AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I know.” The turmoil in his eyes flipped to hatred with a dash of mischievousness. “I was going to wait, but I have a gift for you.”
“Oh? I like presents … but I’m not sure what to expect from you.”
His sexy, wicked grin fell into place. “Always anticipate the unexpected.” He leaned down and kissed me, roughly. His lips parted, and my pulse raced as his tongue teased and coaxed mine. Cupping my face, he tilted his head and kissed me deeper. His touch stole the air from my lungs, and my knees turned to Jell-O.
“Get your purse, we’re going somewhere.”
If anyone saw us together, they would see me with Sebastian. I just had to make sure no one engaged us in conversation. If we were in the car, hiding would be easy enough.
Three hours later, the sun began to set, and Mother Nature had painted the cloudless sky with streaks of pink and orange hues. Soon, I would be watching the sunsets while rocking my baby. The idea wasn’t a reality yet, but everything would change when I started to show.
Death parked in the middle of the field near an abandoned warehouse that was barely holding up. Once he exited the car, he strolled to my side and opened my door for me. He protectively slid an arm around my waist, and I nuzzled against him, enjoying this rare side of him. When we reached the entrance with a padlock and bolt in place, he turned to me.
“You know who I am, little lamb. That will never change. I hunt. I torture. I kill.”
A lump formed in my throat, and I swallowed it. “I know.” A shudder worked its way through my body as I suspected he was holding someone inside.
“Is someone in there?” My voice cracked with emotion as I reminded myself that this would be my life with him. A part of me would have to fully embrace the darkness since I’d vowed to protect him, even when he had no idea that I was pulling strings in the background to keep him safe.
“Come.” He took my hand and led me inside, the heavy door closing behind us and cutting off the stream of light. I stood in the pitch black, my heart stuttering in my ears.
The intense beam from his flashlight lit our path. He stopped me before I stepped over broken boards, grabbed my waist, and lifted me over them.
“They have nails.”
He didn’t have to explain. I understood what he’d meant. Stunned at his care of me and the baby, I stared at him in awe.
“Let’s go, time is short, little lamb.” Death took my hand, and we walked to the back of the warehouse. He opened another door and flipped on a light. A man in his boxers and a dirty, white tank huddled in the corner. He’d been badly beaten, and his knee and leg were bent at a strange angle. He would never walk again, but that was the least of his worries. A large empty cup and crumbs of leftover food on a paper plate were next to him. For whatever reason, Death had wanted to keep his prisoner alive.
We moved closer. His swollen bruises were the only thing I could see.
I was rooted in a haze of uncertainty, and I bit my lip, holding the swell of feelings inside.
“Ella.”
My brain scrambled to understand who was in front of me.
Death walked over to the man in the corner and kicked his broken leg. “Talk like your life depends on it, motherfucker.”
The man shrank in the corner, blubbering like an idiot.
“Look at her,” Death growled. “Who do you see?”
The guy slowly rotated his head toward me, his piercing blue eyes like an icy dagger, making my heart gallop while cold shivers of terror raced through my veins. Dread danced around me like a black fog, threatening to engulf me.
“Ella?” The sound of his voice punched me in the gut and dropped me to my knees.
Death rushed over to me, grabbing my hair just in time for me to puke. The stench of the splatter hit my stomach harder, and I wretched again, chunks landing on the hand I was using to brace myself against the floor.
“Little lamb, look at me.”
I spit the last bit of puke out of my mouth and wiped the dangling string of saliva from my lips. I turned my head, tears spilling down my cheeks.
“John Bordeaux will never hurt you again. He will never touch you or another child again. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
I nodded, and my emotions morphed into shock and then anger. My eyes were bleary with my body’s sudden revolt at seeing that son of a bitch after all those years.
“I wanted to give you closure. Do you have anything to say to him before I finish what I started? If you want to strike first, he’s all yours,” Death whispered, brushing his lips across my temple. Deep concern embedded in his features.
