Page 93 of Claimed By the Villain

“Come with me. Lucifer can protect you. Whoever’s after you won’t get past him.”

“I don’t believe that, Jackie. If I stay with you, I’ll put you both in danger.”

Hearing him, I almost correct him—”all three of us”—because now I carry a life inside me. But I hold back. Lucifer should be the first to know. I only told Taylor because I was too emotional earlier today.

“I really have to go, Jackie.”

“Please don’t.”

“I’m sorry.”

“When will we see each other again?”

“I don’t know, Jackie.”

I look at the man with the perfect features. Even if he looks completely different from how I remembered, every drop of blood in me tells me he is the brother I thought I had lost, and I silently pray, thanking God for this new chance to have him back.

“I can’t lose you again, Martin. Please, I’m begging you. Come stay with us. Lucifer has so much power now. Whoever’s after you, he’ll hunt them down. I’m sure of it.”

“You’re too innocent, Jackie. Whoever tried to kill me might go after you and Lucifer too, because you’re the two most important people to me.”

My blood turns cold.

A common enemy? The same man who wants Lucifer dead?

He kisses my forehead. “I’ll be in touch.”

Martin tries to leave, but I grab his arm. “Don’t go. I’m begging you.”

“If we stay here, we’ll draw attention, and that’s the last thing I can afford.”

“Then where? Name a place and I’ll meet you.”

“For now, nowhere is safe, Jackie. At least walk me to the car? We’ll have a few minutes to talk.”

“Fine, but the bodyguards . . . I need to tell them.”

“They can’t follow us. They’ll draw attention. I barely survived last time. My enemies won’t let me escape again.”

“They’ll see us if we leave.”

“There’s a fire escape just two doors down from where your redhead friend is.”

He leaves the bathroom before me, and indeed, when I follow, I see the stairwell. But I also notice the bodyguards apparently looking for me, and guilt pricks at me. Still, I tell myself I’ll be back in five minutes.

We hurry down the five flights of stairs, and he leads me to an outside parking lot, a bit deserted at this hour, behind the hospital, not the main entrance. I came early because I wanted to visit Taylor before anyone else was here.

My brother doesn’t say a word as we walk. He seems in a rush, and when I stumble from the pace, the grip he uses to steady me is brutal.

I don’t know the exact moment I sense something’s wrong, but the feeling coils in the pit of my stomach, and I stop walking.

“Faster,” he says, as if desperate to reach the car.

I already see the vehicle he’s referring to. A black pickup truck.

Not a sedan, a voice in my head whispers, and I wonder why I just now remembered the car the woman who tried to abduct me used to escape, according to what Lucifer told me when I asked about the investigation into that incident.

I take a few more steps and finally realize what’s been bothering me. “How did you know who I came to visit?”