Hana hurried her steps, but the men behind her seemed to do the same. From the corner of her eyes, she saw one of them slip a hand into his pocket, and her heart sank to her stomach.
Her blue eyes scanned the alley for the nearest escape, but there was none. If she could get to the other end of the alley, she might get help or an Uber. Her arm shook as she tried to remove her phone from her purse.
Their footsteps closed in on her. She turned to them briefly to yell, “Fuck off! Leave me alone.”
They laughed but didn’t stop walking. Hana hadn’t expected them to stop, given how shaky her voice had sounded, but she had hoped that for once something would work in her favour.
“We will leave you once we get a taste,” one of them said. The voice was louder above the rain. Fear tattooed a sharp line in her chest, and she almost missed a step. “What do you think about that, Arnold?”
Arnold, or whoever it was, answered, “I concur.”
The rain was pouring harder, making navigating in the dark or seeing beyond a few yards hard. The water dripping down her phone’s screen made it difficult to type in her password. Her heart raced. If she didn’t find an escape, the men might rape or kill her.
Hana could not let either of that happen to her. She would not let it happen.
Why didn’t she listen to Leah?
Walking and typing became hard for her to do. Hana stopped thinking of a way out. She acted.
Without warning, she bolted.
Her legs moved faster than they had ever done in her entire life. Even quicker than it did the first time she heard her father hit her mother. She was close to the end of the alley when a force from behind knocked into her. She gasped out a sharp breath as her elbows and head scraped the hard, slippery floor.
The rain blinded her for a minute, slowing down her reaction. Intense pain spread through her scalp. Hana touched the side of her head, and something red and sticky clung to her fingertips.
For a moment, her mind went blank. Hana saw nothing but felt the strong arms on her wrists, pinning her to the ground. She smelt him again.
That beer and weed from the coffee shop.
Something tugged at the hem of her dress, and an unwanted hand sneaked between her thighs to fondle her panties. Hana’s thoughts flooded her mind. Her body jumped into alert mode, and she kicked the hand trying to steal her innocence.
No.
No. Please.
Her father would kill her.
More muscular arms wrapped around her ankles, and a sob caught in her throat. Hana was helpless against the caress, the touching, the unwanted kisses. One of the men flashed a pen knife, and chills ran across her arms. Hana gulped down her cries. They were touching her in places no one had ever done before. She needed help.
“Please,” she whispered.
“You should have answered when I asked,” the man who spoke to her at the coffee shop said. He twirled a lock of her hair around his finger and licked his cracked lips. She was surprised she didn’t throw up. “Now you wish you did.”
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. The man held a hand to his friends, and the other slipped his knife into his pocket. “I have money.” Her heart was in her throat, but Hana continued, “Check my wallet. Take it.”
“We don’t need money,” the second one screamed, and tears fell down her cheeks.
The rain had subsided to a manageable drizzle, but Hana wasn’t sure anyone would hear her.
Fate must have been on her side. Someone stumbled to the far end of the alley to smoke a cigarette, and she screamed, “Help.” Her voice was a faint whisper, and she yelled harder, “Help!”
A callused palm closed over her mouth before Hana could make more noise. The smoker was not moving. He was watching. Hana had to do something. She had to get his attention. If the man left, she would be utterly alone. The three men must have been thinking the same thing she did because the hand on her mouth never left.
When one of her assaulters stood to meet the smoker, Hana felt all hopes of escaping this situation evaporate. If they hurt that new guy, it would be her fault. Her mind was in a turmoil as the man approached the smoker. No one moved as the two of them conversed. Whatever he said to the smoker must have satisfied him. He blew out his cigarette, stomped it, and walked away.
She was alone again.
She was alone with them.
The hand on her mouth dropped, but she didn’t have the strength to fight them. They pulled her to her feet, and one of them whispered in her ear, “We will finish this in a better place.” He pressed something to her back. It cut through her dress, and the cold end of the blade pricked her back. “Move, sweetheart. And smile for us.”
Fear stopped her from doing the opposite. She moved. They burst out of the alley and onto a busy road, making sure to stick to the sidewalk. Hana was drenched. So were they. She wasn’t sure who offered her a wet coat, but she found one in her arm. The stern eyes directed at her told her not to do anything silly, so she reluctantly wore the coat.
They pushed Hana towards the road and stopped. What was happening? Would she let them do this to her? They could kill her after they had gotten what they wanted. But if she tried to leave now, they could stab her. No, they wouldn’t stab her to avoid calling attention to themselves. She could try to run. What were the chances of surviving a stab wound to her lower back?
Hana’s mind was working fast. She put on her best ‘help me’ face, willing the people passing by to notice her. No one did. Everyone seemed to be minding their business, and for the first time, she understood why this state was called the city of the uncaring. No one saw the fear on her face. No one heard her silent plea for help.
