I hardly have a chance to fight before a searing, sharp sting burns into the back of my neck. My skin blisters and bubbles under the ring and I clench my eyes as my teeth bite down hard against the hand on my mouth.
I howl in agony and feel myself becoming light-headed. My knees give out and just like that, the five men step back from me and I crumble into a mess on the dirty ground.
Tears stream down my cheeks, dropping into my lap. My head remains against the brick wall being the only thing that’s keeping me up. There’s an odd rusty taste in my mouth and as my senses begin to come back to me, I realize that the first man I had seen in the street is clutching his hand with blood pouring between his fingers.
Realizing it’s his blood I taste, my stomach churns and I throw up the contents of my stomach right into my lap and all over the ground before me. Having absolutely no energy to do anything about it, I just sit here weeping, knowing damn well that this isn't the last I'll see of these men.
Sobs begin tearing from my throat and as Russo looks down at me in disgust and leans in, I try my best to reel it in. “This isn’t over, pup. Like I said, I’m not a very patient man, but I respected your father and I respect his wishes. He didn’t want you brought into this life until you were eighteen. Fucking stupid if you ask me, but lucky for you, I’m going to allow you to see out your senior year, and then you’ll be coming home right where you belong.”
I shake my head but the movement sends a searing bolt of agony shooting through me. “Be smart, girl,” he warns in a chilling tone. “I’m watching you. You're branded with my mark and that means that you will never escape me. If you run, I will find you and you won’t like the consequences, so I suggest that you come with a fucking smile on that pretty face.”
I go to look up at him but by the time I find the energy to raise my chin and fight the pain at the back of my neck, all I see are five retreating forms, escaping the alleyway in their need to get out of here before someone comes looking.
I keep my eyes locked on them and not once do they look back.
They hit the end of the alley and finally disappear from view but I’m not fooled. I know they still have eyes on me. Either way, it’s enough to allow me to finally take a proper breath.
The pain in my neck is next fucking level but the relief is too great to pay attention to it right now. All I know is that I have to get out of here.
Finding the energy that I just don’t have, I dig into my bra and find my phone before pressing a few buttons and holding it to my ear as my hands shake, still rattled by fear.
“O?” his concerned voice comes streaming down the line, making the tears spring from my eyes once again.
“Please,” I sob, my voice barely audible. “Please, I need you to come and get me.”
Chapter 20
Forty-eight minutes is all it takes for Nic’s car to come screeching to a halt at the top of the alleyway. Car doors are thrown open and within seconds, their feet are pounding against the pavement, the echoes bouncing off the walls in the narrow space.
“Baby,” Nic rushes out, dropping to his knees and searching over me from head to toe as Sebastian watches on with wide, horrified eyes. “What happened? Who did this?”
Nic reaches for me and a strangled squeal tears out of my throat, the vibrations from my voice box aching against my sore throat. I flinch away and instantly regret the movement. “Don’t touch me.”
His hands fly away from me and for a brief moment, he just stares in silence, completely horrified by what he’s seeing. I’ve never allowed the boys to see me in pain, but truth be told, I’ve never experienced anything like this around any of them before.
Sebastian crouches down to see my face and the anguish in his eyes is enough to cripple me. “Ocean, please,” he begs. “I know you’re hurting but we need to know what happened. We need to make it better.”
I meet his haunted stare and everything inside of me breaks.
Painful sobs tear up my throat and I try my best to swallow them down while struggling to breathe past the massive lump in my throat. “Mikhail Russo,” I say, looking across from Sebastian to meet Nic’s eyes. “He wants me in their ranks to take Dad’s place.”
Nic flies to his feet and turns away, running his hands through his hair. “FUCK,” he roars, his voice traveling right through to the other end of the alleyway. He spins back around to look down at me and there’s nothing but guilt shining in his eyes. “I’m so fucking sorry, O. This is all on me. This is retaliation. He thinks he can get to me through you.”
“Well, it fucking worked.” I nod and cringe at the burning pain at the back of my neck. “He marked me,” I say, feeling more ashamed than I have the right to feel.
“The fuck?” Sebastian grunts as understanding dawns on Nic’s face, knowing all too well what the fuck I’m talking about. After all, he stood behind three Wolves not that long ago and paid specific attention to their necks, he would have seen their mark, the same one that now has a permanent residence at the back of my neck.
Nic drops down beside me, his face so fucking white he looks ready to pass out. “Please,” he says, cautiously reaching for me. “I need to see it. I need to make sure you’re okay.”
I pull back from his touch, in far too much pain to have him poking and prodding me but realizing that if I don’t have someone pay attention to it and get some first aid, I could end up with a severe infection. I let out a shaky breath and nod. “Just … go slowly,” I whisper, fearing my voice will break and show just how miserable I feel. “It fucking burns.”
He nods and ever so gently brushes my hair back from my neck. Strands have dried into the wound and he has no choice but to pull them away, making me groan in pain as shivers run through my body. “Fuck,” he breathes as Sebastian moves in beside him and crouches down to get a good look.
“We have to get her out of this dirty alleyway or she’ll end up with an infection.”
“Yeah,” he says, raking his eyes from my head all the way down to my toes. His lips press into a hard line and the grimace on his face tells me that I’m not going to like what he’s about to say. “O, I need to get you out of these clothes, and then we’re going to get you out of here.”
I glance down, almost having forgotten that I’d thrown up all over myself. “Okay,” I finally whisper, hating how weak I must appear to them.
Sebastian moves around to block me from sight from anyone who happens to walk by as Nic takes my hand and helps me to my feet. I start unbuttoning my blouse as Nic pulls his hoodie over his head and wedges it between his legs.
He helps me get my shirt off and just as I knew he would, he doesn’t stare or rake his eyes over my body like other men would do in his position, and right now, despite the fact that he’s already seen me in my naked glory a million times over, I appreciate his respect.
Not wasting time and desperately just wanting to get home and off the dirty streets, I start tugging on my skirt. Nic brings his hoodie over my head and carefully settles it into place as my skirt drops to the ground.
The fabric of Nic’s hoodie falls to my knees and the boys instantly take my hands and pull them over their wide shoulders before helping me out of the alleyway. My stained uniform is left in a crumpled mess on the ground and despite the scolding I’ll receive from Mom, I can’t help but be grateful for the memories and evidence of this bullshit being left behind, you know, apart from the Wolves brand mark burning into the back of my neck.