Cruel Temptation (Underground Kings 1)

“Let me say one thing, you will not disrespect me, and you will not disrespect my men. You don’t even know half the truth, and you have no idea what kind of man you almost married. You should be thanking me.” He squeezed again, and this time, I couldn’t breathe.

And I liked it.

I was ashamed to admit that if he were to shove his hand between my legs, he’d find me wet. What was wrong with me? These were the same hands that killed his sister. My hands were jerked behind my back and zip-tied together. Then, instead of a gag, a piece of tap covered my mouth from behind. My eyes widened, and I started to panic. He won. He won. Oh, god. He was going to kill me.

“I won’t ever hurt you.” His eyes almost shined with the truth. Almost.

Because all Jaxon Steel had ever done was hurt me. That was what he was best at.

“Let’s go.” He kept his hand around my neck, guiding me to the back entrance, his grip still painfully tight. I lost a shoe in the process of fumbling and tripping over myself, but Jaxon kept me steady, as much as he could, considering he practically dragged me.

We passed a few crosses, and I watched to see if they burst into flames as Jaxon walked by, but color me shocked.

They remained intact.

Jaxon kicked the back door open, and my eyes squinted to adjust to the sunlight. It was bright, scorching hot, and the green pastures and rolling hills of Northern California greeted me. Half of the land had grapevines strung along for miles blocked off by an old wooden fence that seemed as ancient as this church. Even in the air, while it was dry, a sweet fragrance lingered from the grapes. It almost made me thirsty. It was hard to believe such a beautiful view existed when something so bad was happening right now.

There were two cars waiting in front of us. With a different man at each opening the back doors. I hadn’t seen those guys before. They were new. Everyone split up and climbed into the respective vehicle. Sirens wailed in the air as law enforcement grew closer. I knew there was no hope.

I was in the hands of a monster.

Jaxon dipped my head, so I didn’t hit it against the car and pushed me in, then climbed in after me. Of course, it was just him and I. My bad luck seemed to be getting worse with every second that ticked by.

“I’m sorry to have to do this,” he said, opening a lid of some sort and gathering a rag in his hand. “You have no idea what or who I am anymore. The old me, whatever you thought you knew, forget it. And whatever you are thinking, don’t. I’ll tell you the truth in time and believe it or not; you’ll thank me.”

I rolled my eyes and struggled against the zip ties. I knew I should have watched that damn YouTube video on how to escape out of them, but I thought, ‘what are the chances of me getting kidnapped and zip tied?’

Higher than I calculated, apparently.

“Now, we have a long drive, and when we get to where we are going, we have a lot of catching up to do.” He poured something on the rag and brought it to my face. “I’m sorry.”

I struggled against the binds around my wrist and shook my head. The fumes of whatever was in that rag made my eyes water. The noises escaping me were whimpers and pleas. I’d be good. I didn’t want to be unconscious. I didn’t know what would happen.

“I want my ten years back, Quinn. So, I'm going to take it from you and Brian. Ten years of your life for the ten years taken from mine. Get comfortable. You’re going to be a long way from home.” The cloth covered my nose, and I held my breath, but the attempt was counterproductive because I had to breathe.

And when I did, my body grew lax, and my brain felt fuzzy. His hand held onto the back of my head and laid me down on the seat. He hovered over me, crooning something as he tucked a piece of hair behind my ear.

While my vision blurred and the world around me faded, the last thing I saw were the flames of revenge in his black eyes, making me succumb to the shadows his liked to keep.

Jaxon Steel.

A nightmare.

But I knew deep down, somewhere, in the pits of my soul that I've long forgotten, he wasn’t my nightmare. The only thing that scared me about him were the feelings I kept locked away. He was a pandora’s box of horrible things that liked to come out and play at night.

And I was the idiot that was never scared of the dark.

Chapter Two

Jaxon

She was beautiful.

All laid out on the seat, her blonde hair fallen from the ties and splayed along the black leather seat like pure gold. It was beautiful, even all fucked up and out of place, the wild look good on her, which seemed fitting for the situation.

I exhaled and reached over for the decanter full of expensive scotch, and I poured myself three fingers worth. Today was stressful, and I was thankful it was nearly over. I had been so nervous, but the plan went perfectly, and now I had Brian and Quinn.

My throat burned as I sipped the aged scotch, but it didn’t bring enough fire to burn those damn emotions to a crisp.