Page 54 of My Queendom for a Horse

“That reputation is predicated on killing women?” Aleks sneers. “And old men?”

The big man’s attention shifts away from me and my dad and falls squarely on the other alpha male in the room.

“Aleks, just leave. This isn’t your problem.”

The last thing I should be doing is dragging Aleksandr into this. He’s had bad enough luck. My dad’s gambling has nothing to do with him. And Aleks is right. Will they really kill me, too?

I doubt it.

If Aleks runs, maybe he can call the police. How can I send him that message without explicitly saying it?

“Just go.” I say again. “It’s not like you’d call the authorities. You’re not the kind of person who would dial one-one-two.” I glare at him and widen my eyes, tossing my head at the door.

“Oh, I don’t think so,” the big guy says. “You can’t leave. Sorry. It’s definitely your business now.”

Instead of swearing, or muttering, or shaking like a normal person, Aleks smiles. “I’m glad to hear you say that.”

Before I have time to argue, Aleks springs across the room and punches the guy.

In the throat.

The huge man collapses like a house of cards slammed by a toddler.

And the other men all start toward him, finally realizing the threat he poses. I can’t do much to keep him alive, but I can tackle the guy closest to me. So I do, leaping on his back like a crazed monkey, scratching at his eyes and face.

Biting his ear.

That pisses him off royally, and he’s reaching back around frantically when another guy grabs me and shakes me like a terrier shaking a rat. My teeth rattle. I’m convinced I can hear my brain squishing around in my skull.

I definitely see stars.

Not the good kind.

I cry out in pain. I’m not proud of it, but it’s a fact.

Aleks hears me—somehow, in spite of the fact he’s fighting like five guys. And he roars. He shoves people off him, and he throws someone through a window, and then he’s here, his hands moving in something very near a blur, and he’s the one grabbing me, and pulling me to his chest.

A force like static electricity rises up inside of me then, and a feeling like a bubble’s bursting accompanies it, and then Aleks screams. The shout I called a roar before was like the bleating of a sheep compared to the howling of a wolf.

It’s so loud that several of the men cover their ears.

And then the ground opens up. . .and they disappear.

I wish I could think of another way to explain it.

The literal floor in the crummy little clubhouse rips open, the earth splitting with terrifying creaks and cracks, and the men tumble into gaping, black holes.

They’re just gone.

This time, Aleks’ smile is positively satisfied. “It’s back,” he says. “My power’s finally back.”

11

“Please tell me those men aren’t all dead,” I rasp.

Aleks shrugs. “Who cares? They’re terrible people. And who will ever find them again?”

I thought I was shaking before, but this time? I’m practically convulsing. “They can’t be dead,” I say. “You have to—” I splutter. “You can’t kill them.” My eyes are wide, my tone frantic. “Aleksandr, please listen to me. You can’t murder people, not now. Not anymore.”

---