Page 153 of Wanted By a King

Pop!

I slap my free hand over my mouth to stifle the whimper I can’t hold back. Fuck, this is my worst nightmare. Every time I blink, I see my mom’s and Leslie’s lifeless bodies, and their blood splattered across the asphalt.

My forehead becomes clammy, and breathing is a chore. I just want this fucking nightmare to end. I want to be back at Nirvana with Gray. Anywhere but here.

It’s pure fucking luck we make it all the way to the laundry room without being discovered, and I mentally send a silent prayer to whoever is watching over us.

Alana pulls us to a halt just outside the door that’s only balancing on one hinge. Looking over her shoulder, she holds her finger up to her lips, and I nod to show I understand. Then she slowly inches forward, looking inside.

I don’t know what she sees, but whatever it is has her jerking back so quickly she bumps into me. Letting go of her hand, I steady her.

“What?” I whisper-yell. “Alana, what did you see?”

Her face pales in front of me, and she vigorously shakes her head as though she’s trying to get rid of the mental image of what she just saw.

“You can’t go in there,” Alana whispers back.

I don’t get the chance to decipher her words before another shot sounds too close to us for comfort.

Without thinking it through, I push us into the room.

“No. Don’t!” Alana screams, but it’s too late.

I slam the door closed behind us, and as I turn to lean against it, I belatedly realize why Alana didn’t want us to go in here.

“Well, well, well. Who do we have here?” A man’s voice rings out, but I barely see him.

My eyes automatically fall on Sasha, who’s awkwardly bent over a table, held down by two Reapers while a third fucks her. Blood trickles from a gash on her forehead, making her hair stick to her forehead and cheeks.

“Sasha!” I scream.

The sight causes my stomach to churn and acidic bile burns the back of my throat. They’re fucking raping her.

Raping. Her.

Despite our arrival, the men don’t move, and the one fucking her doesn’t as much as pause. With each thrust, he drills her so hard into the table it rattles, and she hoarsely screams in pain.

Just as I make to move toward her, Alana grabs my top and tries to hold me back.

“Get. Out. Of. Here,” Sasha grinds out through her clenched teeth.

It feels like an eternity has passed since I pushed us in here, but in reality, it’s probably only seconds. The longer I look, the more things seem to slow down until everyone is moving in slow motion.

I don’t know what to do.

I have to get out of here, but I can’t leave Alana and Sasha behind.

What the fuck do I do?

I’m so lost in my thoughts I don’t notice I’m standing still and acting like I’m too dumb to walk and chew gum at the same time until Alana pushes me away from the door.

The second her hand is on the door handle, one of the guys leaps into action. He closes the distance between us in a few strides, and when he reaches us, he wraps his hand around Alana’s neck and bounces her head off the door.

I watch horrified as she struggles to stay upright. As my mind finally catches up with everything, I jump in front of her.

“Leave her alone,” I hiss, baring my teeth.

Fuck, the guy is big, too big. He could snap me like a twig, yet I still try to kick him when he comes closer.

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