Damaged Queen (Darkness Within Duet 2)

“Have you watched it?”

“No. I’ve not watched anything,” he said. “I figured we’ll take it home and have a little movie show with Draven. Unless you want me to do the deal today.” Axel held a gun up. “What’s it going to be?”

“I want to go and watch the tape.” She didn’t even hesitate, holding her salvation in her hands.

“Come on, let’s go.”

Harper followed Axel out of the cave with one glance back. She didn’t know if the story was true, but her heart went out to the girls if it was.

Axel didn’t speak as they made their way back to the house.

Once inside, Harper went to Draven’s office to the wall where she’d seen the old- fashioned VCR. Axel had offered to go and get Draven, to fill him in on the details.

Just as she was about to put the tape in, they entered the office. Draven looked a mess. His hair was all over the place, and he looked a little green from last night’s drinking.

She turned back to the television, grabbed the remote, and moved toward them.

“So, when we’re ready, I think Harper you should get on your knees and face the television,” Axel said, holding out his gun again.

“You’re not going to kill her,” Draven said.

“A deal’s a deal. For Buck and for Jett.”

“No.”

Harper sank to her knees. “I’ve got nothing to hide.” She clasped her hands in front of her and waited.

Draven took the remote from her hand, and she watched as the screen came to life.

She stared at the screen. Alan sat at his desk. The date was in the corner. He was on the phone or on the computer.

Finally, when it was time, Harper closed her eyes. She didn’t need to see this to remember.

The volume was turned up loud, so they could all hear it.

“Hear me properly, I can kill you. I can make the next few years of your life unbearable, but I have a feeling I’ve got a way of getting what I want, by removing you from the picture and you keeping your life.”

“What?” This was her scream as he let go of her throat. She touched her neck, recalling how easily he could have killed her.

“I want you gone.”

“Not going to happen.”

His smile. Always that same wicked smile that played inside her nightmares every single night. “I want you gone. Your bags packed, no trace of you ever. As far as my son and his boys are concerned you skipped town because you couldn’t handle being known as his whore.”

“He’ll know differently,” She’d been such a fool.

“You’ve run away. Gone. You’ve run at the first opportunity.”

“And if I don’t do this? What then? You’re going to kill me? Draven wouldn’t allow that. He’d be your problem.”

“If you don’t go in the next twenty minutes and be out of Stonewall, I’m going to kill Draven and his boys. First though, I’ll make sure that Draven knows you did this. You caused this, and I will make them all beg for mercy before I do it.”

Even now, she felt that same fear. The thought of losing Draven, of losing any of them had filled her with such fear. She’d never been so scared, not even when she got her mother out of the bathtub. “You’re bluffing.”

“I figured you’d say that.”

Then Alan finally took it to the next level. He made the man show her that Alan was always one or maybe even two steps ahead.

“So my little guest here knows it’s you, turn in a circle.”

The guy had done just that, had shown her exactly how much control Alan had. How he was willing to kill his son, his friends.

“Good, I want you to kill all of them,” Alan said.

This was where her life changed forever. She watched as that gun rose, and with it, she’d seen the bullets, the death, everything that would take the men in her life away from her forever.

Harper opened her eyes and stared at her own reactions. The horror. The fear.

The man raised his gun, and she watched as it went off, the bullets lightning quick as it fired into the crowd.

Harper watched her reactions, and this time she saw how Alan watched her. She hadn’t seen that back then. Right then, all she could see was Draven ducking and her hope that the others did as well. Did any bullets touch them? What the hell happened?

She saw the fear again. The pain.

“No! Stop!” She screamed. Again, it didn’t show the screen going blank, just the panic and her tears. So many tears.

“Wait,” Alan said.

“I’ll do it. I’ll go. I’ll do anything just please don’t hurt them.”

Alan smiled. “Keep them in your sight. Don’t let them leave.”

He hung up his cell phone, and Harper watched as he once again grabbed an envelope from across the desk. So many actions she recalled back then that were happening now.