TWENTY
Saraya
"Thank you for waiting for me. I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long." I settle into the back seat of the Uber I called to pick me up from the club.
I hated leaving him , but he left me no choice.
I scoff to myself, thinking how ironic it is that Nyx did just that.
He's been making all my choices, not letting me choose for myself, and this one was no different.
The moment he told me that I couldn't take any Plan B, he took my choice to stay with him away.
It's for the best; now, he can get on with his life. He can continue fucking Amara and whomever else he wants to dip his stick into. That appendage of his is the only thing I will truly miss. Boy can that man fuck.
My thoughts return to earlier, in his office, before he fucked it all up.
After Ken, I never thought I would like to have my body dominated, but the way Nyx did it was different, and my body responded to it.
We fit perfectly, and that scares the shit out of me.
Nyx will never forgive me for the past, and until I'm ready to come clean about it, I can't really blame him, even if I think he should have come to me.
Closing my eyes, I recollect how he felt inside me. How he held me in place by the neck as he took what he wanted from my very willing body. A tingle erupts in my center, and I snap my eyes open. No, I can't think about it, not yet anyway.
I run my hand through my long dark tresses.
God, Nyx is going to be so pissed when he learns I found the tracker in my phone and left.
I can't believe he thought he could hide it from me.
After knowing I lived with someone who kept track of me for over ten years, one would think Nyx would know better.
Maybe he didn't know the extent of Ken's depravity, but what he's learned since I came to live at Nyte's Hall should have given him some clue.
He must think I'm some na?ve girl unaware of this world's big, bad wolves. The way I came to his doorstep, a shaken and scared woman he hadn’t seen in over ten years—I don't really blame him. After tonight, Nyx will know not to underestimate that woman.
I've spent my whole adult life protecting the one man I've ever loved.
Once my mother and stepfather died, I started to plan my escape.
I wasn't quite ready to leave that night, but Ken left me no choice.
I knew we had cameras that would capture what happened, proving it was self-defense, but there were so many corrupt cops on the force that I wasn't taking my chances, so I got rid of all the footage.
I was running on adrenaline at that time and never thought to go into the wall safe and grab the money I knew Ken had stashed there. It's corrupt money, but it's what's going to help me in my time of need. I'm desperate, and that's one of the reasons I took the chance and went back to the house.
I had the Uber driver park on the street, and I slipped through the shadows until I came to the basement window in the backyard.
I knew the latch was broken; it was one of the many things I tried getting Ken to fix, but he never did.
I was in and out in less than ten minutes.
I only grabbed enough clothes for a couple of days, planning on buying new ones once I got to where I was going.
I had memorized the numbers on the safe thanks to Ken as he opened it numerous times while having me sit there in his office.
There were too many times to count when he had wanted me unclothed and just sitting there, waiting for when he was ready to use me.
I close my eyes and swallow the bile wanting to rise from just thinking about it.
"Um, Miss, I'm not sure what's going on, but I think we're being followed." The driver's voice causes my eyes to snap open, and I turn in my seat.
Just as the bright beams of light hit my eyes, the car is jerked forward as the vehicle behind us rams into us. A scream bursts from my mouth as I'm thrown forward. I catch myself before flying through the two front seats.
"What the fuck?" the driver curses.
"Step on it!" I order.
"What have you gotten me into, lady?"
"Why are you blaming me for this? I don't know who that is. It's probably a jealous ex of yours!" I scowl.
The thought of Nyx being the one that's behind us flashes through my head briefly, but I quickly squash that idea. No matter how mad my stepbrother may be at me, he would never intentionally hurt me physically. Can this be one of Ken's friends who sent Nyx the messages?
"I am happily married, thank you very much!"
"Are you sure?" I ask sarcastically.
I know this is about me, but I'm so tired of people just assuming things about me that I feel the need to retaliate. Another hit to the back bumper has the car jarring forward, but not as bad as the first time.
"If we can make it to town, they'll probably back off…"
"What do you think I'm trying to do? You asked me to go the back way, and now we're stuck on these windy roads where I have to slow down around every curve! I'm not a racecar driver, you know!"
"Well, I'd say now is a good time to practice," I growl.
We're just coming around a curve when we are hit again. This time, they hit us just right, sending the car onto two wheels before it topples. The small car rolls, tossing me around inside. I see the lights of the other car just before my head hits something hard, and darkness takes me.
Grunting hits my ears as I come to. A throbbing in my head makes me want to throw up, but I can't do that while I feel myself being jerked this way and that.
Something has hold of my ankle, and as my eyes blink open and I fight the vomit that wants to come up from the pain, everything starts coming back to me.
The car is upside down, and my upper body is in the front, with the passenger seat just above my head. I glance over at the driver, and I wish I hadn't. Although he was wearing his seat belt, it didn't stop the metal chunk from embedding itself into his side.
I'm not sure if he's dead or just passed out, but I don't have time to find out as I'm slowly pulled out by my ankle. The moment I get a glimpse of the person pulling on me, I begin thrashing. I don't care how much my head hurts; I can't let this fucker get me out.
"Son of a fucking bitch! You will pay for that, Saraya!" the person snarls .
The voice sounds familiar, but with the ski mask over their head, I have no way of knowing who this asshole is.
It's got to be one of Ken's cop friends.
Why else would they be hiding their identity?
They all know better than to go against the Heirs, but this group of cops takes their orders from someone else.
I'm not sure who—I only know this from bits and pieces of conversations I've heard over the years.
"Don't fucking touch me!" I claw at the seat while trying to keep myself inside the car.
Hearing a groan, relief floods me, knowing that the innocent driver is still alive.
