Lord King (The King)

As I watched King walk off down the street, skirting the iron fence, not one ounce of doubt or weakness in the way he carried himself, I could almost imagine him going into battle as an ancient king. Bare chested, sword strapped to his back, maybe wearing one of those short linen skirts.

Part of me would give anything to see King in his element before he became this “abomination of nature,” as my people called him. But I didn’t see him that way. He was a king who’d forsaken his destiny and people for the love of a woman from another time. Not that I had anything against Mia, but if anyone had defiled nature and broken the rules, it was her.

She was the person who traveled back three thousand years and met Draco Minos, king of the Minoans. She must’ve known there’d be consequences for their love and that it would change history. No, I didn’t have details, but the ancient ones mentioned Draco had been destined to marry a powerful Seer from his time. Then, one day, Mia came out of nowhere and stole him away. The other woman went crazy and tried to kill him. From there, everything started—King’s wrong turns and King turning evil.

“Hello, Jeni,” said a dark voice just outside my open window.

I turned my head to see Victor Escorcia staring down at me with cold brown eyes.

Fuck. Speaking of evil…

CHAPTER SIX

“Get out of the vehicle, Jeni,” said Victor, who was a tall, overweight man with thinning dark hair.

“If I don’t?”

“Then I’ll shoot you in the fucking head.” Victor pulled a shiny silver gun from his pocket, and my mind instantly shifted to the tiny life inside me. I needed to protect it, which meant I had to get through this somehow. Stay calm. Play smart.

I opened my door and stepped from the car, raising my hands. I didn’t really know why. I supposed it was what everyone did in the movies to prevent getting shot. A show of compliance. But I knew Victor wasn’t here to let me live no matter how obedient I was.

“How did you recognize me?” I asked.

“I keep tabs on all my enemies.”

“We’ve never met, so how can I be your enemy?” I asked.

“Before Serina died, she mentioned you were traveling with King. We did our research.”

I’d met his deceased, super scary wife around the same time I met King. She’d been looking for him for years, wanting to settle some old scores.

Victor waved the gun toward a black stretch limo parked up ahead along the curb. “Get in the back.”

“What are you going to do with me?”

“I am going to shoot you in the goddamned face if you keep talking. Get. In. The. Car.”

My eyes darted side to side. There was no sign of King or his deadly shadow anywhere. Shit. Shit. Shit! I hoped King would quickly figure out Victor was out here and not inside his yacht.

Needing to stall for time, I walked slowly, feigning a limp.

“What are you doing?” Victor growled.

“I twisted my ankle this morning. Slipped.”

“Untwist it and walk faster.”

I was thirty feet from his limo. “I’m going. I’m going.” Please, King. Please be listening. Victor is outside. He’s making me get in a black limo. Hurry.

If he couldn’t hear me, neither could his shadow, but with our connection, wouldn’t he sense something was up? Or was he too focused on getting inside Victor’s yacht and killing him? King. King! Help!

Victor opened the rear passenger door and shoved me inside the limo. To my disgust, it was the type that had been tricked out inside, with blue lights and a massive wet bar toward the front. I imagined Victor used the limo to wine and dine women before taking them to their deaths.

Well, he’s not killing me. I turned and kicked him just as he moved to get inside the car. He shifted sideways, and I missed. He lunged at me, and I kicked again, but he was fast.

Victor pounced, taking me by the hair and throwing me to the black carpeted floor.

“Get off! Help!” I yelled. That was when I noted the sadistic joy in Victor’s eyes. He liked watching me scream in terror.

Instinctively I fell silent, turning off my emotions and sending them deep inside. With my mind quiet, the contents of Victor’s head became clear. He was getting off on subduing me and intended to fully get off once he got me to his place nearby. A house with a wall around it. A soundproof room.

Oh Jesus. Heart pumping, adrenaline flowing, I swung my fists at Victor’s face. “Help! Help!” Would anyone hear me? I had to try. I had to fight! “Help!”

Victor caught my wrists and pinned them down. The only thing I had going for me was that the car door was still open, so I continued yelling.