Page 1 of Ours (The Possession Duology #2)

Turning her pregnant body in the sports car’s passenger seat, Lexi stared at Kade with terrified, wide eyes.

This was the first time she had been able to get a good look at him since he had taken her from the Italian restaurant only a handful of minutes prior.

She couldn’t believe that all of this was really happening.

A gain. The monster was supposed to be on the opposite side of the country, tethered to a hospital bed in a vegetative state.

Yet here he was, looking as handsome and healthy as ever.

Cool as a cucumber in a leather jacket and aviator glasses, weaving in and out of Sunday traffic as he didn’t have a care in the world.

It made her question her sanity. It had been hanging on by a thread for months now, but perhaps she finally had a psychotic break.

“You’re not real. This isn’t real,” she whispered, her lips barely moving.

Oh, this is real alright, Nikki answered from the corner of her mind.

Somehow your demonic baby daddy rose from the dead!

I’m shocked that he can even drive! Weren’t his head injuries so severe that they said he wouldn’t even know his own name if he ever woke up?

Hmm. Odd. But I guess miracles happen every day!

I do wonder where he’s taking us, though.

Maybe to another cabin in the woods so he can exact his revenge?

Yeah. I think that’s a safe bet, don’t you?

Wiping her alter from her thoughts, she took in a shaky breath as reality sank in.

She would be lying if she said that she hadn’t fantasized about Kade coming back for her, but not once did she ever think it would happen.

Unfortunately, this wasn’t the happy homecoming of her dream lover, filled with tender kisses and amorous declarations.

This was another traumatic abduction, laced with menacing implications.

She would be lucky if she, and her unborn child, survived the nightmare this time.

“Kade, don’t do this,” she pleaded, her green eyes dancing over his masculine profile. “Just take me back to the restaurant! No one has to know! I won’t say anything, I swear! It’s not too late!”

Arching a dark brow, Kade turned his head to look at his love.

Studying her through his mirrored sunglasses, he silently seethed as she continued to beg for her freedom.

After everything they had shared, how could she possibly think he would let her go back and live a life that didn’t involve him?

He didn’t wake from the dead only to let her walk away.

He would never let her go. Not now, not ever.

“Sweetheart, it’s far too late,” he replied, turning his attention back to the road. “Especially now that you’re carrying my child.”

Swallowing hard, she placed her opened hands over her belly in a protective manner.

Understanding the heavy implications of his words, she lifted her chin in defiance.

She needed to think in terms of survival.

If she could get him to think that her baby wasn’t his, he would let her go.

Surely, he wouldn’t want the blood of another man’s child on his hands?

“This baby isn’t yours, it’s Leo’s!” she exclaimed with feigned conviction.

Gripping the leather-covered steering wheel, he slammed his foot down on the gas pedal, causing the Nissan GT-R to lurch forward in an act of sudden aggression. Her denial infuriated him. How dare she lie straight to his face? Hadn’t she learned her lesson by now?

“That child is mine. You know it. I know it, fuck, even that pathetic husband of yours knows it!” he hissed.

Visibly wincing, Lexi scooted her body closer towards the car’s door. The fact that he not only knew about the baby, but also her marriage to Leo, set her on edge. His deep voice was thick with betrayal. It caused a ball of guilt-laced anxiety to settle in the pit of her stomach.

“How did you know that we got married?” she asked, bracing herself as he narrowly missed hitting a Dodge Ram while switching lanes.

Suppressing a laugh, Kade shrugged his broad shoulders. Glancing in the rearview mirror, he noticed an older model Jeep Cherokee quickly gaining speed behind him. Speak of the devil, he mused. Apparently, his actions at the restaurant hadn’t gone unnoticed. Not that he was surprised.

“Leo loves his social media. You would think that with all that you’ve been through he would have deleted his online presence but nope!

Still posting on X, still uploading reels on Instagram.

Hell, he’s still blogging on fucking tumblr!

He gave me all the information I needed within a five-minute search.

It’s almost as if he was begging me to come and find you,” he said, purposefully slowing down the Nissan.

