Chapter 37 Violet
Violet
The wind was harsher outside, my dress barely able to protect me as I was shoved forward, almost tripping over my own feet.
“Keep moving,” one of the henchmen said, shoving at me again.
“Get off—”
A slap across my face caught me off guard, so hard I fell to the side, landing on my hip. My palms came out to catch my fall, my dress falling down and the knife clattering away. I sucked in a breath, quickly reaching out to grab it before anyone noticed.
“Fuck’s sake,” one of the men snarled, reaching down to grab me by my upper arm so he could haul me back to my feet. I barely managed to grab the knife in time, curling it into my palm and holding it against my bare breast.
“I’d be very careful what you do next,” Jürgen said calmly, the only one with a name out of the three. He was shorter than the others, his expensive suit a stark contrast to their bulk and brawn. “You know she is to remain unmarked until she’s home.”
The brute who’d struck me bared his teeth. “Move it,” he growled, fingers digging deeper into my skin as he dragged me toward the waiting car.
I was shoved inside to sit beside another man, the impact rough, aggressive, before the other brute dropped heavily into the seat at my side.
Jürgen slammed the door shut behind us as a seatbelt was crossed over me, the car abruptly lurching into motion.
The outside blurred, the window barely registering.
All I could hear was the roar of blood in my ears, my pulse hammering so violently it felt like it might tear its way out through my skin.
The man sitting to my left crossed his leg over his knee, watching me with cool interest. “I suggest you remain calm,” he said smoothly.
He wasn’t one of the men from the warehouse, his neat suit looking almost absurd beside the brute pressed against my side.
“Calm?” I hissed, trying to cover my breasts while the arsehole to my right slid his hand underneath my dress to lay against my bare thigh. “You try being sold to the highest bidder and see how calm you are.”
I shoved the hand away, but he only forced it back, higher this time, his fingers digging in hard enough to bruise.
The man to my left pursed his lips, eyes flicking over my head. “Do you think that’s wise?”
“She’s not going to say anything, are you, sweetheart?” the brute chuckled, his finger searching higher between my legs.
I panicked, pushing against him and accidentally revealing the knife I’d hidden in my palm. He grabbed my wrist, twisting it painfully until I was forced to release it with a cry.
“I love it when they fight back.” He slipped open the knife, revealing the sharp blade. “Looks like you’ve come to play.”
“That’s enough,” the suited man to my left said, and the brute paused, as if he was tempted to cut me up.
Reluctantly he handed the knife over, the suit guy looking at it with little interest before placing it in his inner jacket pocket. His gaze hovered over my body, cold rather than sexualised.
I wasn’t sure which was worse.
I shivered in the seat, the cold leather clinging uncomfortably to my back. My dress had torn when I fell, the fabric loose enough that I had to fight to keep it from slipping past my hips. It left me exposed, my defences stripped away.
“Who are you?” I demanded, eyes flicking to the window where the city still blurred past as the car rumbled ahead. “Where are you taking me?”
The suited man released a long, deliberate breath.“Back where you belong.”
I stared at him as though he’d grown a second head.“I belong to no one.”
His lips curved, not quite a smile but something equally unsettling.“Is that what she told you?”
I opened my mouth to respond, but the car jerked violently to the side, tyres shrieking against the road. My head slammed into his shoulder, a burst of white stars exploding behind my eyes as muttered curses erupted around me.
“We’re being followed!” the driver shouted over his shoulder.
“Then get us the fuck out of here!”
I was thrown back into my seat, the car racing through the streets at a speed that was dangerous. Pop, pop, pop as the glass shattered, the shards raining down as a scream that might have been mine swallowed the roar of the engine.
The seatbelt bit into my chest as the car spun, momentum dragging me sideways, against the brute who was too busy aiming his gun out the broken window to notice.
My eyes squeezed shut as everything flipped.
The car rolled, metal screaming, my body thrown around like a ragdoll. Pain tore through my shoulder as the belt bit deep, holding me in place until the world finally crashed to a screeching halt.
Blinking through the dizziness, it took me a moment to realise we were upside down.
The brute who’d been beside me was slumped against the roof, his neck bent at a grotesque angle, while the suited man hung limp in his belt, unconscious.
My breath came out in panicked gasps, my fingers scrambling for the seatbelt that was pinning me to the seat.
My movements were clumsy, arm shaking as I pressed the button, only to crash down onto the ceiling.
My head thumped, something hot dripping down my face from my hairline as glass glittered around me.
A creak, and I couldn’t hold back my scream as a masked man reached inside the car.
Arms wrapped around me, strong and steady, the familiar scent of leather, woodsmoke, and spices cutting through the metallic stench of blood.
“Violet, I’ve got you.”
My body trembled, but that voice eased something raw inside me even as I instinctively fought.I shoved at Ryder’s chest as soon as he eased me out the broken back window.
“Get away from me!” I screamed, and he immediately yanked off the mask covering his lower face and held up his hands.
“You’re okay,” he tried to reassure me, but I was beyond rational right now. “Violet—”
“Don’t come near me!” I staggered back, my pulse roaring in my ears as the situation hit me in full force. The car was on its roof, tyre marks scarring the slope above us. We’d driven off an embankment, rolling down the hill to settle at the bottom.
“Violet…”
“You sold me out!” I shouted, pointing at him. “They were going to… I trusted you!” My bare feet sank into wet earth, mud squelching between my toes as the cold seeped up my legs.
Ryder seemed panicked, his eyes wide, and hands up like he was facing down a pissed-off bear. “Violet, I need you to calm down.”
Calm down? Was he fucking serious?
“Fuck you!” I screeched, my entire body shaking.
Ryder shrugged out of his coat, coming around to drape it around my shoulders.
“Don’t touch me.” I jerked away.
He stopped immediately, hands dropping to his sides. “Everything’s going to be okay,” he said, but I wasn’t listening. My eyes were locked on the bartender from the Duckling leaning into the driver’s side of the wreck, gun raised.
My breathing suddenly constricted, as if my lungs had turned to cement inside my chest. Then came the distinctive pop.
Oh my God.
“Fuck,” Ryder hissed as my legs gave way, catching me before I could fall. He swept under my knees and lifted me into his arms. “Max, we’ve got to go.”
I tried to fight, to wriggle free, but his hold only locked me tighter against his chest as darkness closed in at the edges of my vision.
This couldn’t be happening. This wasn’t real…
“Easy,” Ryder murmured, his voice the last thing I heard before black finally swallowed me. “You’re okay. I’ve got you, blondie.”