Page 81 of Ruthless King

The front is horribly dented, the windshield cracked, but he opens the driver’s side door without hesitation and finds the release for the trunk. He carries me toward it, and I struggle, but when I see what lies in the bed of the compartment, I go limp, my lips parted around a gasp I can’t voice.

Huge blue eyes meet mine, glazed with fear. They stare from a small face, shrouded by tousled black curls.

It’s like looking into a mirror. One that reflects the worst-case scenario and taunts me with it.

A girl. Donatello has a child in the trunk of his car. A girl wearing only a nightgown, her trauma apparent.

Grunting with the effort, he shoves me in beside her, and I barely have time to curl in on myself before he slams the lid down, drenching us both in darkness.

Through inches of metal, I hear his voice, gruff with burgeoning rage.

“Safiya. Willow—whoever you are. You should have stayed safe in your cage,” he says, sounding more monster than man. “Your father took my son from me. My heir. But you? You will give me another.”

The way he says those words, along with their implication, roils my belly. He can’t mean it. He can’t…

A thud slams against the lid of the trunk as though he slapped it. “I’m going to break your wings, little bird,” he promises, distorted by the barrier between us. Nonetheless, the malice in his tone is crystal clear. “I’m going to take pleasure in ripping them off.”

His footsteps echo in ominous tandem before I feel the car jolt as a door opens and slams shut. Around me, the engine roars to life, punctuating the silence along with a muffled whimper near my ear.

And then the car itself moves, taking me to only God knows where.

As the captive of a man I no longer recognize.

~ To be Continued in Queen of Thorns ~