“Calm?” I hissed, trying to cover my breasts while the arsehole to my right slid his hand underneath my dress to lay against my bare thigh. “You try being sold to the highest bidder and see how calm you are.”
I shoved the hand away, but he only forced it back, higher this time, his fingers digging in hard enough to bruise.
The man to my left pursed his lips, eyes flicking over my head. “Do you think that’s wise?”
“She’s not going to say anything, are you, sweetheart?” the brute chuckled, his finger searching higher between my legs.
I panicked, pushing against him and accidentally revealing the knife I’d hidden in my palm. He grabbed my wrist, twisting it painfully until I was forced to release it with a cry.
“I love it when they fight back.” He slipped open the knife,revealing the sharp blade. “Looks like you’ve come to play.”
“That’s enough,” the suited man to my left said, and the brute paused, as if he was tempted to cut me up.
Reluctantly he handed the knife over, the suit guy looking at it with little interest before placing it in his inner jacket pocket. His gaze hovered over my body, cold rather than sexualised.
I wasn’t sure which was worse.
I shivered in the seat, the cold leather clinging uncomfortably to my back. My dress had torn when I fell, the fabric loose enough that I had to fight to keep it from slipping past my hips. It left me exposed, my defences stripped away.
“Who are you?” I demanded, eyes flicking to the window where the city still blurred past as the car rumbled ahead. “Where are you taking me?”
The suited man released a long, deliberate breath.“Back where you belong.”
I stared at him as though he’d grown a second head.“I belong to no one.”
His lips curved, not quite a smile but something equally unsettling.“Is that what she told you?”
I opened my mouth to respond, but the car jerked violently to the side, tyres shrieking against the road. My head slammed into his shoulder, a burst of white stars exploding behind my eyes as muttered curses erupted around me.
“We’re being followed!” the driver shouted over his shoulder.
“Then get us the fuck out of here!”
I was thrown back into my seat, the car racing through the streets at a speed that was dangerous.Pop, pop, popasthe glass shattered, the shards raining down as a scream that might have been mine swallowed the roar of the engine.
The seatbelt bit into my chest as the car spun, momentum dragging me sideways, against the brute who was too busy aiming his gun out the broken window to notice.
My eyes squeezed shut as everything flipped.
The car rolled, metal screaming, my body thrown around like a ragdoll. Pain tore through my shoulder as the belt bit deep, holding me in place until the world finally crashed to a screeching halt.
Blinking through the dizziness, it took me a moment to realise we were upside down.
The brute who’d been beside me was slumped against the roof, his neck bent at a grotesque angle, while the suited man hung limp in his belt, unconscious.
My breath came out in panicked gasps, my fingers scrambling for the seatbelt that was pinning me to the seat. My movements were clumsy, arm shaking as I pressed the button, only to crash down onto the ceiling. My head thumped, something hot dripping down my face from my hairline as glass glittered around me.
A creak, and I couldn’t hold back my scream as a masked man reached inside the car.
Arms wrapped around me, strong and steady, the familiar scent of leather, woodsmoke, and spices cutting through the metallic stench of blood.
“Violet, I’ve got you.”
My body trembled, but that voice eased something raw inside me even as I instinctively fought.I shoved at Ryder’s chest as soon as he eased me out the broken back window.
“Get away from me!” I screamed, and he immediately yanked off the mask covering his lower face and held up his hands.
“You’re okay,” he tried to reassure me, but I was beyond rational right now. “Violet?—”
