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She moves to get around me, pulling her pants up, giving me a perfect view of her plump ass. I lean forward, placing a kiss over it before she swats me away, the sweatpants coming up to cover it, and I groan.
“Come behind me and untie my hands. Hurry, baby.” She does what she’s told, like a good girl. It takes a few minutes of her struggling and me telling her how to undo the knots before it loosens, and my hands come free.
She stands on my side, waiting for me to undo the rope at my feet. Once I’m done, I stand up fast, falling back into the chair due to a lack of leg muscle strength. “Go slow, Dmitri.” Her voice is soft.
Standing up slowly, she puts her hand around my waist. I try to lean as little weight on her as possible. I use my hand that’s around her shoulder to reach her front and hold her ripped shirt closed as much as possible. Her skin is insanely hot to the touch, confirming in my head she has a fever.
We make our way to the door slowly. I open it a crack, looking out of it to see a long, narrow, barely lit hallway that leads to another door. “Alright, baby, we’ve got to try and move fast.” She nods at my words, and I swing the door open.
She waddles, and I hobble. We stop every few seconds to let me breathe through the pain.
When we’re halfway down the hallway, the door in front of us opens, and I lean on the wall, pulling Penelope behind me, my whole body going tense. A skinny, tall man appears. He’s tan and wears glasses, an earpiece in his ear connected to a mic on his collar.
“Riot! Do you have Penelope?” At the sound of the man’s voice, Penelope whips her head out from around me, and I try to push her back.
“Kai!” She cries, waddling out from behind me, holding her shirt closed. He runs to us, stopping in front of me. He nods his head at me before taking his shirt off, handing it to Penelope. Anger surges at me, but is immediately at bay when I feel her touch my arm.
Kai. Oh. Kai Webster, one of my people. I slightly relax at the realization.
“I got them. Making our way out now.” He winces at whoever yells back before looking at Penelope with a guilty look.
I don’t have a chance to say anything before Viktor rounds the doorway, a fucking RPG in his arms. What the absolute fuck? I know the man loves fire and explosions, but where the fuck did he get that?
A small brown-haired girl, Destiny, barrels him down, running to Penelope. I step in front of her, growling at the girl. She skids to a stop in front of me, glaring daggers. “I know you’re my boss and all, but let me get to my best friend. I’ve taken care of where you weren’t man enough to do so,” Destiny growls back.
She got a hit on my ego with that. Moving out of her way, she shoulders me the rest of the way to my girl, wrapping her in a hug, scanning her body for any new injuries.
“She wasn’t hurt, but I think she has a fever,” I say, my voice raspy as my whole body writhes in pain.
“I feel fine,” she states, looking at me. I lift my hand to her forehead, the back of my hand burning from the feeling of her skin.
“Your skin is hot to the touch, Moss.” She feels her own forehead, worry etched on her skin when she feels how hot she is.
“Enough chit-chat, let’s get the fuck out of here,” Viktor grumbles, and we all agree.
Kai helps me walk, and Destiny stays glued to Penelope’s side while Viktor leads us out. I’m angry I can’t carry Penelope out of here, shield her eyes from the bodies that litter the floors under us.
After five minutes of clearing corners and rooms that lead to the front, we make it out. A black bulletproof van sits backed up to the house, the doors opening once we come out. Two girls sit in the back, waiting for us to get in and bandage us up.
Once they settle Penelope in, they help me in, making me lie flat on the van floor.
I look over at Penelope, my eyes going droopy at the sight of her safe. She takes my hand in hers, kissing the back softly, a few of her tears dripping on it. I smile softly, reaching my hand up to caress her face. She leans into my hand, her eyes fluttering closed.
I let the dark overcome me, the feeling of sleep heavy on my eyes. I close my eyes to the sight of her, and her swollen belly holding my daughter. Both my girls are safe. The thought and sight let me fall asleep peacefully.
*This book is an advance reader copy and is to not be distributed anywhere. [email protected]*
33
Chapter Thirty-Three
Les - Childish Gambino
Penelope
Riot lies in his bed in the Manor, sleeping deeply. I watch his muscles twitch. Sometimes he wakes up in a panic, and I shush him back to sleep. He’s been in and out of sleep for the past couple of days, his body exhausted from the past couple of months, getting its well-deserved sleep.
I’ve slept next to him every night, cuddling to his side as much as I can with my big belly that seems to grow another two feet every day. I feel her move all the time, feeling like she’s doing somersaults in my ribs.
