Damaged Queen (Darkness Within Duet 2)

“You were going to check on Harper.”

“That’s right. I was going to see that she was okay because of there being an active shooter in the mall. I tried to find her. She was gone. She made a lucky escape. Your face?”

“I’d been following a lead when I didn’t realize I’d been tailed and my face was pressed against hot metal,” he said.

“Now, you tell me why I should give a fuck about waiting to tell Harper the truth? How we were all nearly killed because she left?”

“Don’t you want to hear her side, just in case? I know you, Draven. You’re angry now, but what about after?” Axel asked.

“Right now, I don’t give a shit what lies she wants to spill. I told her to come to me. You know she hated being called a slut and a whore. Being with us, it wasn’t enough. She ran and joined our enemies, working for them, and guess what, she now gets to pay that price. I don’t care what she has to say. Stop with worrying about me, Axel. I’m not going to regret a single fucking thing I do to that bitch. Some may think this is petty. I don’t. I think it’s time she paid for what she did. You got a problem with that, then you get the fuck out of my house until I’m done, or you stick around and see what I’ve got in store for her.”

Draven didn’t give him time to answer. He turned away and walked off.

Axel had never had it in him to lead, to take control.

It had been Draven who killed Axel’s dad. He’d taken him out to the whipping post, and where he’d tortured women for too many years, Draven had whipped him, over and over again. He’d made that son of a bitch bleed like others had before him. He left him out for dead, letting animals eat whatever they wanted.

Draven went back a week later to just a corpse, which he buried in the woods.

He’d never claimed to be a good man.

Maybe with Harper, he had some redemption, but that had been taken from him. With every person he killed a piece of his soul was taken from him. Any light he had was wiped out, smeared by the darkness that had taken his soul.

When the time came to kill his father five years ago, he’d done so with relish. He made his father think that he was on top. That Alan Barries was the king. He poisoned the whiskey, and as his father got drunk, he killed him. Not before he killed the cook though, and his mother. They were all loyal to Alan.

Anyone who was loyal to his father died. The only people that survived were those that answered to him.

He sat in the back of the car, and he didn’t have to wait too long for Harper to appear. She looked small, pale, and even vulnerable in the clothes he’d given her. Next to Axel, she looked so weak.

The spark was there in her eyes, so she wasn’t broken. It would take a lot more to break Harper. He hadn’t forgotten the strength of her, the darkness that swirled in her eyes, calling to him.

He did see the bruise on her cheek from being hit, which he didn’t like. Philip wasn’t given the order to hit her or in any way lay a hand on her, only to restrain her. It didn’t matter now. He shouldn’t be dwelling on what happened because it was over with. Philip had done the damage, and now it was time to move on.

Axel opened the door, and Harper paused when she saw him.

She gripped the jacket she wore a little tighter and climbed in. When she noticed Axel moving in behind her, she had no choice but to slide closer to him.

He stared at her, and she looked at him. He chuckled as she looked away.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

“It’s a surprise.”

“I don’t like surprises.”

“Everyone likes a surprise,” Axel said.

“You mean like that guy who touched me? Who wanted to rape me and stuck a … thing up my ass?”

“I see it’s not affecting you.”

“Can we just stop this nonsense? I didn’t do anything wrong. This is all wrong, just stop.” She ran fingers through her hair. The jacket she wore rolled down, exposing her bruised wrist.

“Why didn’t you scream?” Draven asked.

“I did. No one came.”

They hadn’t heard.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

“We’re taking you to Buck and Jett.”

“You’re taking me to them?”

Draven heard the hope in her voice. Looking over her head, he saw Axel was glaring at him, but Draven didn’t give a fuck. He didn’t have any feelings when it came to Harper. His friend didn’t need to worry about him. Any love he had for this bitch had left him ten years ago.