5. Molly
Molly
M edically speaking, I knew my heart couldn’t physically tear away from its cavity and beat out of my chest from the adrenaline rush, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t exactly how I felt right now.
The organ was pounding in my chest. Beating so hard, so fast, my breath was coming out shorter and sharper than ever before.
Gripping the handle of the stairs, I raced down the last flight and burst out into the open foyer.
My arrival was met with stunned silence, and I knew why.
Reaching up with a shaking hand, I touched the blood that still sat wet on my cheek, knowing exactly how bad I looked.
The blood on my hoodie would be visible and horror still haunted my face—not only had I stabbed a man, but I’d also slashed his arm open.
It had been hard to ignore the blood flowing from the wounds that I had created.
Every skill I’d developed and everything I’d learned screamed at me to fight.
The harm I had caused him was bad enough, but I knew what I was capable of if my back was against the wall.
Keir had me pinned, but the feel of his hard body hadn’t dulled my instinct to survive.
“Hey?” someone said, approaching me like a wounded animal. “Are you?—”
Darting through the main library doors, I squinted against the sun and continued to move.
Home was the logical choice. Keir didn’t know where I lived.
I’d never told him. He’d approached me in the coffee shop where we’d first met, asking if I was down to fuck.
Fallon had just gotten back together with the Mac Tíre Clan’s Reaper, and I was intelligent enough to see the connection.
Keir wanted her —not me—but for a guy like him, pussy was pussy, and he needed to forget he was in love with his clan brother’s woman.
It helped that I was everything Fallon was not.
Dark to her blonde. Slender to her curves. Brash, bolder, more outspoken.
I was her replacement.
A fuck to help him forget.
I’d known and accepted it as I’d seen the way he looked at her but understood she didn’t see him the same way.
Loneliness was real and seeing my friend happy had caused an ache in my chest. Coupled with Grady’s threats against my mam and sister, hooking up had seemed like the best way to kill two birds with one stone.
I wasn’t proud of what I’d done, but that small connection to another human being who didn’t want to kill me—didn’t want to kill me then —had been invaluable. But now here I was. Running from the man I’d delivered a warning to, unable to tell him the truth.
When I reached my building, I opened the front door and slammed it shut behind me. Given it was a communal entrance, I wasn’t holding my breath that the lock would keep Keir out if he followed me here. I’d need to rely on the three locks and slide chain on my flat to deter any unwanted visitors.
With adrenaline still coursing through my frazzled veins, I hauled ass to the fourth floor, quickly locking myself inside my small studio.
Ripping my bag off my body, my hands shook as I lifted them closer to my face.
Keir’s blood was drying in patches, the red stains binding to my hands.
Rushing to the kitchen sink, I turned on the water—a red smear now left on the hot water knob—and washed the evidence away.
I frantically scrubbed my hands five times before I was sure all traces of blood were gone, although if I was being honest, there would never be enough soap in the world to get rid of the blood I wore.
I had begun meticulously drying my hands with some kitchen towel when the sound of someone hammering on my door echoed in the otherwise silent studio.
Unbidden, a startled scream left my throat, and I mentally cursed myself.
There had been a slim chance whoever was on the other side of that door would’ve fucked off and thought nobody was home when I didn’t answer.
However, with that noise, they knew I was in here now.
As I backed away from the door, I saw it rattle on its hinges when another volley of hammering hit it.
“I know you’re there, Molly,” a dangerous voice drawled.
I frowned, that didn’t sound like Keir. It sounded like…
Stepping forward, I peered through the peephole and found Grady on my doorstep.
Shit, shit, shit! How had he found out where I lived?
Jesus. Fuck. He must’ve seen me running through town and followed me.
Maybe if I didn’t make any more noise, he’d leave?
Maybe he’d think he’d misheard and go? Ah, who was I kidding, Grady was like a dog with a bone.
“I can see your shadow under the door, Molly. Let me in or I’ll break your goddamned door down.”
I would’ve liked to have seen him try. Breaking down the door would only draw attention, and he was not the type of man who wanted people to notice him.
“You want to play hard to get? Fine!” he snarled.
Through the peephole, I watched as he retreated a step, then raised his leg.
I jumped back as the door shook from the force of his strike and the hinges whined in protest. The locks held, but as he continued his assault, all I could do was watch the wood around the hinges split and splinter.
Then a crack appeared in the center of the door, growing bigger and bigger with each strike of his boot.
Panic clawed at me, but I shoved down those useless feelings and emotions, clearing my mind to figure out how to escape.
It was mid-morning, so everyone on my floor was in class, at work, or studying.
I was alone so nobody would hear my screams. They would only see the aftermath and my bloody dead body when they returned home.
I’d survived this long. There was no way in hell I was going to end up dead because of this fucking bastard.
Turning quietly, I darted to the small window behind my couch and wrenched open the sash.
The wheels inside the mechanism protested the movement, but using my shoulder, I leveraged it up far enough I could get my whole body out.
Peering over the sill, I saw the escape stairs twisting down to the ground floor.
This was my only chance, but I’d never been good with heights.
My stomach soured at the thought of climbing out there. I’d have to force myself down those steps while pushing down my feelings of panic. It would be a tough feat, but I could do it if it meant not facing Grady’s wrath.
The sound of splintering wood gave me the shove I needed to move, but then a strong hand wrenched me away from the window by the back of my hoodie.
I screamed, my fingers scrambling for the sill, fighting to pull myself away.
Unfortunately, Grady was quicker and shoved the muzzle of a gun against the back of my skull; exactly like Keir had done only twenty minutes ago.