“I was furious when I found out that you had married that little prick but really, it’s just a piece of fucking paper!

It doesn’t mean a fucking thing! You belong to me, Lexi.

That child you’re carrying is proof. There’s no going back now. We’re bound, it’s done!”

Hugging her stomach, she closed her eyes and screamed a silent curse.

She had begged Leo to get rid of his accounts before they left New York.

He swore that he would scrub everything, assuring her that there was no way he would jeopardize their new life together.

It was a broken promise. One that had effectively sealed her fate.

“He will try to find me, you know,” she said, her voice trembling as she fought back the tears welling behind her eyelids.

“I know,” he replied bitterly.

Pursing his lips together, he checked the rearview mirror for the gray Cherokee recklessly slicing through traffic.

He could almost make out the frantic features on the driver’s face, the man looked hellbent.

It made him bristle. This was sure to cause Lexi, and his baby, undue stress.

Why couldn’t the idiot just let the police handle things?

“Keep your eyes closed, do you understand?” he said.

“Why? What’s going on?” she asked, instinctively opening her eyes and glancing around the cab of the car.

Swearing hotly, he let go of the steering wheel and reached out towards her.

Placing his palm on the back of her head, he firmly pushed her gaze towards the floor of the sports car.

This wasn’t part of the plan. She wasn’t supposed to be around when Leo was dealt with.

Unfortunately, the moron didn’t give him any choice.

“Nothing, just close your damn eyes, Alexandria!” he growled, holding her head in place.

Thrashing from side to side, she pulled away from his grasp.

Turning clumsily in her seat, she looked at her handsome captor.

Confusion and fear contorted her face as she raised her fist in self-defense.

Readying herself to attack, she froze as a familiar SUV pulled up on the driver’s side.

Blinking away her hot tears, it only took a second for her to recognize who was driving the Jeep.

“LEO!” she screamed. “LEO!”

Scrambling over the center console, she locked eyes with her husband.

While she was relieved to see him, she didn’t like the murderous expression passing over Kade’s face.

Worried for his well-being, she tried to mouth a plea for him to stop chasing after them.

She wouldn’t be able to forgive herself if anything happened to him.

Oblivious to his wife’s silent words, Leo gave her a reassuring smile.

He was comforted to see that she was alive and unharmed.

It was only by the grace of God that he had seen her through the restaurant window as she was thrown into the Nissan by the bastard who had kidnapped her before.

Catching up to them had been the longest fifteen minutes of his life.

But now that he had, there was no way he was going to let them out of his sight.

“IT’S OK, BABY! I’M NOT GOING ANYWHERE!” he screamed through the opened passenger window.

Thoroughly annoyed with the exchange, Kade grit his teeth and turned his head to stare at the man endangering his family.

Leo was a special son-of-a-bitch to think he could just swoop in on his white horse and save the day.

He had toyed with the idea of letting him live for Lexi’s sake, but that was no longer an option.

Two more miles and it would be all over for the idiot.

Yelling an obscenity, he forcibly shifted into fifth gear and slammed his foot onto the gas pedal. Within a split second, the powerful sports car responded, leaving the older Jeep in its wake. “Lexi,” he said, his voice eerily calm. “Close your eyes. I don’t want you to see what’s about to happen.”

Spinning around in her seat, she watched helplessly as Leo’s Jeep slipped further and further away in the rear window. His tone caused an ice-cold chill to run down the length of her spine. There was no mistaking the heavy malice behind his words.

“Why? What are you going to do!?” she yelled, unable to stop the torrent of hormone induced tears.

Glancing at her through the corners of his dark eyes, he reminded himself to be gentle with her.

Releasing his tight grip on the steering wheel, he moved to brush the tears from her flushed cheeks.

He hated to see how upset she was becoming.

It wasn’t good for their child to have her be so worked up over nothing.

“I won't be doing anything,” he said honestly, pulling his attention back to the road. “Now do as I say and close your eyes. Stress isn’t healthy for the baby.”

Huffing a disbelieving laugh, she shook her head at the ridiculousness of his comment. Now he was concerned about stress affecting her child? God, he was even more insane than she remembered.