Her heart beat faster. She had to do something, and she had to do it now.
“Is the car coming?” someone asked. A car honked in the distance, and Hana gulped. If they found a car, it would be truly over for her. “Don’t even think about it,” was harshly whispered into her ear when she opened her lips. “Put a fucking smile on your face. Smile for your fucking daddies, sweetheart.”
As if hearing Hana’s quiet cry for help, a couple moved close to them. They stared at Hana, and she tried to call their attention without moving her lips, but the knife dug deeper into her back. Hana faked a smile at the couple, and the lady grinned. Tears rushed to her eyes, and she prayed for them to take it as a sign, but they didn’t.
The hope in her chest burned out when the couple flagged down a cab, leaving her with these evil men. Life was moving, but she wasn’t. She had to save herself.
She had to act or die trying. Her phone vibrated in her pocket, and the ringtone blasted through the air.
Hana looked up.
A tall man typing on his phone was on the opposite side of the road. His face was familiar, but her brain was too clogged for her to remember. He plugged the phone to his ear and drummed his foot to the floor. Her phone was still ringing. The men were arguing about their next step, but she was no longer listening.
Her mind was on overdrive.
There might be a way out. A dangerous one.
Ten seconds later, the man across the street hadn’t spoken. If Hana had to make a guess, she would assume he was on a call or was waiting for the call to connect. But she hoped it was the latter.
She did the only thing on her mind. She curved her hands around her mouth and screamed like her life depended on it because it did. “Baby.”
Everything stood still. The man’s head jerked in her direction, and the men moved an inch away from her. That was a smooth move on their part. The hand holding the phone to the man’s ear dropped, and she nodded.
It was working. This could work.
Her eyes watered again. “Over here, baby. I’m here,” she said in a loud voice. The man stared at her, so confused. She had his rapt attention. That was all she cared about. But she needed to do more to make this more believable. Hana waved frantically. “I’m coming over to you.”
Hana didn’t look left or right. Her gaze was on the man who could save her from these rapists. Ignoring the car honks and screams thrown her way, she crossed over to him. Her life was on the line, and she would do anything to save herself.
The tall stranger was still stunned, so she took advantage of it. Hana palmed his cheeks, but he didn’t move. She might regret this later, but it was the only way out. “I’m so sorry,” was the only thing Hana muttered before kissing him.
* * *
A/N: Thank you for reading up to this point. You can join the new generation of McKenna family by reading Calvin Kyle McKenna story in His Runaway Angel. I hope to see you there. If you also love werewolf romance, do check out my other book: She Belongs To The Alphas. It's a modern werewolf billionaire romance.
12: 45 pm.Where was Carlson?Leilani May Collins hated tardiness. They agreed to meet by 12:30 pm but she was here fifteen minutes earlier. Her phone vibrated and she snatched it off the table before it could ring out. It was Carlson.“Hey,” she said into the phone.“Hey, Leila.” His voice sounded the same as it did on their previous calls. Freya, her best friend, might have put the idea that he might be a catfish into her head. “Sorry, I’m running late.”Leila stopped tapping the silk covered table and refolded the napkin. If Carlson wasn’t so handsome and probably a potential man in her life, she might have left the diner. She sipped from her glass of water that had gone warm. He was one point down in her book.“Alright. How long until you get here?”“Ten minutes top,” he replied.“Fine. I’ll be waiting.”Setting the glass down, Leila played a game of candy crush on her phone until her phone pinged with a text from Freya. She groaned almost immediately at the content of the text. I
Leila was floored. She pinched her thighs to wake herself up from this nightmare but the man didn’t disappear.“Hi,” he murmured. “I’m Carlson.”“Hi,” she replied. Pulling out her phone, she tapped on Carlson’s Tinder profile and zoomed in. “Um, I don’t mean to be rude but I’m waiting for this person.”Leila slid the phone to him so he could see the man on her screen. A tall, handsome man with blue eyes that saw into her soul, not this short man over here with brown eyes and a scalp that was almost balding. He didn’t even have a beard.The fake Carlson laughed. Was his name even Carlson? It could be but he wasn’t her Carlson?“Yeah, that’s me, Leila.” Her heart rolled to her feet. The urge to slap off the smirk on his face grew and she clenched her hands under the table. No, this was a prank. “You work an eight to five job. Your friend owns the pet you used as your profile picture.”Right. “I don’t believe you.” He laughed again. Her misery must be funny because why the hell was he la
