She gasped in pain but still didn’t say anything as tears poured down her face.Cassiebent to help her with an exclamation of dismay, but the first man grabbed her arm and hauled her away from her weeping friend.
“Let me go!Letme go!”she shouted.“Help!Helpme!Helpus!”
It occurred to her that she ought to have shouted earlier, but everything had happened so fast and she’d never been in this situation before.Shehad never dreamed that someone would try to snatch her right off the street!
A few heads turned but the people they belonged to were far away and they didn’t seem to understand what was happening.Theold lady at the knitting booth didn’t even look up from her phone.
“Help!”Cassieshouted again but at that point, the first man slapped a hand over her mouth and began dragging her physically away from the sidewalk and towards a dark panel van with no windows and no license plate across the street.
Cassie couldn’t believe this was happening to her.Wasshe really going to be trafficked in broad daylight in the middle of the street?
Apparently so because no one was coming to her rescue andMiriwas being dragged to her feet, still sobbing, with her knees bleeding from the contact with the hard sidewalk.
And that was when a deep voice behind them said,
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing to my wife?”
Cassie tried to whip her head around but the man who was kidnapping her still had his hand over her mouth.Soshe didn’t see anything but a blur asMiri’sBeastKindredhusband rushed forward and grabbed the man who was trying to kidnap his wife by the throat.
He hoisted the would-be kidnapper over his head andCassiesaw his eyes turn from gold to blood red as theRagetook him.
“How dare you touch her?”he roared at the hapless man.
“Didn’t…mean…nothing by it,” the man choked out—he was the one with the pimple between his eyebrows.“Justtrying to…to…”
“To what?”TheBeastKindred’svoice had dropped to a low menacing growl.
At that point,Cassiebit the hand of the man who was still holding her and he screamed and tore his hand away.
“They were trying to kidnap us!”she shouted, her voice coming out hoarse with terror and fury.“Theywere trying to drag us to a van and take us away!”
TheBeastKindred’seyes went even redder and almost seemed to glow withRage.
“Youfucker,”he snarled at the man he was holding.
“Lies!”the man choked.“Not…true!”
It was clear theBeastKindredwasn’t buying it.
“Look at her!”Henodded at his wife, who was still crying with her arms wrapped around herself.“Youhurt her!Youmade her cry—you made her bleed!”
And then he squeezed the kidnapper’s neck so hard there was a snapping sound and the man suddenly went limp in his hand.
Cassie watched—equal parts horrified and amazed—as the dead man’s eyes rolled up in his head and his bladder let go, urine wetting the inside seam of his dirty jeans.
“Oh fuck—you killed him!YoukilledBuck!”the man who still had hold ofCassie’sarm breathed.Sheturned to look at him and saw that his eyes were wide with shock.
“That’s right—and you’re fucking next!”theBeastKindredgrowled.
He dropped the limp body in the middle of the road and lunged for the other kidnapper.
The man promptly droppedCassie’sarm and ran—not that he got very far.Hemet the same fate as his friend, butCassiedidn’t like to think about it.Shehad put an arm aroundMiri’sshoulders and led the young bride away so she wouldn’t have to see the terrible vengeance her husband was extracting.
Now, as she stood in the bath waiting forRavikto wash her,Cassiecouldn’t help remembering the violent scene.NowonderSeverindidn’t dare to try and stop the bigBeastKindredfrom washing her.Ifhe really did think she was his mate,Ravikwould kill anyone who tried to mess with her.
Of course that had been useful back in theDeadZonewhen he’d killed theInfectedwho was using her arm for a chew toy.Butit wasn’t quite such a good thing now when she basically had no choice but to play along with theBeastKindred’sdelusions.
“Hold out…your arm,” he said to her now andCassierealized he meant the arm where theInfectedhad bitten her.
