Damaged Queen (Darkness Within Duet 2)

She slowly slid across the seat, taking his hand as she climbed on out. He felt the faint tremor as she held him.

Once she was safely out on the sidewalk, he let go of her hand, slammed the car door, and put a hand to her back.

A couple of older women were walking down the street. One look at them had them crossing to avoid him.

Axel smirked.

He liked to have this power over Stonewall, or at least, over wherever he went. Draven didn’t care so much, but then, he had power no matter what. Men and women bowed before him because they knew he’d hurt them, even kill them if he didn’t get what he wanted.

Entering the cemetery, he felt Harper tense and try to hold herself back, but he wouldn’t let her. Pushing her along, he stopped at the two end graves.

“What is this?” she asked.

“Say hello to Buck and Jett!” Axel waved at them. “Hey, guys, we got her. Look, here’s our queen. You know the one, that was supposed to stay by our side but in the end decided to go running off because she couldn’t deal with us. You know the one.”

“No, this is a joke,” she said.

“This is no joke, Harper. It’s why I have Jett’s knife. He died, and so did Buck.”

She shook her head.

“You can think we’re lying, but this is where they are,” Axel said. “Our two best buds. The ones that were supposed to help us rule this world. They’re dead and gone. Have been for a while now.”

He saw the tears in her eyes, and Draven was shocked as she sank to her knees and simply stared at the graves.

“They’re really gone?”

Her voice broke, and Draven watched her. Tears fell down her cheeks, and she looked as if he’d just given her the worst news on the planet.

“Yes,” Draven said.

She covered her face with her hands, and he watched as she sobbed.

“This shouldn’t have happened. How did this happen?”

“The usual way.”

“No, this is not the usual way.”

When Axel went to say more, Draven shook his head. She needed to grieve right now. Clearly, she’d thought they were still alive and were just pissed at her. It was so far from the fucking truth.

“I can’t believe this is happening,” she said, sniffling. “They didn’t deserve to die. They were wonderful.”

Draven gritted his teeth as he thought about Buck and about Jett. They were the best friends anyone could have had. Sure, Buck was a joker and Jett the more serious of the two, but they were more family to him than anyone else.

He missed them.

If he could go back at any point in his life, he’d change what happened to them. He’d give anything to have them standing by his side right now, with Harper there at their feet.

“Time to go.”

****

Harper couldn’t believe they were dead. Even now, hours later, staring at her reflection. What had happened to her this morning, it seemed inconsequential against the pain that filled her chest at knowing she’d never see Jett smile or eat a damn apple with his knife. The same knife that only days before had been used to help remove her clothing.

She placed a hand against her shoulder, near the spot where the strap of her bra had been.

The cool metal had terrified her, and yet when Jett held it, she always found it a comfort, seeing as he always used it for comfort.

Running a hand down her face, she tried to clear the fogginess from her mind. She stared at her reflection, and all she saw was a woman’s messed-up face from tears, her eyes bloodshot and puffy. There was a bruise from where Draven’s man hit her, but it was just a bruise. Compared to what happened to Buck and Jett, a bruise was nothing.

What did happen to Buck and Jett?

She didn’t have a clue how they died or why they died, only that they had died.

Getting to her feet, she wore a long shirt that Draven had left for her. She tested her bedroom door, and it was open.

For a split second she thought about running, but one glance out the door, and she saw guards were everywhere. They didn’t stop her as she moved past them.

One by one, she felt their gazes on her, and wished she’d put on some pants or something. Draven still didn’t allow her to wear underwear. She figured for him, it was a power trip.

Clenching her hands into fists at her side, she made her way down the long stairwell. At the bottom, she saw there were two men near the front door, and three men along each side of the wall leading up to the stairwell.

Each of them stood perfectly still. Like soldiers, ready for battle. Ready for anything.

She took a step forward, and the first two men turned to look at her. The one on the right spoke.