“Please don’t hurt Leo!” she begged, dropping her left hand to gently stroke his inner thigh in a calculated move. “I’ll be with you forever! Just please let him go!”

Looking down at her hand, Kade watched her fingers as they inched closer to his hardening cock.

It had been far too long since he had enjoyed her intoxicating caress, it was almost enough to make his resolve crumble.

He knew what game she was playing, though.

Tempting him with her feminine wiles wouldn’t work this time.

“I won’t tell you again,” he warned, ignoring his growing lust. “Close. Your. Eyes!”

“I...I can’t,” she whimpered.

Pressing his lips together, he fought with the familiar voice trying to wiggle back into his consciousness.

Nonchalantly reaching into the leather pocket gracing the driver’s side door, he found the uncapped syringe hidden as a last resort.

He had hoped to never use the drug on her again, but it was painfully apparent she wasn’t going to follow his command.

He wasn’t sure if the liquid inside would have any ill effect on their baby, but she had backed him into a corner.

It angered him that she was forcing him to put their child at risk, but it was a gamble he needed to take.

Trying not to alarm her, he purposefully relaxed his body. Through his peripheral vision, he noticed two Kawasaki Ninja J2R’s racing up the freeway on-ramp. Right on time, he thought to himself. It was a relief to know that his men hadn’t reverted to their old ways in his absence.

Keeping tabs on the black motorbikes, he practiced what would happen next in his mind.

Concealing the syringe in his hand as it rested on his left thigh, he silently counted down from thirty.

Leonardo Estrada deserved every fucking thing coming his way.

If there was still breath in his body, no one would ever take his family from him.

No one.

Instinctively wary of Kade, Lexi followed his attention to the out-of-place Kawasaki’s slowing down to flank either side of the GT-R.

There was something oddly familiar about the red and black wolf skulls painted onto the sides of their ebony bikes.

She knew she had seen them before, but her jumbled brain couldn’t quite place them.

“What’s going on?” she asked nervously as the Ninjas drifted dangerously close to the sports car.

Glancing at the leather-clad drivers as they peered inside, he gave each a sharp nod in confirmation before turning his attention back to Lexi. Toku and Cyris were the two most loyal and proficient Lieutenants he had. Bloodbayne would be pleased to hear how well they performed this minor task.

“Don’t worry, the Skulls will never harm you. They know you’re with me,” he said simply.

“Skulls? I... I don’t understand,” she replied, twisting in her seat to watch the motorbikes as they fell behind the Nissan.

The Skulls, Nikki spat. Kade Volkov’s Soldiers. Jesus fucking Christ, this isn’t good. Might as well say goodbye to poor ole’ Leo!

Thrown off by her alter’s heavy statement, her world fell into slow motion.

Watching helplessly as the Skulls slipped from view, her blood ran to ice.

Taking notice of the way Kade’s body stiffened beside her, she instinctively pressed herself against the car door.

Leo wasn’t the only one in danger, she realized. Something wicked was about to happen.

Before she could react, Kade raised his arm towards her with something sharp and cylindrical held tightly in his large hand.

Opening her mouth to scream, she felt him jab the pointed end of the syringe into the flesh of her throat; just as he had during her first abduction.

Locking her eyes on the mirrored lens of his aviators, she whimpered as the drug took hold.

Within seconds, her pregnant body grew painfully heavy, and her mind went numb.

Slumping into the cramped passenger seat, she fought to stay conscious.

She couldn’t believe that this was happening again, she thought he loved her.

“You...youuu...monssstteerrr,” she slurred as her eyelids fluttered down.

Nodding in agreement, he turned his dark eyes from her unconscious form to the rearview mirror.

Slowing down the GT-R, he watched with pointed interest as each of his men pulled a sawed-off shotgun from their back holsters and took aim at the Jeep.

His plan was going off without a single hitch and he couldn’t be more pleased.

Nothing would stand in the way of him finally claiming what was rightfully his.

“Sleep well, Sweetheart,” he said, lifting the corners of his lips into an evil grin. “And don’t worry, I’ll never let anyone take you away from me.”