Page 89 of Kidnapped By the Beast

With his prey dead, the Rage eased back and Brandt let go. The carcass dropped to the ground with a dull, final thud.

And then there was silence.

At last, Brandt turned to Alexandra.

When he saw her, the haze of Rage lifted completely, leaving his heart raw.

She was still clutching herself, tears spilling freely down her cheeks, golden nectar glistening on her breasts. She looked so small—so breakable.

“Are you all right, little Lexi?” he asked softly, making his voice gentle.

He put out a hand to her but she flinched back, trembling.

“You…you killed him,” she whispered, her eyes wide and frightened.

“He was hurting you,” Brandt said simply. “Hurting the woman I love. I won’t apologize for what I did.”

Her eyes went even wider, shock flashing in their green depths.

“What…what do you mean?”

“Just what I said,” Brandt told her. “I love you.”

The words hung heavy between them—it was the first time he had ever admitted the truth aloud. His chest ached with uncertainty—did she still feel for him as she had before? But the admission also felt freeing. Finally he could speak his love aloud—finally he could bare his heart.

Before he could say more, though, a groan came from the corner.

Brandt whipped his head around, muscles tense. An old man struggled weakly to rise, his face swollen, one eye purple and swelled to no more than a slit.

“Uncle Herbert!” Lexi gasped, scrambling to pull her blouse around her shaking body. Her fingers fumbled at the buttons, useless.

Brandt stepped forward silently, steadying her trembling hands, fastening the fabric for her. The brush of her skin under his fingertips nearly undid him, but he forced himself to have control. He knelt at her feet and helped pull up her discarded skirt. The zipper had been ripped open but the clasp at the top still fastened.

The minute he had her dressed, Lexi rushed to the old man.

“Oh, Uncle Herbert—are you all right?”

“Lexi-girl…why are you here?” His voice was weak, but his one good eye warmed at the sight of her.

“I’m here to take you home, Uncle Herbert,” she said, stroking his gray hair back. “That’s all that matters. We’re free now—Butcher won’t bother us anymore.”

Brandt bent low, sliding an arm carefully under the man’s shoulders. He lifted him easily to his feet.

“Are you well? Can you walk?” he asked.

“I think so.” Uncle Herbert nodded. “But who are you?”

“He’s the one I, uh, worked for on the Kindred Mother Ship,” Lexi threw over her shoulder. She had spotted the stack of bills on the table and was shoving them fiercely into a bag. “Here,” she said, shoving the plastic bag filled with cash at her uncle. “You’re going to put this in the bank for the next time you have to pay property taxes. Butcher won’t be asking for it again.”

Her gaze flicked to the body on the floor in the next room and she shivered.

“I don’t understand.” Uncle Herbert shook his head, still looking dazed.

“That’s okay, you don’t have to understand right now,” she told him. “Come on, Brandt—help me get him out of here, would you?”

Wordlessly, Brandt put an arm around him and bore the old man’s weight. With Alexandra on the other side, they got him out of the bar and into the night.

As they left Bad Intentions together, Brandt felt the oath he had once clung to turn to dust behind him. The Goddess had been right—Alexandra was meant to be his.