Page 20 of We The Depraved

Bum rushing him, I slam into him the gun still in my hand.

“Yo, what the fuck?” The man turns and faces me after stumbling over Sage’s body.

“What the fuck are you doing to this woman?” I ask.

“Man, I found her ass like this,” he states.

Without a second thought, my fist slams into other man’s faces. He yelps out in pain, stumbling back. The squeal of wheels hits my ears and I see my Benz speeding across the road with Artur behind the wheel.

Looking at my future bride, I find her slumped and slightly conscious. When I look back up the man is fleeing the scene.

“Should we run him down?” Artur exits the car, looking crazy.

“No,” I say quickly.

“You never let us have any fun, Niki,” he mumbles.

I know deep down, he’s still pissed he can’t fuck the strippers at this club.

Slowly I stoop downward and admire how beautiful my kitten is. The man’s hands have left a slight mark on her skin but she is alive. I scoop her up into my arms, and my brothers move aside. Artur is already behind the wheel. Damien and Erik look between each other.

“Where are you taking her?” Damien asks.

He’s already looking at the optics of this. What if we get caught abducting this woman and it’s caught on a camera? It’s not his fault, it’s just how he thinks.

“Home,” I tell them.

No one else dares to disagree.

Sage, still passed out, remains on my lap.

When we reach the mansion, I place her in a private bedroom far from me. I would be tempted to tear her clothes from her body. Without a backwards glance, I exit the room. I place a guard on her door and head to the kitchen.

My brothers are there, waiting for me, looking grim faced.

I say nothing and wash my hands. Rolling up the sleeves of my dark shirt, I get out peaches and a knife. With ease, I begin to peel the skin from the tender flesh of the fruit.

“I couldn’t let him hurt her,” I say.

“That was so fucking dangerous for our brand,” Damien sighs.

They all begin to sit.

“I’m pissed I didn’t get to see any titties,” Artur finally admits.

Erik, calmly assures me, “You did the right thing.”

“I know I did,” I say. “When she wakes up we will get more information on that motherfucker that attacked her.”

“Do you think he knew her?” Damien’s question hoovers in the air.

I begin removing the peach pit. “Yes. He had a pretty good idea of who she was. He spotted her while in line. I saw him make a beeline for her.”

My brother’s talk amongst themselves as I go to the refrigerator and pull out a log of sugar cookies. I have no idea why I’m making peach cobbler this time of night but I need to be doing something with my hands other than killing the man who thought he could touch what is mine.

“She reminds me of mother,” Erik says softly.

Everything grinds to a halt as the blue packaging of cookies suddenly feels like a boulder in my hands.