to get Levin out of there.

He sags against me, his face white and drained, and I feel a flood of utter terror as I start to pull him away. I know that if they come after us, I won’t stand a chance, but I see them starting to laugh as I back away, Levin barely able to hold up his own weight as the blood soaks his shirt.

“He’s fucking dead,” one of the men says. “Let the bitch take him away. Who fucking cares.”

“Icare,” one of the men hisses. “I wanted to make him watch me fuck her—”

“He doesn’t get his money,” I hear another say. “That’s all that fucking matters. There’s plenty of women here, and they won’t try to take your eyes out just because you want to stick your cock in them.”

I barely hear anything else. They’re not coming after us, and that’s all I care about. Levin is sagging against me, and I try to hold him up with every bit of my strength as I look for a back entrance, anywhere we can leave without drawing more attention.

There’s a door that leads out towards a garage, and I head that way, looking around frantically as I throw Levin’s jacket over his side, trying to disguise the wound. I know how conspicuous this must look, and the last thing we need is someone stopping us or calling the authorities. I don’t have any faith that we would end up with anything other than someone in Diego or Vasquez’s pockets leading them straight to us.

I don’t know how I’m going to get us somewhere safe. We can’t go back up to the room, not after this. Someone would follow us, finish him off, and attack me. I’m sure of it.

“I need you to hold on,” I whisper to Levin, as I stumble towards the door in my heels. “Stay awake. I can’t carry you if you’re dead weight. Please, just hold on.”

What do I do? Do I call a cab? Where do I go?

“Not so fast, little lady.”

The voice behind me makes me jump, and Levin groans as my grip on him tightens. I’m nearly through the door when a hand grabs it, and one of the men who had been a player at the table follows me out into the garage, his expression dark and predatory.

“I’m not willing to give upthisprize so easily,” he growls, his tongue running over his lips as he looks at me. “And I think I want to make him watch—so I’ll take you both with me. When he wakes up, I’ll fuck you so he can see.”

He grabs Levin, dragging him away from me as I let out a shriek, trying to hold onto him. I’m unsteady in my heels, my skirt tangling around my ankles, and I feel another set of hands on my arms as I try to jerk away, fingers digging into my skin.

A car. There’s a car.The man is dragging Levin towards it, throwing him in the back, and I realize I have a chance to get us away, if I can disable these two men long enough.

I don’t know how to fucking drive, but I’ll have to figure it out.

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