The Rise (The Kings and Gods #3)

Chapter 22

Lana

I pace the main room, not knowing what to do with myself. Rylan and Silas made sure to tell Tamsyn and Angel they had to stay here along with Becky. She wasn’t feeling well, so she went to one of the other rooms to lie down for a while.

Tamsyn and Angel went to the kitchen for drinks and I’m left out here alone.

“Where is Hunter and the other guys?” I hear a voice behind me that I don’t recognize, so I turn around to face them.

“They left.”

“Where did they go? No one said anything about a new group of kids.”

I shrug my shoulders not sure what to tell him.

“I’m not sure what he sees in you.”

“Excuse me?”

“Hunter. I’m not sure what he sees in you.”

“What are you talking about?” I ask him as he walks closer to me. He grins, and it pisses me off. Wait. I do recognize him. He was here when I came in with the kids. He’s one of the Gods, Brandon.

“I don’t like the unknown. I also don’t like being on the shit end of things,” he says as if that means anything to me.

“I don’t get it.”

“I didn’t figure you would. Neither did Hunter. I voiced my opinions to him more than once, but he didn’t seem to listen to me,” he continues as he walks a circle around me.

“Opinions about what?” I ask, trying to keep him talking. I don’t like the feeling I have in the pit of my stomach right now.

“Everything. You. Working alongside the Kings. All of it.”

“What about me?”

“You’re one of them. No matter how you look at it, you are. And he just sat back and let the enemy into Chaos like it was nothing. He didn’t give a shit you were one of them. All he saw was a pussy he wanted to fuck.”

“Why do you care?”

“You weren’t his, now were you?” What the hell is he talking about? I don’t get it.

“You’re not making any sense,” I tell him.

“You were Gabe’s, weren’t you?”

“Hunter told you about that?” I ask. No. He wouldn’t have told them about that. He’s not that kind of person. So how does he know?

“No. Gabe did.” Now, my heart beats a little faster.

“How do you know Gabe?”

“We worked together for a bit after you came here. I kept Gabe informed on what was happening with you, and man, he was pissed when I told him you were fucking Hunter.”

My stomach tumbles. Hunter doesn’t know about Brandon. He doesn’t know he’s been helping them this whole time. What do I do? There’s no way to warn them. There’s nothing I can do.

“What do you want?” I ask this time.

“I want you out of the way. I want Hunter out of the way! Isn’t that obvious?” He roars. I can see Tamsyn and Angel come out of the kitchen behind him, but I don’t make a move to let on that I see them. Angel has a knife in her hand, and Tamsyn has a big ass pan.

“What did Hunter do to you?” I ask, keeping his attention on me.

“He’s ruining the Gods. Working alongside the Kings was never what the Gods were supposed to do. Of course, we handled the children and the traffickers, but what did the Kings do for us? Not a fucking thing!” He yells as they move in. Tamsyn swings the pan around, hitting him in the head. Brandon immediately falls to the floor in a heap.

“Oh shit,” I gasp as I look around the room. What the hell are we going to do with him?

“We should let the others know,” Angel says.

“They’re outside waiting on the Doctor to get here,” Tamsyn tells her.

“Um … Okay. Let’s chain him up!” They both look at me and nod as we move toward him. Brandon isn’t a small man, but we easily chain his legs to the floor. Then I reach up and pull the chain for his arms down where we can reach them, but we can’t lift him.

“Shit, he’s too heavy,” Tamsyn grunts as we try to lift him to no avail.

“Go get help,” I tell Angel. “He can’t move with the chains around his ankles.” She nods her head and rushes out the front doors to find help. Tamsyn grabs the pan just in case he wakes up before they get in here.

“What the hell?” I hear Jimmy, one of the Gods. “What the fuck are you doing?”

“He was helping them! He was coming for Hunter,” I tell him as he looks at me. I see the anger as it simmers in his eyes before he moves to lift him off the ground.

“Grab the chains,” he orders as he hefts Brandon up higher. Tamsyn drops the pan to the floor, and we each grab a wrist and secure it. Once that’s done, Jimmy pulls the chain so it lifts Brandon off the ground. Now he’s stuck there, just like the others will be.

“Are you guys okay?” Jimmy asks as he looks between us. I nod before I move toward Tamsyn, pulling her into a hug.

“You okay?” she asks me.

“I’m fine. Thank you for that.”

“We heard him talking and fuck, Lana. That could have been bad,” she says.

“It could have, but it wasn’t.”

“Hunter is going to lose his shit,” she adds as we turn around and look at the asshole who’s now hanging there.

Just then, we hear a commotion coming from the front doors. Tamsyn and I share a look before the guys come stomping in.

“Clear the table!” Rylan yells when I see them carrying Hunter. My heart drops in my chest as Angel, Tamsyn, and I move to clear off the table quickly. The guys bring Hunter over and lay him down as he groans.

“What happened?” I yell as I look down at him. Hunter smirks at me.

“I’m not dead, little rebel.”

“What the hell happened then?”

“He got shot. One went through the others hit his vest,” Silas tells me. The doctor comes in right behind them and begins to check him over quickly. I don’t know what to do, so I stand here, staring at him while he stares back at me.

