Cruel Seduction (Underground Kings 2)

“Probably best,” I return.

“Anyway, Kendrick found me in Spain. He told me to visit Sebastian in prison and said that we couldn’t communicate anymore. He had hit me before I went to see Sebastian.

I had a black eye and busted lip. After that, I couldn’t tell you how I got to the house he is at now. He kept me drugged a lot. Compliant. A lot of the times I was in a room, chained to the wall.” She bends down and rolls up her pant leg, showing the scar where the cuff was. “He’d get angry at me for little things. Things that didn’t make sense. I left my pencils scattered on the desk or I didn’t wear the nightgown he wanted me to. He treated me more like a pet than a human being. He liked to bathe me, feed me, and well, pet me. When I’d ‘talk’ back, that is when he would throw me in the dark room. I couldn’t see anything. He’d whip me there.”

“Whip you?” Officer Howard picks up his phone. “Do you have any proof of that? And can you keep your pant leg up? I just need to document this.” He holds the phone close to her leg and snaps a few shots of her scar. “Did he do anything else?”

“You don’t have enough time to hear all the things he did to me, Officer.” Gabriella stands, and her eyes meet Grayson, Heaven, and then Owen. She reaches for me, and I get up with her, knowing she is about to show her scars.

Officer Howard seems like he doesn’t believe her. He has a skeptical look on his face.

With tremoring hands, she slides off her sweatpants and all the guys turn their heads, even the cop. Next is her tank top and I slide it off her, stealing a kiss to let her know I am there for her. She turns around and gives the cop her back.

“Okay, she’s ready. Make it quick, okay? She doesn’t like to show these,” I say.

“Jesus fucking Christ. He did this?” Officer Howard stands and moves closer to look at all the permanent marks on her back. He doesn’t look at her ass; his eyes are focused on the most important part.

“I’m going to kill him!” Owen roars, grabbing the empty drinking glass on the counter, and he slings it through the air as if it were a baseball. It smashes against the game room doors, shattering on impact before the pieces drop to the floor.

“Get in line.” Fury blazes in Grayson's eyes.

I stand in front of Gabriella and tilt her face up. She is shivering, and her eyes are vacant and expressionless, but it doesn’t take a genius to know she is reliving every lash Kendrick ever gave her.

“Okay, I have the photos. She can get dressed.” Officer Howard turns around, and so do the guys. She slides on her clothes in record speed, and we sit down. I angle her on my lap, and she leans into me, waiting to see what the cop has to say.

Officer Howard’s cheeks puff out as he exhales, and then he shakes his head. “What, uh, what happened after that?” His face turns red and he has the same expression as we do. He wants to kill Kendrick.

Like Grayson said, get in line.

“Um, he said weird things like ‘worth’ and how happy ‘they’ would be with my behavior. I wasn’t sure who he was talking about, but the last day I was with him. He had friends over. They were talking about me being a virgin and of Mediterranean descent. He said when he first saw me, he locked me down, so he knew I’d stay pure. We never engaged in anything sexual. Not really. He’d kiss and feel me up, but it never went further than that.”

I bury my nose in her neck and inhale that wildflower scent I love so much. It calms my racing heart and somehow manages to keep my anger at bay. She is here. She is safe. We are going to ruin him. And then we are going to live a happy ever after.

“He tugged me around on a leash.” She lifts her hand to her neck where faint yellow bruises are there from the collar.

Officer Howard get as close as his can, but the bruise is hard to see in the picture.

“Anyway, he had me stand naked in front of them, like I was some sort of offering. I felt like it with how they talked about me, but I didn’t know their plans. One of them grabbed me and started touching me.” She shuts her eyes, and I tighten my arms around her as she relived that. “I smashed my skull against his nose, and I ran. I jumped off the balcony into the water, prepared to fucking die, but I didn’t. Owen found me on the beach. That’s pretty much the gist of it.”

“Do you want to press charges against the man who assaulted you too?”

“That won’t be necessary,” she says.

“Is there a reason?” he prods.

“I killed him before I jumped. I threw a knife at Kendrick, but he jumped out of the way. It pierced the middle of the man's chest. Are you going to arrest me?”

“No,” Officer Howard says with a small laugh. “Hell no. Fucker deserved it if you ask me.”

“See? A great addition to the team,” Grayson pipes up with a sandwich in his hand.

“But I killed someone,” she says. “You don’t care?”

“Nope,” Officer Howard pops the P. “I’m only glad you’re safe. As for you, Mr. Knight, I suggest you stay out of the public eye. I can’t do anything about your arrest warrant just yet. This restraining order shouldn’t be a problem to get approved, but I’ll tell you this…” Officer Howard stands, and the badge clipped to his belt shines from the overhead lights. “Usually, they don’t make a damn difference. Stay on your toes. You have my number if anything goes south. I’ll update you as soon as I can.”

“That’s it?” she squawks and stands so fast she nearly gets tangled in my legs and trips. “Nothing else? You don’t need like … a sworn statement signed in blood or something?”

It is clear that she has never dealt with the law before because she doesn’t know how the rules work. All of us chuckle, and Officer Howard pulls up his jeans by the belt loop.