Page 87 of Where Sinners Repent

No... Kai.

His face is devoid of any emotion. Staring at the man on the ground. Harrison whimpers, and the sound satisfies something dark inside of me. Kai’s boot lands against his ribs, and before I can see the rest of the show, Maddy bursts through the rear door, panic etching her face.

“Roxy!” she breathes, coming to my side.

She helps me up; my shaky legs barely holding me upright. “I’m okay,” I whisper.

Just.

She brushes the hair away from my face, eyes scanning me up and down.

“No, you’re not,” she grits out, a side of her that I haven’t seen before flashing in her eyes.

Numbly, I let her lead me to the club. To the party that falls on my deaf ears. Ash is behind us.

“The party’s finished,” he growls, and everyone listens. “Everyone out.”

“No way, Boss,” one of them cheers, a drunk slur in his voice. “We are just getting started!”

Ash narrows his eyes in the direction of the voice. “You have three fucking seconds to drop your drinks and your cocks before I start shooting.”

That gets them moving, believing every threat.

Ash waits until the last one leaves before shutting the heavy doors. His hands are balled into fists when he turns to face me.

“Sorry,” I whisper, unable to hold his wild eyes. “I was just going to duck home and...”

“No, Roxy,” he interrupts, his voice quiet. “I’m sorry.” He shoves his hands through his hair. “Fuck. What a fucking mess.”

It’s only now that I see the marks under his eyes and the strain in the way he moves.

He looks exhausted.

Maddy kneels in front of me, running a warm washcloth over my scraped knees and the fresh cuts that decorate my legs. This time, I barely feel it.

I feel weak. Tired and broken in a way that I’m not sure how I’ll recover.

My eyes drift to the exit, searching for Kai. Wondering what sort of punishment he is doling out to Harrison right now, just outside these walls. Is he dead yet? Crying and begging?

Fuck, I hope so.

The front door swings open, and we all turn to see Kaleb take one step inside. The second his eyes find me, he freezes. Slowly, his eyes slide down my body. To the blood and marks, ones that he didn’t cause. Back up to my knotted hair and dirt covering my body.

Goosebumps crawl over my skin as his eyes turn cold on mine.

“What happened?” His voice is a quiet murmur.

“Nothing,” I go to say.

At the same time, Maddy says, “She was attacked.”

Kaleb doesn’t look over to Maddy. Doesn’t look towards his boss. Those dark eyes remain on me. For one long moment, everything else disappears. The pain. The weakness. Just his gaze holding mine.

But then he turns.

Without a single word. Without a reaction. Just turns and walks straight back out the door. When it clicks shut behind him, my shoulders fall.

I don’t know what I was expecting, but it wasn’t that.