“I’m okay, Lana,” he says, but all I can do is nod my head. Is he okay? The doctor cuts his shirt off when I see the angry bruises all over his chest and gasp. I reach up and cover my mouth with my hand as Hunter hisses in pain.

“Pretty sure they’re not broken. Just bruised pretty good,” the doctor tells him. My eyes run all over his body, trying to see if anything else is wrong, but I don’t see anything. That’s when I heard him. Gabe.

“Lana!” I hadn’t even paid attention to the men bringing them in. I turn my head and look over to see them chaining them up next to Brandon. My eyes lock with Gabe’s, and that’s where they stay. All the air is sucked from my lungs, seeing him hanging there and knowing what’s about to happen to him. I take slow, deep breaths when Hunter roars, pulling my attention back to him.

“I’m fine! Let me handle this shit,” Hunter screams louder this time. I’m stunned. I don’t know what to say. I don’t know what to do. So I stand still while Hunter walks past me and straight toward Gabe as if he knows exactly who he is.

“You’re the one,” Hunter states when he’s standing in front of him. Gags have been shoved in everyone else’s mouths so they can’t scream or say shit but not his.

“Lana!” He calls out to me again. I let my head drop down, my eyes on the floor. I don’t think I can do this.

“Now’s not the time to look down, little rebel. Now’s the time to show and prove,” I hear Hunter say. “Come here, Lana.” The demand in his voice sends a shiver down my spine. My body trembles as I turn and walk toward Hunter.

When I get close, he grabs my shirt and pulls me closer to him before ripping the front of my shirt open so that my bra is showing.

“On your knees,” he orders me. Now I lift my head, and our eyes lock. He’s trying to piss Gabe off right now. He wants him angry. “You know how much I hate to repeat myself, little rebel.” The growl that leaves his throat is rough and lethal, and I do as I’m told, falling to my knees at his feet.

“Lana! What the hell?” Gabe roars as he tugs at the chains. Hunter pulls a knife from his pocket and moves behind me, using the knife to brush my hair off my neck.

“Do you see this?” he asks Gabe, dragging the blade over the Gods tattoo on my chest. Gabe’s eyes move to the tattoo and back to Hunter unsure what he’s looking at. “It’s just like mine. Do you know what that means?” Gabe doesn’t look at him. Instead, his eyes fall to mine. I feel sick to my stomach. I start to stand so I can run, but Hunter knows what I’m about to do.

“If you move, I’ll make you pay,” he warns me. So I don’t move. I stay kneeling at his feet as he steps back behind me. I can feel him back there, but I don’t know what he’s doing. Then, the knife is pressed against my neck to the point I can feel the sensation of blood slowly trickling down my flesh.

“You broke her. All of you did, but you did the most. You watched while they took a life from her,” Hunter tells Gabe.

“You don’t know shit! Get the fuck away from her,” Gabe yells as my heart splinters into a million pieces. Why now? Why is he is he doing this now? He never cared what happened to me before. He stood back and watched it all happen. How dare he try to do something now!

“Stand up, Lana.” It’s an order from Hunter. He pulls the knife away from me, and I stand before he spins me around quickly. His tongue is there, licking up any blood that has spilled from my neck. Gabe is yelling, but I’m lost in Hunter. I’m lost in the way he makes me feel, the way he makes me want more. When he’s finished, he spins me back around, pressing my back to his front and holding a hand around my throat.

“Tell him what you told me,” Hunter says, sounding seemingly calm.

“About what?”

“About us, little rebel. Tell him what we are, what we did.” I swallow hard as I look Gabe in the eye.

“We’re married.”

“And?”

“And I love him,” I declare, holding my head high. Gabe roars with anger, tugging at the chains and screaming. I know Hunter is testing me right now. I know he wants to make sure I love him enough to go through with this.

“Back on your knees,” he says, and I do it. I drop back down to my knees. “Pull my cock out.” I reach for his jeans and unzip them as Gabe yells at me. I block out the words and the noise, focusing on Hunter. I pull his cock out and grab it in my hand before leaning forward and taking him in my mouth. His hand rests on the back of my head as I suck him deeper. Hunter groans and grunts as I suck him off. Gabe keeps yelling, but Hunter just laughs until he pulls out of my mouth.

“I could fuck her right now and show you exactly why she doesn’t need you anymore. Would you like that? To see my cock so deep in my wife she never wants me to come out? Or how about I chain her to the wall and spank her ass until it’s red, and she’s begging me for it?”

“Fuck you! She doesn’t love you! She loves me,” Gabe yells louder this time.

“Come here, little rebel,” Hunter urges. I shove to my feet and step up in front of him when he reaches up and grabs the back of my hair and tugs, so I’m looking up at him.

“You want me to fuck you in front of your little friends? Hmm? You want to show him what kind of little freak you are? How much you like the pain I give you?” It feels as if no one is here but us. The way Hunter talks to me, the way he makes me feel. But when he leans down and presses his lips to mine and then whispers, “I love you, little rebel.”