Tempted to reply immediately, Leila opened the candy crush app instead. She didn’t want to give off the impression of being desperate.Someone laughed in the crowd. The garden had filled up now and they were raising a toast to the couple. Leila reached for the glass of wine on her table and cheered to the air.Where was her best friend?Nearly everyone in this garden was paired except her. One more reason she hated attending weddings.Another message came in from this Kelvin guy and she didn’t take her time to reply to this one.Kelvin: Are you busy?Leila: Kind of. I’m at this wedding my best friend forced me to attend.Force was not the best word to describe the true story. But Leila could bet her left ankle that Freya would have dragged her out of her house if she went there instead of coming to this wedding.Kelvin: same. In my case, I lost a bet so I had to come. I’m bored out of my mind. Weddings are not my thing but a single man has no say in such matters. My sister is trying t
A normal person would have said no but Leila stopped considering herself normal the moment she signed the contract with Kelvin McKenna. They only went on two dates for God’s sake. Her best friend didn’t even know because he convinced her to do it before telling Freya. And she agreed.She said yes.Did she make a mistake?Leila was still thinking about this as she entered her work building, she pulled the door to her office open and paused.Everyone was here.She stole a peek at her wristwatch, she wasn’t late. It was only five minutes past eight. She walked briskly to her table and set her bag and files down.Her head raised when someone sat on her desk. Lily. They were not best of friends but she preferred her to that witch staring at her from across the room. Samantha’s mission in this office was to make her life miserable but Leila was bent on avoiding her as best as she could. Already, it was working. Last month, she received the best staff of the month award for the third time in
The department was louder than before as male and female staff discussed her husband. Leila was mortified as Susie broke down into a commentary about his looks.Bile rose to her throat and she forced herself to take a sip of water from her flask. One of the rules of their firm was this: No inter-staff relationship. It was forbidden and highly frowned upon, so most of what they were saying would only happen in their dreams.Still, their thoughts nauseated her. She wasn’t breaking the rules by being married to the boss but she felt like a criminal as she listened to them ogle and try to picture Kelvin without a shirt. He was her husband and she hadn’t even seen him shirtless yet.Susie was the loudest of the gossipers, her comment about Kelvin’s lips between her legs bothered Leila and she scowled at their backs when they laughed at her remark. Her cheeks warmed when she remembered their near kiss from this morning.Kelvin was perfect as he was.Lily dragged a seat close to Leila’s tabl
“Carlson,” Leila breathed out.“Leilani.” He smiled. Those familiar emotions of anger that she had buried since their failed date bubbled inside her. “I didn’t think I would be seeing you anytime soon.” Neither did she, she should have looked first before hopping into his car like a rabbit. “I’ve been trying to reach you.”“Oh.” What was the kindest way to tell someone she blocked him? Her fake smile became faker. “I changed numbers. Might be why you couldn’t reach me.”“Sweet. Can I have your new number?”“What?” she squeaked out.“Your new number. I’ll give you a call later.”Today he was wearing a beanie so she was spared the sight of his thinning hair. When his head tilted to get a fuller view of her, she froze.“Look, we got off on the wrong foot. I apologise.”“It’s okay. Can we just go?” she asked.“Where to?”“Straight ahead. I’ll let you know when to stop.”Carlson burst into a string of apologies as their ride began. Leila cursed her fate over and over again. She should have
Minutes later, the food was ready. Leila set the tray on the table, her smile, big and bright as she marched to the study to get her husband. She met him on a call. His voice was so low she barely heard a word he said. She leaned on the doorframe, a small smile on her face as she watched him massage his forehead. Even when disturbed, he looked cute. They might get along.The call ended and he turned to her. Leila smiled, ready to speak but he cut her off. “What do you want?”Wow. His words were like ice poured over her, she took a subconscious step out of the study. Her hand curved in the direction of the dining.“Dinner is ready.” She tried and failed to smile but his reaction hurt her. Here she was, trying to be a good wife and he was being rude. “I came to tell you that.”She was a few steps out of the study when he called her. “Leila.” She stopped but didn’t turn. If he would be rude to her, she didn’t want to be around him. “Sorry for raising my voice.”Hiding a smile, she nodded
Leila’s heart jumped to her throat. Masking her fear of the unknown, she nodded. Kelvin’s gaze swept over her and she hid her hands under the table. For once, she didn’t want to know what he was thinking. Her mind slowed as she replayed the events of today. She had done nothing wrong.“Today at the office...” Kelvin started.“I get it,” she interrupted. “We should remain a secret.” Her cheeks burned when she remembered how he acted towards her and she shrugged. Too bad she wouldn’t be able to exchange husband tales with Freya. “I understand. I can do that.”After four rigorous years at Tech Valley, she didn’t want her success to be attributed to him. Most importantly, she didn’t want him to go out of his way to please her. Only real couples did that and their marriage was one of convenience.Kelvin smirked at her discomfort. “I was about to say… I didn’t mean to make you nervous.” Oh. She stared at her feet, embarrassed by her forwardness. “I didn’t say anything about us because we ha