Page 93 of The King of Hearts

I can’t tell him the truth with Emersyn sitting here. That’ll have to be a private conversation between only us at a later date. One I’m not looking forward to because his reaction will be nearly as bad as my family’s.

I lift my eyes and meet his. “I don’t want my child born out of wedlock.”

He grunts, the sound coming out almost a snort. “We live in the twenty-first century. That excuse isn’t good enough. There’s another reason why you’re allowing this to happen.”

The lines around my eyes tighten, and I flick my glance to Em, hoping he understands what I can’t say aloud and praying Emersyn doesn’t catch on to what I’m doing. After a moment, he gives me a subtle nod and drops the subject. Thankfully, Em doesn’t notice the silent exchange.

“What I don’t understand is how you got pregnant in the first place,” Em says. “You said you still had your v-card.”

“I’m sure you can use your imagination and come up with how it happened. I personally don’t want to say it out loud, so…”

She purses her lips together, and the wheels in her head spin for a couple of seconds before her eyes widen. “Oh… shit. That bastard is sneaky.”

I nod, but don’t say anything.

The bell over the door rings, distracting us for a moment. A couple of guys I’ve never seen before come strolling in. They stop just inside the doorway, look around the place, before proceeding to the counter. Before I bring my attention back to the table, I look over at the man standing near a corner, out of the way of the tables. His position gives him the advantage of seeing everyone in the room.

As if sensing my eyes on him, Marcelo pulls his attention away from the newcomers and settles it on me. I’m still angry at him for his duplicity, and I let him know it by glaring. Of course, he isn’t fazed in the slightest.

“I know your brothers and father told you the same thing, but you let me know if he does anything to hurt you.”

I look back at Tomas. “I will,” I lie.

There’s no way I’ll tell him if Ryker hurts me. And neither will I tell my family. They’ll go after him, and in the process, they may get hurt. Time and time again, Ryker has proven there are no limits of what he’ll do if his plans for me are threatened. Either by physically harming, or worse, killing, that threat. Or by releasing information that would put them in prison.

“When’s the wedding?” Emersyn asks.

“In two days.”

Em’s eyes widen. “He doesn’t waste any time, does he?”

I spin my cup on the table. “Apparently not.”

“Do you even have a dress?”

“No, and I don’t plan to look for one. Ryker wanted this, so he can do all of the planning. Or I’ll simply show up in shorts and a t-shirt.”

Em grins. “That’s my girl. Make his life miserable.”

“That’s the plan.”

There’s a commotion beside us, and in unison, we look over. Everything happens so fast that there’s no time to react before my arm is grabbed in a bruising grip, and I’m yanked up from my seat. A solid band in the form of an arm wraps around my waist, and I’m tugged back against a hard chest. Something hard and cool presses against the side of my head, and instinctively, I know it’s a gun, even before I smell the residue of gunpowder.

The whole place goes haywire. The few people sitting at tables jack up from their seats, many of them making sounds of alarm. One of the two men who walked in a few moments ago isat the counter, holding a gun on the barista, and I’d bet my last dollar that the second guy is the one at my back.

“Everyone stay calm or these two bitches will have a bullet in their skulls,” the guy at the counter says.

Fear seizes my lungs, and I wouldn’t be able to suck in air even if the arm around me wasn’t so tight. I lock eyes with Tomas. He’s up from his chair, but still across the table from me. He’s shoved Emersyn behind him, but her head peeks around his side, her eyes filled with terror.

The gun presses harder against my temple, and the arm constricts even more. So much so that it’s hard to breathe.

“Ease up, asshole,” Tomas growls. “You’re hurting her.”

“You think I’m hurting her now?” the guy behind me asks. “I wonder if she’ll feel it when I pull this trigger. That’s what’ll happen if you don’t shut the fuck up.”

Tomas’s mouth flattens into a firm line, and he doesn’t say anything else.

“Now, this is what’s going to happen,” the other guy says. “The lady here is going to empty out the cash register. While she’s doing that, all of you fuckers empty your pockets.” He points to our table. “One by one, everyone drops their valuable shit on that table. Ladies, don’t forget to leave your purses.”

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