Page 31 of Shattered King

Whatever we were doing here, I knew I wouldn’t like it, not one damn bit.

Adrenaline spiked through my veins, my pulse thudding erratically as I scanned the area around us frantically.

I turned to Hunter. He wasn’t looking at me.

He pulled out his phone, punched in a number, and held it to his ear. “We’re here.” He was silent a beat. “Zeke in position?” He glanced out the window, to the right. “Good.” Then disconnected.

The only sound in the car was my heavy, panicked breaths exploding past my lips, and the rush of blood in my ears. I stared out the window, straight ahead, trying to get my shit together, trying to calm the hell down. A car appeared in the distance, coming toward us. As it got closer, I could see it was shiny black, sleek, expensive. It stopped about three or four yards away.

Hunter went still, unnaturally so, letting off that scary-as-hell vibe again.

I went still as well. I didn’t know what this was, but every instinct I had told me to run. To get as far away as I could and never look back. Nothing happened for a while, and then the door opened and a guy in a dark suit stepped out. His hair was slicked back, his prominent, pointy nose sticking out like an arrow from the middle of his face. He had beady eyes that were a little too close together. The kind of face you didn’t easily forget.

He was one of Pierce’s men. Derek.

I’d seen him in our house plenty of times. Pierce never liked to go anywhere without at least two men covering his ass, and the guy in front of me was always one of them.

I started to shake, uncontrollably.

Hunter was handing me over to Pierce.

My fingers curled into fists, anger flooding me. Anger and indescribable fear. For some fucked-up reason, deep down, I’d believed him when he said he’d let me go.

I wanted to scream because Hunter fucking knew me. He knew me. He should have worked it out. He should have known I would never willingly betray him. He’d been my everything, and I’d been his.

And he was going to just hand me over to that monster and never look back.

The guy in front of us put his phone to his ear and half a second later Hunter’s rang.

He hit the call button, listened for a few seconds, then, “Yeah, I have her. You got the money?”

Pain lanced through me. Money? This was about money? All of it?

I guess Hunter wasn’t the only one wearing blinders. I obviously didn’t know him either. Because as it turned out, he was just another asshole taking his pound of flesh from me. Did he have any idea what would happen to me? That at best I’d be a prisoner, and at worst . . .

I shuddered.

“Told you, I fucking have her,” he rumbled into the phone. I could see Derek’s lips moving, still talking. “Fine,” Hunter said, “Here’s your proof.” Then he hit a button on the dashboard. The windows of the car were tinted, giving them a grayish appearance from the inside. When Hunter hit the button, they lightened, cleared.

Pierce’s man lifted his head, stared directly at me, and a grin curved his lips. Hunter punched the button again and the windows darkened, hiding us from sight.

I wanted to throw up.

Disbelief and, yes, betrayal pounded through me. I might not survive whatever happened next. I may never see my little boy again.

My mind roared.

This wasn’t happening. I wouldn’t let this happen. I’d rather die than be Pierce’s prisoner again, his creature. Blood thundered though my ears as I reached for the door handle. I had no plan, nowhere to go. All I knew was I had to get away. I had to get away from here.

Yanking the door open, I dove out and took off running as fast as I could.

Shots rang out behind me, the sound of bullets drilling into the side of Hunter’s car, echoing down the street. Boots pounded on the road behind me. Tires screeched. Someone hooked me around the waist, jerking me off my feet. Then we were on the ground and I was being shoved down. Hunter was covering my body with his. I heard him on his phone barking orders.

“Stay down,” he said in my ear.

There were more shots and the sound of an engine revving. Hunter returned fire. My ears rang. My heart tried to pound right out of my chest.

Then everything stopped, the street becoming eerily silent.