The Skull Crusher (Skull 2)

Should I try to run away?

Should I ask my brothers for help?

I had no idea what to do.

But I couldn’t go back to Lucian. That wasn’t an option.

Was I stupid for not being able to sleep when Balto wasn’t here? Was I stupid for actually feeling safe with him? Was I stupid for not understanding just how vile he was?

Yes. I was so stupid.

It was easy to ignore him because he assumed I was angry about our recent fight.

He had no idea what the real reason was, so he never asked questions.

I went into the kitchen and grabbed something to eat before I walked back to my bedroom.

He sat at the dining table, eating his boring breakfast in his gym clothes. “Not talking to me, huh?”

I stopped and turned to him. “It’s not like you want to talk to me either.”

“I never said that.”

“Not all things need to be said.” I walked into my bedroom and ate lunch in the living room. I didn’t have much of an appetite, but I forced myself to eat because these were the last few days of freedom that I had. I might as well eat something good while I could.

I looked out the window and tried to decide what to do first.

Should I call my brothers and tell them?

Say goodbye?

Or would that make them do something stupid and get themselves killed?

I didn’t know how I could possibly get on the phone and tell them what was going to happen. That was a conversation I just couldn’t bear. I’d cry so much that I wouldn’t be able to get any words out.

I ate my donut and tried to enjoy it, but I barely could.

The door opened, and Balto walked inside, wearing a white t-shirt and sweatpants.

Would he tell me the decision he’d made? Or would he try to catch me off guard?

I didn’t look up at him as I nibbled on my donut. “What?”

He approached the couch then stared down at me.

I looked up, hatred in my eyes. “What do you want? I’m not in the mood for sex right now. But I suppose you could just make me…that’s something you would do.” I shouldn’t have expected Balto to do anything besides what he did—especially since he warned me about it. But I was disappointed in him. Was I stupid for thinking we actually had something? Maybe it wasn’t love, but it was definitely something.

“When have I ever made you do something you didn’t want to do?” He slipped his hands into his pockets and stared down at me.

He was about to make me do something I didn’t want to do. “You’re the Skull King, right? You’re just a tyrant, not a man. That means you’re capable of anything, including rape.”

His eyes flashed with anger. “I deserve more credit than that.”

“Do you?” I hissed.

His eyebrow rose.

“Get out of my room and leave me alone.”

He continued to stand there. “I don’t understand why you’re so upset—”

“Because I thought I actually meant something to you.” I tossed my plate with the donuts onto the coffee table. Invigorated because I had nothing to lose, I rose to my feet and stood up to this cruel man. “I didn’t think you loved me, but I thought you cared about me. I thought we had something here. Maybe it was just passion and lust, but I thought it was something more. I thought we were friends. I thought we…felt things. When you rescued me, I never felt so safe in my whole life. I lost my parents, I was taken from my family because of a stupid decision I made, and then I came to you…and it felt like I belonged here. I’ve been a prisoner without any rights, but this place still feels like home. You don’t fuck me like a whore. You move inside me with your lips locked to mine. You actually look at me. Ever since that night we met at the bar, it seemed like something was here. But now I realize…it was just me.” I turned my gaze away because I could barely look at him. “I’m not a person to you. I’m just a product, something valuable that will come in handy eventually. I’m basically a pig being prepared for the slaughterhouse. The sex was just sex. The conversations were meaningless. All of this was meaningless.”

29

Balto

Lucian and I decided to make the exchange at his estate.

I’d drop her off, get my diamond, and the men would pile the explosives into the back of the van.

Straightforward.

I was bringing enough men to rival the military, so it would be stupid if he tried to screw me over again. If he did, I was prepared to kill him this time. Whether I got the skull diamond or not, I would be forced to put him in the ground.