If I made it out of here, I would have a hell of a headache.
With nothing more than a twitch of his arm, Grady threw me onto the couch.
I bounced once, twice, before he was on me.
His large hand wrapped around my throat, as he pressed his face close to mine. Grady’s eyes were bloodshot, like he hadn’t slept, and his breath smelled of coffee and rage. He brought the gun up, showing it to me again. “Going somewhere, Molly?”
I bared my teeth. “Fuck you. I did what you asked of me. I delivered the message.”
“Mol, I’ll never be done with you. I let you go once, but you’re mine.”
I realized then I would never be free of him. This man knew my darkest secrets, and in turn, I knew his. He would never let me go, not until my heart stopped beating and all the breath had left my lungs. Maybe he still wouldn’t let me go even then.
With his hand now wrapped around my biceps, he hauled me from the couch. “Baby, it’s time for me to get reacquainted with that cunt of yours.”
“No,” I whispered, my eyes flaring in panic.
His smile turned vicious as he shoved me toward the bed. I landed face-first, and before I could turn to face him once more, he was on me, shoving the skirt of my dress up, and my panties down.
“No!” I shouted, tears pricking the corners of my eyes. “No.”
“Yes, Molly. I know you’ve probably been sharing your cunt with other men since you left me, but I’m willing to bet nobody claimed your arse so I’ll take that.”
Grady’s fingers dug painfully into the globes of my ass, making me suck in a sharp breath.
“No.” The word was plaintive. Small. And fell completely on deaf ears.
The sound of his zipper being drawn down sounded like gunshots, and my pulse kicked like a horse against my throat.
I tried to buck him off me, but my earlier struggle with Keir had left me drained.
I wasn’t built for shoving large men twice my weight and three times my size off me two times in one day.
With horrifying clarity, I realized I was built to be a victim.
A victim of violence.
A victim of men.
And now, I would be a victim of crime.
The tears flowed faster as Grady pulled my ass cheeks apart, searching for the hole he wanted to claim. That he was determined to ruin. Something warm hit the top of my cheeks, and I flinched. Then his finger was there. Pushing. Prodding. Stretching.
Spit. He’d spat on me, using it as lube.
“No,” I whimpered, hating how weak I sounded. Hating how scared I now appeared. “No. Please.” More tears fell and my nose ran as well. Crying was the single ugliest thing a human could do, with someone watching you cry a close second.
“Shut up, bitch,” he ground out, working what I could only assume was his thumb inside me. My muscles burned as they stretched to accommodate his size, and it forced me to bite my lip to stop my plaintive cries.
“That’s right. You’re going to take my cock, Molly, then you’re coming back with me. There you can be our clan whore. You’ll pay me for my silence with your cunt, arsehole, and mouth.”
A sob ripped through me, pushing against my tightly pressed lips.
Tears mixed with the snot that streamed from my nose.
I wasn’t anyone’s whore. Sadly, you couldn’t fight physics—he outweighed me and I was pinned.
There was nothing I could do to stop this act, but I would fucking fight him and anyone else who thought they could touch me in the future.
It made me wonder if my mother had these same thoughts when she was on her back, earning money for her and Orla.
Maybe she did, although I’d never known my mother to fight for anything.
So, with a shuddering breath, I fixed my eyes on the arm of my jacket, which peeked out from the slightly ajar door of the closet and let my mind drift …
Until something wet landed on the side of my face.
I flinched, wondering if Grady had the decency to pull out and come on my face rather than inside my ass. Honestly, consideration wasn’t his strong suit, so when the bed had jostled, I’d wondered whether it was all over.
Whatever it was on my face slid down my cheek and across the bottom of my chin, landing with a plop on the comforter. Something warm seeped under my left shoulder, and I shut my eyes. Grady was perverted enough to urinate on me as one final fuck you, so maybe that explained the warmth.
But then I smelled copper.
Why was I smelling copper?
A shadow crossed the room, and my gaze flicked up to find Keir standing beside the bed, staring down at me.
His eyes were blank, like he was hiding something from me; he probably didn’t want to alert me to my impending doom. Those darker than midnight eyes traveled down my body, then back to my face.
“Are you going to fuck me in the arse, too?” I asked in a rasp. “Grady doesn’t normally share, but since I’m now his clan’s whore, I guess that cancels his vote.”
The muscle in Keir’s jaw popped as he arched his pierced brow. “I’m not into sloppy seconds, love.”
Love ? Why was he calling me love? And why was his voice so gentle?
“I’m not your love,” I told him. Were my words slurred? They sounded muted.
“No,” he replied as soft fabric ghosted against the backs of my thighs, covering my ass. “You’re my Jynx.”
Bending at the waist, he lifted me effortlessly into his arms. One of mine circled the breadth of his wide shoulders while the other sat limply in my lap.
“Don’t look at the bed,” he murmured, turning us quickly.
Why wouldn’t I look at the bed?
As he walked away, I peered over his shoulder, my dissociated mind having trouble piecing together the red puzzle that lay on my bed. Grady was on his side, like he’d been spooning me, only…
“Oh, God,” I whispered.
“I said don’t look at the bed,” Keir growled.
But it was too late. I was looking. I was seeing .
Grady’s face, or what was left of it, appeared to have exploded from the inside out.
The back of his skull was nothing but a mass of shattered bone, blood, and gray matter.
The sheets where I’d been lying were thick with blood.
I glanced down at my side to see it also coated my skin.
It was like something out of a horror film.
“He’s…” I swallowed back bile. “He’s…”
“Dead. Aye,” Keir clipped back. “And if we don’t get out of here, we’ll have more problems than him.”