Cruel Temptation (Underground Kings 1)

“My head really hur

ts, Quinn. I thought you loved me?” he pretended to cry. “I can’t believe you’d pick Jaxon! The guy ruined our wedding day, you know. Don’t you remember, or don’t you care?”

I didn’t have it in me to give a shit about the ruined wedding. I was glad Jaxon saved me from marrying this monster.

His voice got closer. “You know, I wrapped my hands around Tracy’s throat myself. I killed her and my unborn baby. I didn’t want anything to do with that. Interfering with my plans!” he roared. “I am going to be king, and I don’t care who I have to kill to get what I want.”

Jaxon and Brian had that in common.

I started to climb the shelves, leaving my bad leg hanging limp in the air. My head started to get dizzy from the pain, but I couldn’t stop now. I had to keep fighting. I had to push through it. My arms trembled from pulling myself up. My muscles screamed for me to stop, and bile rose in my throat, but if I was going to die, it wasn’t going to be because I didn’t stop fighting.

I got to the top of the shelf, thankful that they were sturdy and bolted to the floor and reached my fingers between the lips of the vent and tugged, ripping the bolts out.

“I hear you.”

I couldn’t tell where he was, but I wasn’t going to sit around and find out. I wiggled my way into the vent and sighed when my leg had something to lean against, then shoved the faceplate of the vent back on, and army crawled backward. Since I was sliding, I barely made a sound. I came to an intersection of the vent and took a right and paused to take a break.

I was going to throw up. There was no doubt in my mind that I was going to puke. The pain was too much. I was exhausted. My muscles hurt. My body hurt. I wanted to lay down and sleep, give in to the pain, and the reality that I was going to die.

Brian would find me.

I clutched the knife to my chest and laid down, closing my eyes, I breathed in through my nose and out through my mouth.

“Got you, you crippled—” Brian’s voice cut off and echoed through the space of the vents when he opened the door to the closet.

I held a hand over my mouth to muffle my breathing and squeezed my eyes shut as I started to cry. The tip of the knife dug into the skin between my breasts, but not enough to break the flesh.

“Where are you!” he yelled in a form of insanity.

He knew someone with a cast on their leg couldn’t climb shelves, but surprise, I didn’t let it hold me back. When a tear escaped the edge of my eye and rolled down my cheekbone, my mind flashed with a hundred different memories and remembered lying on my bed, staring at the ceiling. A tear had rolled down my face in the same way as I cried over Jaxon.

I sobbed in relief, and I never thought it would be so hard to silence my sadness, my relief, and my regret, but I was suffocating myself, so Brian couldn’t hear them.

“You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say and do will be held against you in the court of law. You have a right to an attorney…”

I stood by and wept as they cuffed Jaxon and read him his rights. Brian was shouting at another officer, spinning some tale of the story about coming home and finding Jaxon choking his sister.

“I didn’t do it, Quinn!” he shouted at me, pleading with his eye for me to believe him. “I didn’t do it! You must believe me, Quinn. I love you. I loved Tracy!” he shouted in desperation before the cop shoved his head down and pushed him into the car. He stared at me out the window, his eyes sad as we stared at each other.

I believed him in that moment, but I was the girl from money, and he was the boy who broke the law. I had to turn my back on him. Not because I wanted to, but my parents said I had to before they died.

I let everyone around me control me, to brainwash me, but not anymore.

I knew the truth, plus, Brian just admitted to me himself, not that I needed him to. I wasn’t the same woman I was back then. I was stronger. I thought for myself. I wasn’t going to let Brian ruin anything between me and Jaxon again. No one could stop me from loving Jaxon the way he was always meant to be loved by me.

Another hand fell over my lips, and I opened my eyes with shock and nearly screamed. I saw Jaxon. He held his finger against his lips to tell me to be quiet. I nodded.

“You’re okay?” he mouthed.

I nodded.

“I’m so fucking glad you’re okay,” he whispered, and his forehead fell on my chest. “I’ve been worried.” He brought his head up and pecked my lips.

He was home.

I’d never doubt home again.

“I remember everything,” I whispered, and he leaned back, stared at me with disbelief and shock, then smiled.