Page 53 of Dark Knight

After a tense moment of silence, Sean backed down. "Toss the keys over. I'll walk to the car, and then I'll let her go." A rush of adrenaline coursed through me as I realized I might actually get out of this uninjured.

"Not a chance in hell," Hud barked as he took what seemed to be an involuntary step forward. "I give you the keys while you're still holding her? You’ll just try to take her."

"I swear on the Light Father’s name that I won't." That was a big thing for a member of the Children of Radiance to say since the Light Father was basically a living god to them, so I knew he wasn't messing around.

"He's serious." Theo's voice was muted, as though his words might give him away even more. It was obvious that he was a member of the cult at some point, and I definitely recognized him a little. There was no going back now.

Hud glanced at Theo before finally asking, "Okay, which car are you taking?"

We all stood there in a pregnant silence as Sean debated his exit strategy. "I'll take the big bastard over there." Sean pointed to a big, boxy looking SUV that was deep blue in color.

Hud reached behind himself and unclipped a giant key ring from what I assumed was his back belt loop before rifling through the keys to find the one that Sean needed.

"Walk with me," Sean growled softly as we edged toward Hudson and the car.

Hud threw some keys in Sean's direction, and they fell to the ground.

"Pick them up," Sean commanded.

As soon as the knife was gone from my throat, I felt it pressing against my back. I bent over and picked them up before handing them to him.

"You stand next to the driver's side door and wait until it shuts. I want to be sure I can get out of here, without your new boyfriend's opening fire on me."

The closer we got to the SUV, the jumpier Sean became, which was worrying. He wasn't the only one, though. I was more than a little nervous as I sensed the massive bulk of the SUV getting closer than it needed to be. When we got even closer to the car, I realized that he seemed to be dragging me toward it. As we reached the driver's side door, he started to pull away from me a little bit, leaving just the knife pressed against my throat.

"You know, Teddy, it's not too late for you to come back. It would all be forgiven, especially if you brought her back with you." My eyes were glued to Theo, watching his reaction. For a second, I could swear that it looked like he was considering it. My stomach turned.

If Sean was fast enough, he could get me in the car and pull away before anyone could stop him. And that wasn't something I was okay with, whether he swore on the Light Father or not.

"You know the Light Father knows where you are," Sean's voice was quiet, so only I could hear it. Just loud enough that the guys would have no idea what he was saying, likely being irritated by the fact that they were being left out. "I already sent him a message. Once I get out of here, I'll be able to bring him here to take you back himself, or maybe this little display will have Teddy turning back to the Children of Radiance as well.

“If he did bring you with him, it would do a lot to smooth things over, though I can't say the elders are going to be very impressed with his hair or piercings. Then again, maybe it would be better if you were out of the picture completely."

"You know the only way the Light Father is going to let me go is if I'm dead," I snarled. "Especially now that you've held me in front of him like a carrot on a stick. Is this your grand plan? Just leave, Sean. Get the Light Father to come and take me. These men care about me, they'll put up a fight."

"Do they care about you enough to kill members of the Children of Radiance?"

"Yes," I bluffed. Honestly, I had no idea. I'd like to think that they cared about me enough to do that, but the reality was that they might not care about me enough at all. "Tell me something," I murmured, trying my best not to move my throat since every time I did, the blade bit further into my skin. "Was the heart in the locker a human heart?"

"Of course it was. I wouldn't give you an inferior product. You're the Light Mother."

"Whose life did you take just to scare me?"

"One of those other whores at that club. I'm sure they've probably found her body by now. Now, if you'll excuse me." Sean moved further away from me, the click of the driver's door opening was like a bell tolling decision time. Either he took me or he didn't.

He slid the knife around my throat, pressing it into the side so he could get as much distance from me as possible. I thought for sure he was just going to slit my carotid artery and break his word about letting me go.

The whoosh of the car door sounded from behind me, and I knew that this whole ordeal was almost over, which only served to make me more tense than I had been before. In a strange moment of clarity, I knew Sean was either going to take me with him or he was going to kill me. There was no way he would just let me go, especially not after the stunt I pulled to get away from him at the auction house.

I'd done the most dangerous thing a woman could do. I wounded his male pride, dented his ego, and rejected him sexually all in one go. For a man like Sean, there was no way he wouldn’t repay that debt.

He lunged for me at the last second, right when he could have gotten into the car and gotten away. "The Light Father doesn't need to dirty himself with a filthy whore like you, bitch. But since he's obsessed with you, I'll have to fix that problem myself. You don't deserve to live and feel his love, and your dirty body sure as hell doesn't deserve to bear his children."

The knife that had been at my throat disappeared, and suddenly an incredible, sharp pain bloomed in my back. The asshole stabbed me.

I was vaguely aware of letting out some kind of strangled cry before I crumpled to the floor, the pain debilitating enough that I couldn't support myself enough to stand anymore. The thump of the car door closing behind me and the screeching of tires were the only things that made me aware Sean had left.

Shouts sounded in the distance, but I wasn't sure who was making noise anymore. The last thing I saw as the darkness closed in around me was Theo reaching for me.

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