Page 28 of King's Claim
Chapter Nine
Lena gripped the steeringwheel tighter as she turned into the hospital parking lot, her stomach knotted the way it always did on these visits.
Her old car rattled with every bump, the dashboard light blinking an ominous red she couldn’t afford to get checked out.None of that mattered right now.Her mother did.
The hospital loomed ahead, glass windows catching the gray afternoon light.Lena found a spot near the back of the lot, cut the engine, and sat there for a moment, breathing in and out.She needed to be calm before she went inside.Her mother didn’t need to see her falling apart.
She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, grabbed her worn leather bag, and stepped out of the car.The autumn air was brisk, carrying the faint smell of exhaust and rain.
She slung the bag over her shoulder, her mind already shifting to what she’d say to her mom.Updates, reassurances and lies that things were steady when they weren’t.
Her boots clicked softly on the pavement as she started toward the hospital entrance.That was when she heard it.A scuff of footsteps behind her.Too close and deliberate.
Lena froze, heart slamming against her ribs.She glanced over her shoulder.The lot looked nearly empty, just a handful of cars scattered across the rows.But she wasn’t alone.
A tall figure stepped out from between two parked cars.His cut caught her eye immediately, the leather vest marked with a coiled serpent.Another shadow emerged to her left, blocking her path forward.
Her throat went dry.Iron Serpents.
She spun, intending to bolt back toward her car, but another man was already there, leaning casually against the hood of a truck as if he’d been waiting for her.His grin spread wide, teeth flashing under the pale light.
“Well, well,” he drawled, pushing off the truck.“Look what we got here.”
The voice sent a jolt of recognition through her.She knew that face, that sneer.He was the one from The Pit Stop.The one who’d tried to corner her before King had stepped in.
“Riker,” she whispered, the name tasting like ash.
He tilted his head mockingly.“So you do remember me.I’m flattered,” Riker said with a grin.
Lena’s pulse roared in her ears.She forced her chin up, masking the fear clawing at her throat.“If you think you can pull something again in a hospital parking lot, you’re dumber than I thought,” she said.
Riker chuckled, the sound low and cruel.“Hospital or not, sweetheart, no one’s gonna see a damn thing out here.”He gestured, and the two men flanking her closed in.
Lena took a step back, then another, but her path was sealed tight.Her fingers dug into the strap of her bag like it could be a weapon.
“Don’t touch me,” she snapped, trying to summon the same fire she’d used at The Pit Stop.“You don’t scare me.”
But her voice wavered on the last word, betraying her.
Riker’s grin widened.“That’s what I like about you.Got some spark.Shame King got his claws in first.Otherwise, maybe I’d show you how a real man treats a woman.”
Her stomach twisted.Disgust battled with panic, but she refused to give him the satisfaction of seeing her flinch.
