Page 79 of Midnight Salvation

The next time those feelings appeared was a few months later. That anxiety returned to my stomach, and left me weak and nauseous. All I could think about was Ash and if he was safe.

Sofia had returned to Cuba with Nicklas, making us promise to go to their blessing ceremony that would include everyone. We were due to fly out in a few weeks.

The guys had been called to a Council meeting, and Papa had a long standing appointment with one of his contacts. Catarina and I sat in the living room watching another movie, while trying to convince ourselves that the bogyman on the screen didn’t exist in real life. Evil crept closer to us every day and I was in the constant clutch of fear that someone would take Ash from me.

I got up and wandered through the house to grab my phone, texting Ash as I came back into the living room.

Me:Have such a bad feeling tonight. Stay safe. Love you.

My phone pinged a few seconds later.

Ash:Love you too. Go put on your pussy cat panties. I’ll be home soon.

An unconscious smile played on my lips at the thought of him tugging my tail. I settled myself back down beside Catarina and tried to ignore the increasing tension in my stomach.

It was only when the lights went out as the power died twenty minutes later, I knew we were in trouble. There was only Catarina and me inside the house and security around the perimeter, watching the house. I didn’t dare to use the light from my phone as I crept across the room and slipped the books out to retrieve the gun from behind them that Ash told me about all those weeks ago.

“Lucy?” Catarina asked.

“Hide,” I whispered. “Get out if you can and call for help.”

Whatever enemy stalked us wasn’t here for Catarina. They were here for me. Ash had attended that meeting and eyes had been watching his every move. Memories of the morning Marlow invaded our home returned because he knew that the way to hurt Ash was me.

“Lucy…” Catarina’s hand found mine and I squeezed it.

“I can’t explain, but I need you to get away, Cat. Please, I need your help.” I could almost feel the hand of death approaching me as the hairs on the back of my neck stood up.

I felt her nod echo down to my hand before she moved away a few seconds later.

My hand trembled around the handle of the gun as I cautiously made my way to the kitchen. One step at a time, my bare feet made no noise. I jumped when I almost tripped over something on the floor. When I leaned down, I felt the warm, sticky substance that could only be blood. Someone was dead. My stomach lurched because I knew I was being hunted.

I did what I had hoped I would never have to do. I sent a text to the number Ash programmed into my phone. It was only ever to be used as a last resort.

The blood made the floor slippery and I nearly fell on my ass several times. My fingers gripped the edge of a chair and I kept moving forward. I had no idea who was dead on the floor and refused to think about that right now. All I concentrated on was breathing in and out the way Papa taught me when I woke up from a nightmare when I was little.

Guns never looked heavy when men were waving them around in films, but it weighed heavily in my hands right down to making my shoulder ache. A door closed somewhere in the distance and I prayed that Catarina had escaped and was safe. There was a male voice upstairs calling out before there were several gunshots.

I stopped, my pulse pounding heavily in my ears. Whoever was in our home wasn’t taking any prisoners. They were slaughtering us one at a time. My thumb slowly slid the safety off the gun, and I cocked the hammer. There was a corner in the kitchen that I used to stand in and watch the world go by while I waited for the timer to sound on the oven. No one tended to see me there as it was hidden by two units.

That was my destination until Ash got here.

One step at a time, I made my way through the house, mentally mapping my route in my head. I finally appreciated Papa’s constant insistence that we didn’t leave items lying around. Maybe he had had to creep around a dark house in the past himself.

I had just entered the kitchen and relief started to settle into my spine until an arm snaked around me to drag me back. My legs flailed and my finger pulled the trigger again and again as I tried to hit whoever it was behind me. A grunt sounded in the darkness before my head was slammed into the wall. Pain ricocheted down my back and the pulse that sounded in my ears screamed a warning.

“Ash knew the rules, he was well aware that our family shares. Since he kept you hidden, now I’ll have to introduce you to the rest of our family.”

Matteus.

There was no one else who would go this far to hurt Ash. I arched my body and kicked at his knees. He growled, his fingers digging into me as his arms tightened.

“Do you have any idea how much I love someone struggling in my bed?” His tongue traced down the side of my throat before his teeth grazed my shoulder. “Do go ahead and fight me because you won’t be the first woman I’ve broken in the bedroom.”

I froze because terror chilled the blood in my veins.

“Tradition dictates that when a Blackwood marries, he must present his bride for every man in our family to fill with his seed. Ash has stolen that pleasure from you.”

I bit into his hand and fought because that terror had morphed into something more active. Feet and elbows had the most power behind them and I used every piece of energy in my body to fight. He grunted and dropped me. I may not have my gun anymore, but that didn’t stop me from trying to scramble away from my father-in-law.

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