Taking note of the metal still in his side, I glance around for something sharp that I can use myself to help fend off this motherfucker.
I'd pull the sharp metal from the Uber driver, but I don't want him to bleed out.
Thankfully, I find a large piece of glass and grab it. When the perpetrator's hand grabs my calf and starts dragging me out, my hand comes down, swiping the sharp piece at him. I make contact, and he curses.
"You bitch!"
"Leave me the fuck alone then!"
"That's it…" He lets go of my limb, but then I gasp and glower as he pulls a gun out from behind him and holds it at the driver's head. "Get the fuck out of the car now!"
"Jesus, okay! There is no need to hurt him—you've done enough…"
I scoot my ass out, intending to somehow get the gun away from him. After all, if he's one of Ken's friends, I know he's not one of the brightest crayons in the box. I've met Ken's friends. But what if it's not one of his friends?
I push that thought out of my head as I exit the car. My head throbs and I get dizzy from all the movement, but the stranger doesn't seem to care as he grabs my arm and yanks me to my feet.
"Ouch!" I cry out. "I'm pretty sure I have a concussion…" I feel a massive bump on the back of my head.
"I don't give a fuck," the guy states. "Had you turned yourself in, this wouldn't be happening!"
"What are you talking about?"
I'm pretty sure he's talking about Ken, but I'm not admitting to jack shit.
He can do and say what he wants. I will bide my time because I know Nyx will be searching for me.
I almost smirk at the thought of my stepbrother finding me in the condition I'm in because of this asshole.
I may be hating on Nyx now, but I know him.
He doesn't take kindly to people touching, never mind hurting, what is his.
If I've learned anything in the short time I've been living back at the Hall, it's that I am Nyx Beckam's property.
"You know perfectly well what I'm talking about. You're a cop killer, and you're going to own up to what you did."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Where the fuck is your husband, Saraya?"
I shrug and say, "Probably holed up with his whore. Why don't you tell me since you all fuck the same woman," I taunt. I've known about Ken's affairs for years.
I find myself on the ground once more with a throbbing cheek that now matches the pain in my head.
I'm guessing he didn't like that very much, but fuck that.
I'm not going down without a fight. I've spent too many years tiptoeing around because of my stepfather and Ken. I refuse to be used like that again.
"Fucking coward…" I spit at his feet.
He yanks my head back by my hair and gets in my face as he sneers, "What the fuck did you call me?"
"I didn't stutter. I said that you're a fucking coward!" My glare burns with rage.
He stares at me momentarily before throwing his head back, laughing. His hand tugs on my hair as his body shakes with amusement before saying, "Man, if only Ken could see you now. I bet he'd whip that attitude right out of you."
"Well, he's not here now, is he?" I remind him, which only turns him into an asshole again.
"You're right, he's not, and now you're going to pay…"
The last thing I see is his hand coming down, and then darkness envelopes me.
When I wake up again, I'm on the ground and not alone. Two other males in masks stand with the fucker that caused the accident. It's not long before I realize that my wrists and ankles are secured, but the part that I'm most worried about is the fact that I'm in a deserted junkyard .
"Ah, Sleeping Beauty finally wakes," Asshole number one states. "Stand her up, boys, so she can get a better view of what will happen."
"Don't fucking touch me!" I struggle as asshole number two and three grab me by each arm and haul me to my bound feet. "You do realize that as soon as Nyx finds out that you took me, shit's going to hit the fan, mainly your shit, when he comes after your asses."
Assholes two and three glance worriedly at each other.
"Don't fucking listen to the bitch. He will never find her…" asshole one says to his buddies before turning toward me.
"You do know who Nyx Beckam is, don't you?" I ask.
"You think I'm worried about the fucking Heirs?"
"You should be…"
I'm trying to make small talk to stall. I need to think of a way out of this predicament, but I'm afraid that won't happen.
It's only a matter of time before this asshole gets tired of my snarky attitude.
He wants information, mainly about where his friend is, and once he realizes that I won't tell him, I'll be useless to him.
"Now, let's stop this nonsense and get down to business," he says and nods in a specific direction before continuing. "You're going to tell me what I want to know, or else you're going to be next."
I follow his line of sight, and that's when I see it. There is a man tied to the top of a car. He seems to have passed out, which is good because he won't feel it when they put the car through the crusher.
"I don't know what you're talking about…" I whisper as I watch in horror while the crusher gets closer and closer to the guy. "Stop it! Why is he up there? What has he done?"
"He's a traitor. The moment I told him what the job was, he quit. We can't have that in our line of work."
"You are fucking cops!"
Unfortunately, the guy chooses this time to wake up, and his screams are heard for a few brief seconds. I shouldn't have turned my attention toward him because, at that moment, the crusher comes down, and red squirts out from the sides.
"Now, are you going to tell me where Ken is?"
"Fuck—you!"
Asshole one sighs and then nods at his two buddies, who begin dragging me toward the crusher. I can't walk even if I want to; all I can do is allow them to pull me .
"I don't know where he's at, I swear!" I call back because it's God's honest truth. I don't know what Nyx has done with his body.
"Admit it, you killed Kenneth McNally!"
"I—"
Shots ring out, and the next thing I know, I'm falling to the ground as my two guards drop like flies. I don't understand what's going on until I hear the familiar baritone of the one person that I was running from.
"She can't admit it because it isn't true. I killed that piece of shit husband of hers; I finished him off days after he attacked her."
My jaw drops as I see Nyx standing there, still holding the smoking gun that took out assholes two and three. I want to jump for joy and kiss him all over the face—until his words sink in—he what?