Claiming His Prize (Killer of Kings 5)

He saw her lip wobble, and he cursed. That one word made her flinch, and he gritted his teeth. Damn it. He wasn’t good at this kind of stuff. Years of being treated like shit, and here he was, stealing a girl that deep down, he knew he shouldn’t have—yet couldn’t seem to deny himself.

For too long he’d always been told what to do, and the moment he saw Lori, and saw the pain she carried, he had to take her away from all that shit, and help her. No one had been there to help him.

He tucked some stray hairs behind her ear. She leaned away from his touch, and he frowned. Chains expected this to go much smoother.

“I don’t understand what’s going on.”

“The man who hurt you.” She flinched, and he wished that he could go back and kill the bastard all over the again. Considering Carlton had been the king of his little street, he’d screamed like a fucking bitch while he’d tortured him. The sounds he made hadn’t been pretty. “He’s not going to hurt you anymore.”

She frowned. “You mean Carlton?”

“Yes.”

“Wait, how did you know about that?”

“I have means of finding out anything that I need.” He wanted to reach out and touch her skin, but held back.

You’ve kidnapped her.

Don’t freak her out with more.

She looked away, and the crease on her forehead got deeper. Her mind was probably on overdrive, plotting how to get away from her kidnapper.

He was supposed to be the fucking hero.

Chains massaged her wrists, hating the red sores that were already forming. She’d been pulling on the chains, and he didn’t think to cushion them. Never expected any of this.

“I’ll be back.” Leaving his spot, he made his way back up into his kitchen, and found the first aid kit. He went to the sitting room, opened a drawer, and pulled out some foam as a precaution.

At the first opportunity Lori was going to run. He knew that, but he wasn’t going to let her.

When he entered the basement this time, he locked the door, and pocketed the key before making his way back down. She still sat in the same position he’d left her in, frozen in place. Her arms rested on her knees, wrists exposed, and he hated seeing the chain marks marring her pale skin. She was a beautiful woman, and didn’t deserve this kind of treatment.

“Are you going to kill me?” she whispered. Tears fell down her cheeks when she looked up at him. Such innocence. All his.

“No, I’m not going to kill you.” He took a seat, and pulled out the key to her cuff. When he released one of the bands, she quickly held her wrist to her chest. She winced as she rubbed the mark. “You’re going to hurt yourself. Let me take care of you. While I do this, you can ask as many questions as you like.”

He saw the temptation in her eyes. She wanted to know more. She needed to understand what was going on, and as each second passed, not knowing drove her crazy. He knew what she felt more than she could ever know. Just hearing the clang of the chains brought back memories from his past. It was how he’d gotten his name. The other hitmen at Killer of Kings thought it was just a nickname, but it was steeped in a dark reality that he tried to forget.

“If you’re not going to kill me, why am I here?”

“You’re my reward.”

“For what?”

“For a really fucked up life.”

“You’re going to rape me?” She pulled her hand away before he could even get a good look at it.

He stared at her. “No, I’m not going to rape you. I don’t believe in hurting innocent women.” She wouldn’t give him her hand, and now he saw she was shaking. “Talk to me.”

“I don’t know what to say.”

“You’ve got questions, ask them. Pretend we’re at the diner.”

“Easier said than done. It’s kind of hard to think of all the right questions because I’m a lot freaked out right now.”

“I’ll do my best to answer anything you want.”