Page 26 of Stolen Temptation

Blood caked under my square fingernails.

Kiara’s blood.

The memory of me shoving her through the corridor and then plopping her body into the van like a heap of dirty old clothes without even realizing I scraped her delicate skin in the process leaves an uncomfortable sensation prickling in my gut.

I used to be an okay guy who sometimes did monstrous things to monstrous people to demonstrate my loyalty to the Kings and protect my brothers-by-choice.

Somewhere along the way, I became an actual monster.

“Rory!” Darren roars my name, ripping my attention back to the present moment.

A deer freezes in the road ahead. The speedometer shows I’m doing seventy. We’re going to crash.

We’re going todie.

I stomp on the brake and jerk the wheel to one side with all the strength I have.

The van tires scream against the asphalt as our ride spins out. My brain flips into hyperdrive. The world drops into slow motion.

I watch from outside my body as the van rotates right off the road and into a copse of trees. When we jerk to a stop, my head snaps forward.

The force of the impact would have totaled a regular car.

Our armored truck disguised as a service van managed to survive unscathed.

The airbags didn’t even deploy.

“Fuck…” Darren rubs his neck and repositions himself in the seat. Cocky fucker wasn’t wearing his seatbelt. He’s lucky the crash didn’t pitch him through the windshield.

My mind immediately shifts to the woman in the cargo hold. She wasn’t buckled in either.

I’m out of my seat before my vision resumes in full focus.

My wild heartbeat accelerates as I climb into the back, listening for any audible signs of injury.

Not a peep. She must still be unconscious. Or worse.

Fear digs icy claws into my neck as I knock my fist against one of a few light switches.

There she is, lying half beneath the row of seats that line one wall.

Her forehead’s bleeding from a fresh cut.

Dropping to my knees beside her, I snatch her wrist, desperation shredding my lungs.

Her pulse throbs a steady beat beneath the pads of my calloused fingers.

She’s alive. No thanks to me.

I maneuver the lower half of her body out from beneath the seats and hoist her up onto the leather cushions above.

By the time I make it back to the front, Darren’s strapped himself into the passenger seat. The deer that came close to committing a triple homicide has disappeared. Fucker probably trotted over to his buddies so they could all snicker about the dumbass human driver.

I half collapse behind the wheel, the aftermath of the near-death experience slow to release me. What a nightmare.

“I’ve got an idea. How about we try not to get ourselves killed before we get home.” Darren glances out the side mirror before spearing me with a look. “Ready to tell me why we’re abducting a woman?”

“Later.”