No one will take him from me.Not some pathetic online stalker.Not the bully who humiliated and hurt me.Not the unfairness of the universe.
Nothing will stop me from living a long, happy life with my behemoth of a man.
Nothing.
Chapter 18
Sebastian Sterling
Terror clarifies my mindand sharpens my senses as a man with gold grills masking his teeth and gang tattoos covering his face, neck, and arms yanks a black sack over my head.I hold Penelope tight to my chair, partially afraid I’m crushing her but also grateful they haven’t tried to pry us apart.When the asshole insists on putting a hood over Penelope’s head, she flinches and tightens her arms and legs around me but lifts her head from my chest.Her hiss lifts the hairs on my nape.I barely resist the urge to kick the asshole who hurt her, but knowing there’s no room in the van for me to swing or fight back stops me.
For several long, terrifying minutes, we sit on the floor of the van as it swerves in and out of traffic.No one speaks.Besides the telltale sniffling of a crackhead and the sounds of the vehicle on the road, there are no sounds to orient Penelope and myself to our surroundings.The adrenaline pumping through my veins tries to lure me into panic, but I dig my fingers into Penelope’s sides and force myself to take deep, regulated breaths.
She follows my lead until our chests rise and fall in unison.
We will get through this together.Somehow.
The van jerks to the side and slams to a halt.Everyone around us jumps into motion as the door slides open.A gun muzzle presses between my shoulder blades.Hands push and pull me in all directions.I stumble out of the vehicle and struggle to stay upright as they shove and yank me over uneven pavement.
Our footsteps echo off concrete walls as they force me into a building and through a maze of halls.I lose track of how many turns we make, but after three flights of stairs, they shove me through a doorway.
“Separate them,” Michael demands.
Penelope tightens her arms and legs around me.I crush her to me, but without my sight, I can’t predict their movements.
A whistling sound reaches my ears half a second before a bar of white-hot agony slams against my back.Underneath the thud of impact rings the hollow sound of an aluminum bat.
Despite the debilitating pain of seized muscles and bruised bones, I pour my effort into protecting Penelope.
Cruel hands wrench my arms behind my back and close handcuffs around my wrists.She screams as they peel her limbs off my body and yank her away from me.My shirt pulls tight across my shoulders and rips when she refuses to let go.Her cries of fear and frustration accompany the sounds of her struggling.
Steel-toed boots kick the back of my legs until I fall to my knees with a grunt.
“Oh my god, Sebastian.”
I freeze as a familiar voice pierces my eardrums.Confusion spears through me, but I wish they’d burst and bleed so I don’t have to listen to Cathy Barbie, Penelope’s bully from high school and Samuel’s fiancée, spout her nonsense.“Don’t tell me you actually ended up with this stumpy little freak?”
Cathy shouldn’t be here.Neither should Michael Carlson.Their presence makes no sense.
She pulls my hood off and cocks her head.When I glare at her, she sighs and spins away.
“After everything I did to keep you apart?”she scolds.
Her high heels click on the floor as she sashays toward Penelope.She whips the hood off my sweet pea’s head and bends down as though talking to a child.
“You really are a stupid whore, aren’t you, Penny?”she says in a saccharine voice.
When she taps her ugly, dark red talon-tipped fingers against Penelope’s cheek with mock concern, an unhinged smile spreads across Penelope’s face.
“I knew it was you since I walked in, you skanky ass bitch.”The harsh words coming from Penelope’s mouth jar me into realizing how she always avoids curse words.“You smell like Michael’s crusty cheese dick,” she says with an exaggerated grimace.
Cathy slaps her so hard her face whips to the side.Red settles over my vision, and I jerk so hard the handcuffs break skin.Blood trickles down my fists and lands on my calves.
Penelope spits a bloody wad onto Cathy’s expensive high heels before lifting eyes made of gold, green, and bronze.The conviction in her entire countenance both terrifies and intrigues me.
She’s a vicious, glorious warrior willing to face hell on earth to protect what’s hers.Not an once of fear shows in her gaze.
“Oh, come on, Cathy.Everyone knows you and Michael have been fucking like rabbits since your freshman year,” she taunts.
