Page 48 of Ours

Baring his crooked teeth, Maddox reached down and grabbed a handful of her tousled locks. Roughly twisting her hair in his fingers, he tried to yank her from the floor.

“YOU’RE IN FOR IT NOW, YOU LITTLEBITCH!”he screamed.

Yelping from the tight tug on her scalp, Lexi felt the edge of her switchblade graze her fingertips. Grasping onto the hunk of metal, all of her stolen confidence came rushing back. Unbeknownst to her attacker, the odds had just tipped in her favor.

Pressing the button on her Stiletto, she couldn’t help but smile as the razor-sharp blade sprang into place. With his fist gripping her hair, she stood clumsily to her feet. Turning to meet his steely gaze, she lunged towards him, slashing viciously at the arm holding her locks to free herself.

Growling like a junkyard dog, Maddox released his hold on her tangled hair. Instinctively taking a step backwards, he felt his forearm burn with the unmistakable fire that comes whenever flesh is split. He couldn’t believe the whore had the balls to slice him, it caused his rage to bubble through his veins. Foreplay was over, it was time to complete his orders.

Balling his hand into a tight fist, he pulled back his uninjured arm. Not wanting to give the bitch a chance to stab him, he threw his fist towards her cheek. His brass knuckles made contact with flesh and bone, causing a sickening“smack”to echo throughout the hallway.

Caught off guard by the violent punch, Lexi fell to the hard floor. Squeezing her hand around the hilt of her switchblade, she pushed out a broken cry as the acute pain in her cheekbone grew to encompass the left side of her face. Dazed and confused, she lost all sense of reality in the chaotic moment. Not able to defend herself, she watched in horror as the Skull jumped on top of her.

“Stupid cunt,” Maddox spat bitterly.

Filled with uncontrolled rage, he attacked the bloodied brunette. Raising his arm to continue his onslaught, he punched her beautiful face twice in rapid succession. Each blow landing just hard enough to keep her from moving.

Moaning in anguish, she struggled to stay conscious. Taking his punches like a toy rag doll, she wondered how long it would take before he broke every bone in her face. Never in her wildest dreams did she think this would be the way she would die. Her limp dicked attacker didn’t deserve the honor of her death, it pissed her off to no end.

Smiling down at the whimpering woman beneath him, he lifted his muscular arm for a third blow. Too lost in his own bloodlust, he didn’t hear the booted footsteps running down the corridor towards him.

Braving herself for what could be the final punch, Lexi instinctively flinched as his fist flew towards her. Before the brass knuckles contacted her torn skin, a loud gunshot rang through the air. Jerking from the sound, her eyes widened as she witnessed a bullet shoot right between her assailant's eyes, dousing her with warm blood and brain matter as his lifeless body fell on top of her.

“Lexi!”Kade yelled, sprinting towards her.

“Kade?!” she replied, weakly trying to push Maddox off her. “Is that...are you...are you really here?!”

Crouching beside her, he gripped onto Maddox’s black shirt and threw his dead subordinate away from his love. Focusing his dark eyes on her swollen face, he felt his blood boil with wrath. He wished he hadn’t killed him so quickly, the motherfucker deserved to be tortured for what he had done to her.

“Yes, I’m here, Sweetheart! Can you move? We need to get the fuck out of here, we don’t have time,” he urged, gently pulling her into a sitting position.

Swallowing back a mouthful of bile, she tried to focus her blurry vision. She was elated to see him, but why did they have to run? He just eliminated the threat.

“I don’t think I can,” she replied, lifting her hand to her bleeding cheek.

Nodding his head, he wasted no time gathering her into his arms. Carefully picking her pregnant body from the ground, he cradled her lovingly against his torso. Making his way down the hallway, his chest tightened as he heard her whimper in pain.

“Shhh, it’s ok! I’m here now. I’ve got you,” he whispered, trying to convey confidence in his tone. “I’ll protect you, I promise.”

Resting her head against his shoulder, she tried to gather her wits. What the fuck was he talking about? “Protect me from what? Maddox is dead!”

Clenching his jaw, he debated on what information he should divulge. Given her current state, the less she knew, the better off she was. Once they were at the safehouse, he would tell her everything. His top priority was getting her as far away as possible, before the rest of his Skulls swarmed the mansion.

“It’s nothing you need to worry about,” he replied, stepping into the foyer.

Lifting her good eye to his face, she took a proper look at her dark savior. To her shock and dismay, his face looked almost as bad as she imagined hers to be. “What happened to you?” she asked.

Letting out a small growl, he locked his eyes on hers to distract her while he walked through the opened front door. Directly to her right lay the lifeless body of the dog entrusted with her safety. He knew she would be devastated to learn that Maddox had killed Cupcake. That trauma would have to wait for another day.

“Thailand was a trap,” he said.

“What kind of trap?” she asked.

Pausing for a moment, he scanned the darkness for any sign of impending dangers. Secure that they were indeed alone, he proceeded to walk towards the driveway flanking the left wing of the mansion. Maddox was an idiot for parking his Lexus in plain sight, but at least they would have a more reliable vehicle than the stolen Chevy he had arrived in.

“My father knows everything, Lexi,” he replied, adjusting her in his strong arms. “He wanted to teach me a lesson.”

Swallowing hard, all the blood drained from her bruised face. Remembering the stuffed unicorn from the gift basket, she began to tremble with another rush of fear.

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