Relentless Queen
Prologue
“Sarai, what are we going to do?” Looking over at my sister, Nylah, tears fill her eyes.
“It”s going to be okay, Ny. I won’t let anything happen to us.” Placing a hand on my growing belly.
“What if he finds out you”re pregnant? He will never let us go. Let you go.” Tears fell from her eyes.
”He won”t know. Just give me a day or two. I’ll make a plan. I reached over, pulling her into my embrace.
“Okay. We have to be careful, though. If he finds out, he will kill us.” She places a hand on my stomach. “I won’t let him hurt you anymore.”
“I promise we will get out of here.” I pull away to look her in the face.
My cell rings. I picked it up and clicked the green button.
“Sarai? Listen, he knows something is up with you. You need to get out of town now.” Marlow’s panicked voice comes through the line.
“I can’t just run. I need a plan.” Anxiety starts to settle in.
“Sarai, you don’t get it. He wants to kill Khalil. He said it will keep you in line.” All the air leaves my lungs as panic sets in.
“Rai, you need to grab Kah and leave. I’ll buy you some time.” Ny says, tears falling from her eyes.
“I can’t leave you. I won’t do it.” I tell her.
“You must. I love you, Rai. Do this for them. Protect your kids.” Looking her in the eyes, I know what this means.
“I’ll tell them about you. I promise.” I hug her tightly in my arms.
“I know.” She squeezes me back.
Marlow is still on the phone, so I tell him to meet me at the old train station in forty-five minutes. I say my goodbyes to my sister, pick up Khalil from daycare, and head to the train station. After an hour, I knew something was wrong.
I dialed up, Ny, and let it ring twice before hanging up and calling again.
“Where are you, my love?” His voice sends chills down my spine.
“What did you do to Ny?” I already know the answer; his laughter confirms my suspicion.
“Come back to me, Sarai. Or I will hunt you down and kill you.” His promises. “After all, I hear I’m expecting a daughter.”
My heart drops, and my anxiety spikes. I know he means everything he is saying. Thinking back to the first time, I knew I should have run.
“You will never find us.” The promise is in my tone.
“You know I love the chase, and I always get what I want.” His stern voice pisses me off. I disconnected the line.
Pulling up the only contact that can help save us, I dial it. I hope that one day my kids will understand that I did what I had to in order to save us. I know he will come for us. I need to keep us safe, even if that means I have to say goodbye to them.