Filed to story: The LORDS Series Free PDF by Shantel Tessier
Her eyes fall shut.
“It’s okay, little darling.” I cup her bloody cheek. “Just close your eyes. I’ll be right here when you wake up.”
Her lashes flutter open, and she looks up at me, her pretty blue eyes look glossed over from the drugs. “Promise?” Her voice is soft, fading.
I lean down and kiss her forehead. “I promise.” This time when they close, they don’t reopen. I sit back, running a hand through my hair before looking up at Gavin.
“She was lucky,” he states. “Another inch to the right and I would have needed an OR and even that might not have been enough.”
We kept her down in the basement until he got here. After he removed the knife and stitched her up, we moved her up here to rest. “Thank you.” I stand and reach out my hand. He shakes it, not bothering to care that it’s still bloody.
He nods. “Of course. I’d say the knife was already broken before she was stabbed with it.”
The question is, was she stabbed on purpose or by accident? I’m going to find out.
“She’ll be okay. I’ll come back and check on her in the morning, just make sure she takes is easy. I’d say she’ll have a full recovery in no time.” I thank him again and see him out of the apartment.
I go to the kitchen, grab a big bowl and fill it with warm water and soap then make my way back to the bedroom. I grab a washcloth from the bathroom and pull the comforter down to expose her chest. I place the washcloth into the bowl and then wring it out before I start to clean the blood off her chest, neck, and face along with the little makeup that remains.
“I’m sorry, little darling,” I tell her, hating what happened to her. It’s my fault. Even if she wasn’t targeted, I put her in this club. I made her work on the floor. I should have confined her to the apartment. Kept her as secluded as possible from the world that I know wants to harm her. I should have learned my lesson after Whitney.
Senior year at Barrington University
“Still nothing?” Ryat asks me while I stare at my cell.
“Nothing,” I answer. I’ve been calling and texting Whitney for two days now. But she does this a lot. Goes MIA. It’s because she’s pretending to be pregnant while partying and doesn’t want me to know.
“Just track her phone,” he tells me.
“It’s off,” I growl. Does he think I haven’t thought of that? “Been off since yesterday morning.”
“Well-“
Just as he starts to speak, my cell rings and I see it’s her. “What the fuck, Whit? Where have you been?” I demand.
“Tyson.” She cries on the other end.
I sigh, running a hand through my hair. “What?” This is what she does, ignores me for days and then pretends to have some catastrophic reason to reach out to me. She knows how to play the damsel in distress way too well.
“Pl-ease…” she chokes out. “I need you.”
I sit up straighter, the sound of her voice sounding more convincing than usual. “Where are you?”
“I-” Cough. “I don’t know.”
“I can track you.” I pull the cell from my ear and turn on her tracking. It shows she’s ten minutes away. “I’m on my way.”
LAIKYN
I’ve been off work for ten days. Tyson said three weeks, but Gavin said that I was doing surprisingly well. It didn’t do any damage to any important organs. It was more superficial than anything, if you ask me. I can go back to work, but I have to be careful not to lift too much too soon and tear my stitches open. Other than that, I’m good.
I haven’t spoken to Tyson much. I’m pissed at him. He promised me that he wouldn’t drug me, and he did. Just another reason I can’t trust him. Things got hard and he just knocked me out.
Not sure why I’m so surprised.
We also haven’t had sex since I was stabbed. If I’m being honest with myself, that’s another reason why I’m so on edge and pissy. I never realized how much sex can affect your everyday life until now. I hate that I ever experienced it to begin with because he can cut me off at any time.
I’m not sure why he hasn’t touched me. Tyson never gives you hints as to why he does what he does. He just expects you to live with it. Or I guess it could have to do with the fact that we were already kinda arguing about what went down in his office with Collin. Well, I was pissed at him, and he didn’t seem to care.
“Good to see you back, Lake.” Beau smiles at me from behind the bar.
I nod. “It’s good to be back.” Setting my tray down on the server station, I ask, “What section do I have tonight?”
He picks up a piece of paper and places it in front of me. “Sorry.”
“He gave me one table,” I bark out. “Seriously?” My eyes snap up to Beau’s.
He raises his hands in surrender. “I just do as I’m told, Lake.”
I let out an audible growl. That’s why he is the way he is. Because everyone just does as they’re told. I spin around to storm off up to his office when Beau stops me. “He’s not up there.”
“Where the hell is he?” I bark, turning back to face him. Since he’s not fucking me, he no longer requires my attendance in his office before my shifts. I haven’t seen him since this morning when I woke up, and even when he left the apartment, he didn’t tell me where he was going.
“Lake.” His face falls. “I can’t tell you that.”
“Looking for your husband?” Bethany asks, coming up beside me. They thought her arm was broken but turns out it wasn’t as bad as that either. He let her come back after a week.
“Yeah. Know where he is?” I ask tightly, hating the fact that I know she does.
Beau shakes his head softly, telling her no, and I narrow my eyes on him. What the fuck?
“Basement,” she answers, trying to hide her smile. We’re not best friends but she’s still nicer than she was when I started working here.
“Basement? Is that like another club or something?” I wonder.
She laughs softly. “The basement. Under Blackout. He’s been down there for days.” Then she grabs her tray and walks off.
“How the hell do I get there?” I demand of Beau.
“Lake, don’t-“
“Bethany?” I call out, interrupting him. She stops and spins around to face me, that pretty smile on her face that I just want to rip off. She got hit pretty hard during the fight and still has a black eye that she’s got covered in layers and layers of makeup. I just want to make the other match right now. “How do I get there?”
She gives me a sympathetic look, and answers, “I’ll show you.”
I leave my tray and follow her down the hallway to where the locker room is. We pass that and turn a corner. Coming to a door, we stop, and she leans up against it. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you, though.”
“Warn me of what?” I growl at her.
“That once you go down there, you can’t unsee whatever it is you’ll see. You may think you know him, but I assure you, you don’t.” And with that, she pushes off and sashays away down the hall.
Taking in a deep breath, I twist the knob and open the door to a set of stairs. I enter, shutting it softly behind me. Standing at the top of the stairs, I hear someone softly crying.
“You’re making this harder than it has to be,” Tyson speaks, sending a chill up my spine. His voice sounds so cold. Detached. Every Lord has the ability to do it. They’re taught that. To destroy. To not feel.
“I’m not…” A man’s voice trails off, and a scream follows.