Page 137 of The King of Hearts

“Every inch I’m going to ram into your tight hole is for killing my sister.” His hand tightens around the back of my neck, and he tries to shove me over. “I don’t know how you overpowered her, but I know it was you. Lili told me everything she remembered about that night. How you carried her to someone’s house and left her there. My boy almost lost his plaything that night. Only my connections with the governor prevented the authorities from digging into shit that wasn’t their business.”

Soft blonde hair and pretty brown eyes come to mind. A small naked body, only a few years old, tied to a bed and my aunt demanding I rape her whispers through my head. The little girl she brought to the house for me to use and demonstrate what she had taught me. Theo was the brother she mentioned. Thetwisted motherfucker who raped my mother, stole a child from her, and gave that child to Aiden to torture and rape.

That familiar feeling I had back at the Rivers’ house when I saw Lili makes sense now. She was that little girl. My fucking sister.

“No, Ryker.”

Savina’s hoarse cry brings my attention back to her. I hold her gaze as I allow myself to be pushed over the edge of the bed. I drop my hands on the mattress. I’m close to her, up near her head, and I feel the soft strands of her hair under my fingers. The sweet scent of apples hits my senses, and I cling to that smell. Tears slide freely from her cheeks, soaking the covers, and I feel the tremble of her body through the mattress.

“Don’t look anywhere else. Keep your eyes on mine.”

“Please, Ryker. Don’t do this. You can’t…,” she breaks off on a sob, her broken voice splintering my fucking heart.

“I’ll be fine.”

A harsh finger slides down my ass crack, and I grit my teeth at the foreign feeling. Every instinct in me demands I get the fucker away from me, but if this is what it takes to keep Savina alive, to keep her from being violated more than she already has, then I’ll fucking endure it. My only regret will be that she’s forced to witness it.

Right as I feel the blunt head of Theo’s dick at my asshole, in my peripheral vision, I see Aiden remove the revolver from inside Savina. He keeps it pointed at her, but his finger is no longer on the trigger. He aims his cock between her legs, but it’s a good six inches away from her. He jacks his hand up and down.

I grunt as Theo pushes forward, the head of his dick going inside my ass. I curl my fingers in the duvet and grind my molars together. It’s uncomfortable, but bearable. Aiden’s hand moves faster. He’s looking at me, no doubt waiting for pain to show on my face, but I won’t be giving this fucker what he wants. I don’tcare how painful it gets, Aiden won’t fucking know it from my expression.

Savina’s eyes close, and a little whimper leaves her lips.

“Look at me!” I bark, and her eyes flash open. “Don’t look away from me, Savina.” She needs to keep her eyes on me. She needs to know I’m here with her. I don’t give a fuck about my own experience, but my wife will know she’s not going through her own nightmare alone. “I’m right here, baby.” I lift my hand and cup her cheek, wiping away her tears. “Forget about them. It’s just you and me. Think about only you and me.”

Her lips tremble, and more tears leak from her eyes, but she nods.

Theo pushes in more, but I ignore the pain. My only thought, the only thing I allow to occupy my mind, is the woman in front of me, and giving her the only reassurance I can.

Everything happens within the span of a blink.

The weight on my back and the dick in my ass is suddenly gone and there’s a gurgling sound, followed by a flood of warmth that hits my back. In the same second, there’s a loud bang, and Aiden screams, the gun flying from his hand. Specks of blood land on Savina’s face and torso, and Aiden falls to his side, away from Savina.

I don’t think. In the next second, I’m on my knees on the bed, hovering over Savina. I don’t check to see what’s going on around us, my only aim is protecting my wife and child.

She screams, her eyes wide, not focusing on anything in particular. The scream is loud, nearly fucking piercing my ears, and she starts thrashing. Her wrists are already bloody as fuck and she’s only doing more damage to her skin. Her thighs, where the ropes dig into her skin, have deep purple bruises.

“Savina!” I call her name in a harsh tone.

She doesn’t respond, her mouth still split open and letting out that agonizing sound. I drop my face closer to hers, trying to meet her gaze. But it’s like I’m not there.

She’s stuck in a nightmare that I can’t see.

CHAPTER FORTY

HER

An excruciating sound fills my ears. It’s so pathetic and painfully alarming that it has my heart aching at the brutality of it.

My lungs are on fire for some reason, like I’m out of breath, so I open my mouth to suck in more air. Pain burns my wrists when I try to lower my arms from their raised positions. The same happens to my legs, but it’s not quite as intense.

Then I remember where I am and why I’m lying like this.

Aiden, or rather, Grant. Ryker’s brother.

He’s on top of me. About to force himself inside me.

I don’t remember much before that. My last memories are of a searing pain in my face after he punched me. This was after he brutalized my mouth while his father fucked him from behind.

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