Page 27 of Devils Cut

"Alright!" Amanda clapped her hands together, breaking me out of my dark reverie. "It's 5 pm, girl. You're off the clock. Go find Corvus and go home."

"Thanks," I mumbled, forcing a smile onto my face as I untied my apron and hung it up behind the bar. My stomach twisted into knots, I was nervous for the first time in my life over a man.

"Good luck," Amanda whispered, giving me a knowing wink before turning back to the rowdy bikers clamouring for her attention.

"Fuck," I muttered under my breath as I headed toward the door marked 'Private' in the back of the bar. With every step, I tried to steady my breathing, to calm the storm in my belly.

"Here goes nothin'," I said to myself, knocking gently on the door before pushing it open. The sight that greeted me made my blood run cold.

Corvus, half-naked and leaning back in his chair, with Emily working her mouth up and down his cock. The image burned itself into my mind, hot as a branding iron.

"Shit, sorry!" I stammered, backing out of the room and slamming the door shut behind me. My heart raced in my chest, and I could feel the panic rising like bile in my throat. I race down the hall and back out into the bar.

"Tempest! What's wrong?" Amanda called after me, but I barely registered her voice as I pushed through the crowd, each breath coming faster and more shallow than the last.

"Hey, you alright?" Killer's gruff voice cut through my panic. He reached out for me, but the mere thought of anyone touching me made my skin crawl.

"Get the fuck off me!" I screamed, shoving him away. I could feel everything starting to crumble around me, all those carefully built walls tumbling down.

"Tempest!" Corvus' voice boomed from behind me, laced with concern and authority. It stopped me in my tracks, even as my body continued to tremble violently.

"Stay the fuck away from me," I spat, tears streaming down my face, as I tried to keep control.

"Shhh...it's okay, princess," Corvus murmured as he approached me, his eyes softening with concern. It was like he could see straight through the panic and fear that overwhelmed me.

"Clear a fucking path!" he roared to the room, and suddenly everyone snapped into action, moving out of the way and leaving a wide-open space between me and the exit.

"Thanks," I muttered under my breath, focusing on putting one foot in front of the other as I stumbled toward the door, grasping at the last shreds of control I had left.

"Tempest, just breathe," Corvus called after me, but his words were lost in the chaos of my own thoughts, spiralling around me like a whirlwind and threatening to drag me under.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck..." I whimpered, each step feeling heavier than the last, my vision filling with white spots that danced before my eyes, taunting me as my world began to shrink and fade.

"Almost there," I whispered, forcing myself to keep moving even as the darkness closed in around me. Just one more step...

"Shit," I gasped as I finally reached the door, the cold night air hitting me like a slap in the face as I stumbled outside.

"NO!" I screamed, rage and frustration fuelling my defiance as I tried to push back against the black void that threatened to swallow me whole. But it was too late – my knees buckled, and everything went black.

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The rumble of a motorcycle engine disappearing into the distance sliced through the silence, dragging me from the depths of sleep. My eyelids fluttered open, and I found myself in Corvus's spare room.

I sat up, clutching the thin blanket to my chest, trying to swallow down the panic threatening to choke me. That's when I saw him - Corvus. He was sitting on the floor with his back against the wall, arms crossed over his chest, watching me intently.

"Jesus Christ," I groaned, rubbing my eyes. "Why the hell are you watchin' me like some fucking stalker?"

"Because you passed out from a panic attack," Corvus said, his voice low and gravelly. "Killer barely caught you in time before your head hit the pavement."

"What?" I frowned, trying to wrap my head around his words. Then, like a tidal wave crashing down on me, all the memories flooded back – walking in on Corvus with Emily on her knees in front of him, the overwhelming disgust that twisted my gut as I remembered being forced to do the same thing for my stepbrother Greg and the men he'd arranged for me.

I stared down at my trembling hands, feeling a chill spread through me as the memories continued to assault my mind. "Oh... um, sorry about that," I mumbled, my voice barely audible.

"You're sorry about that?" Corvus stood up abruptly, his dark eyes boring into mine. "Sorry that you had a panic attack and fuckin' passed out? What the fuck do you need to be sorry for? It's me who's sorry, Tempest. You shouldn't have had to see that shit."

My chest tightened, and I tried to push away the images that kept flashing before me. "I shouldn't have walked in on your office like that. I wasn't thinking," I said, struggling to keep my voice steady and not let the guilt overwhelm me.

Corvus shook his head, running a hand through his messy hair. "No, you were fine. It was Emily being Emily. She came on to me, and I didn't stop her." He sighed, his jaw tense. "But that's no fuckin' excuse. I'm sorry, princess. That's not something you should've seen."

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