Page 49 of Kingpin's Secret Baby

“Let me go,” I snap, twisting against his grip, but he just watches me- eyes dark and impenetrable as stone.

“You’re her, aren’t you?” His voice is lower than Piers’s, rougher. “The Fantasia the Ashwoods want.”

I still.

His grip loosens- just a little- but I don’t run. Not yet. I need to know.

“Yeah,” I say, my voice hoarse. “That’s me.”

His jaw ticks. “You do all the shit Harold Ashwood says you did?”

I don’t hesitate. “Yes. I did.”

He studies me for a long moment, smoke swirling around us like spirits. His eyes rake over me - taking in my trembling form, my wild eyes.

Silence stretches between us. The fire crackles in the distance, gunshots ringing out in short bursts. Somewhere in the smoke and chaos, Piers is still out there.

Finally, the man exhales through his nose, shaking his head. “You’re nothing like what I expected, and I've no fight with a scrawny, scared woman like you.” he mutters.

“Let me go,” I demand again.

His fingers release their grip on my arm. “Go. Get out of here before the Ashwoods find you.”

I take a stumbling step back, but hesitate. “I can't- Piers is still out there. I have to find Piers. I won't leave him-”

“I didn’t come here to kill my brother,” he cuts me off, voice sharp as steel. “And I won't let him die now.”

Brother.

My chest heaves, my mind racing. “Please, help me find him!”

His expression hardens. “You need to go. Before the Ashwoods catch you.”

I shake my head violently. No. No, I won’t leave him.

But he isn’t listening. “Once.” he says, his voice low and fierce. “I'll stick my neck out for you once. Don’t make me regret it.”

My stomach twists sickly. I don’t want to leave. I don’t want to abandon Piers in this hell. But the way this man is looking at me- he’s already made up his mind.

And if I stay here any longer, I will get caught.

“Go!” He growls. “Now!”

My throat tightens. I give one last glance to the burning forest behind me, to the fight still raging in the shadows. Please be okay, Piers.

Then, heart hammering, I turn and run.

I don’t stop.

I can’t.

I run until my legs feel like they’ll give out, until the firelight is nothing but a distant glow behind me.

Just hours ago, I had made up my mind to leave him. Finding out about the baby had changed everything- but now, every step feels like a knife in my chest. How could I leave him behind like this? In the middle of that fight, surrounded by enemies, with no one to watch his back?

I can still see his face, the fierce determination in his eyes as he fought to protect me. Even when I was planning to run, he was risking everything to keep me safe. And I just left him. Alone.

A sob claws up my throat, but I choke it down and keep moving. If I stop, even for a second, I’ll break. I can’t afford that. Not now.

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