Page 118 of Kings Don't Break

It’s the safety net I need in a moment like this as Ken stands over me and kicks me in the side.

“Get the fuck up,” he growls, and when I barely twitch, he reaches down to grip me by my hair. “I said get the fuck up!”

“Get your hands off her!” Blake yells, raising off his chair. He stops only when Ken aims the gun at him. His other’s still twisted in my short hair.

“Sit the fuck back down. Get up again and I’m putting a bullet in you. You,” Ken says, shaking my head by my hair, “get on the bed. Janessa, cuff her to the headboard. It’s been a while since I’ve enjoyed my wife.”

Janessa hesitates for the first time since she’s shown up. Her brows knit into a line before she obeys his request and tugs me over to the bed. Though she’s not as rough as Ken, she’s far from gentle. She pushes me back against the pillows and drags my wrist toward the four poster headboard, snapping the handcuff shut around the closest wooden column.

“Kenny,” she says as she cinches the metal binding tighter than necessary. “Why does she need to be bound to the bed? What do you mean enjoy her?”

“How about you stop questioning me and listen to what I tell you!” he snarls. “Take off her pants. Then go wait downstairs. This is between the three of us.”

Janessa freezes up with a frown on her face. “But Kenny?—”

“DO IT!”

“YOU SICK FUCK!” Blake blurts out, unable to censor himself. “You’re a sick fucking piece of garbage—and I’m going to fucking bash your skull in!”

The corner of Ken’s mouth merely twitches. He stands guard, his gun trained on Blake, and waits patiently as Janessa strips my pair of jeans off. The registered nurse finally seems to be doubting what she’s been told as she glances from me to Ken.

“Are you going to have sex with her?” she asks, a pitiful quality to her voice.

“Get out, you dumb bitch!” Ken shouts at her. She reacts like a frightened mouse that’s come under attack, the way she squeaks and scurries across the room. Ken chases her to the door, yelling at her to keep watch. He slams the door shut once she’s gone. “Stupid bitch thinks I’ll be with her,” he grumbles. “I’ve never met a woman so fucking gullible. No wonder you took advantage, Mr. Cash. Broke her little dumb heart.”

“You’re going to die,” Blake says, his tone quiet yet thick with rage. “I’m going to rip your throat out with my bare fucking hands. You’re going to bleed out on this floor.”

Ken merely smirks, his free hand moving to unlatch his belt buckle. “We’ll see about that. It’s more like you’re about to see the woman you stole from me is still mine. You’re about o watch on as I show you just how much I own her.”

30

BLAKE

There are no words to describe my hatred for Kenneth Stricklin. It’s a hatred that’s consumed me to my core. Poison that’s invaded every part of me and leaves me in a cold, sadistic trance with a taste for blood.

His blood. His destruction.

I bide my time. Wait for the right moment.

I track his every move, the muscles in my face taut. My gaze unblinking and focused.

Inside my chest, my heart hammers away. My pulse surges, leaving me high on adrenaline. Senses heighten to animalistic levels.

Stricklin doesn’t get it.

He’s already a dead man. It’s all about choosing when.

The sick fuck laughs striding toward the bed where Korine’s handcuffed. His eyes gleam in triumph. He boasts about Janessa being obedient and waiting for him. He brags about how I’ll have to watch him have his way with Korine. The tears that track down her cheeks only seem to make him relish the moment more.

The fucker’s got a bulge in his pants.

He stops in front of the bed. His left hand fumbles with his belt buckle. The right keeps his gun trained on either me or Korine.

“I know you’ve missed this, Kor,” he says, licking at his chapped lips. Bruises decorate the rest of his pale face. “You’ve been a bad girl. You thought you would disrespect me and go be this biker’s whore. That’s all over with. I’m going to remind you who you belong to.”

“Ken… don’t do this…” Korine chokes out.

He grins wider, still fumbling with his belt buckle. “Not only am I going to do this, I’m going to enjoy this. I’m going to make this piece of trash biker you love so much watch!”