Royal absorbs it like venom.
Then he whispers, “Thank you.”
And cuts the man’s throat.
Joey gasps.
I go still as the waterfall of blood gushes clean out of him.Royal lets the body drop like trash and turns toward us, breath harsh, eyes wild.
But when his gaze finds me, the rage melts.
He crosses to me first.His hands shake as he cuts the ropes.The moment I’m free he cups my jaw, forehead pressing to mine.
“You’re okay,” he whispers.Not asking.Confirming what he’s sure of.
“Yes,” I breathe out anyway.
He moves to Joey next.
She stiffens but doesn’t fight.Doesn’t hit him like she threatened.
Cutting the robes, he frees her, helps her stand when her knees buckle.
Her smile is too bright, and she hugs his neck.“Took you long enough,” she mutters.“B…” She almost calls him baby.
He smirks, flicking his tongue ring, and I see red.
My eyes catch hers, and I make sure mine look crazy.
“Can you walk?”he asks.
She shakes her head, no, businesslike.
Royal scoops her up.We run.Into the night.Into the truck.Royal drives like the devil is chasing us.
Maybe the Demon Leaper is.
The warehouse shrinks behind us, swallowed by fog and dark roads leading back to Hell.
By the time we reach the clubhouse, the Kings are already in church.Voices raised.Angry.Ready for blood.
Royal storms through the doors with me at his side and Joey in his arms.
Legend stands at the front.His eyes widen when he sees the state of us.
Oaks reaches for his gun.Rye curses.Whiskey stops mid-sentence.
The room shifts like tectonic plates cracking.
Legend steps forward.“Royal.We were voting.On you.”
Sitting Joey down to her feet, Royal shoves me behind him.
He growls, “Stop.She stays with me.”
Legend’s eyes cut to me.Something unreadable flickers there.Anger.Resentment.Memory.
Royal squares his shoulders.“She’s mine.”
