King of the Underworld (RJ Kane) novel Chapter 8

Chapter Eight
Sephie

I fell asleep some time later. It was not a restful sleep, as I felt trapped in panic-laden dreams. In one dream, I relived the events of the night before. I struggled against Anthony, to try and get away from him, feeling once again the air leaving my lungs, feeling like my life was slowly slipping away. I couldn’t talk in my dream. I kept looking toward the back room of the restaurant, but no one was coming. There was only darkness. Silence. The darkness even consumed Anthony in front of me so that it was just me, not able to breathe or move. I don’t know where I got the strength, or air, to do it, but I screamed. I screamed as loud as I possibly could.

As soon as I woke up and realized it was a dream, my bedroom door was thrown open. Two men came rushing in and toward my bed. I screamed again, still not fully awake and aware of what was happening. One man came toward me, the other checked the rest of my room.

A vaguely familiar scent filled my nose, as I felt a warm touch on my arms and the bed dip beside me.

“Shhhh…you were having a nightmare. You’re safe. I won’t let anything happen to you ever again,” Adrik said as he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me to him.

“Adrik?”

“Yes, solnishko. You’re okay. You had a nightmare, but it wasn’t real. You’re okay now.”

I couldn’t stop the flood of emotions that came out as I leaned into his broad chest. I buried my face in his chest and cried.

“Let it out. You’ve had a big couple of days, but you’re okay now. I promise,” he said. He ran his hand slowly up and down my back, trying to calm my raw nerves from the nightmare. “Do you want to tell me about it?”

I took a deep breath in and wiped my face. I leaned back, with my eyes still closed, trying to find the courage to go through it one more time. He reached up with his thumb and gently wiped a few stray tears from my eyes as he waited for my answer. I opened my eyes and found his deep blue eyes, filled with concern, focused intently on me. I just stared into his eyes for a few moments, not able to speak. Why did I feel like I’ve known him for longer than 24 hours? Why did I feel safe in his arms?

When I didn’t answer, he gave me a smile and gently brushed my hair out of my face. “You’re even beautiful when you cry,” he said.

I blushed and looked down at my hands. I felt his hand under my chin, lifting my gaze back up to meet his. “Don’t hide your beautiful eyes from me, solnishko. I could stare into your unique eyes all day and all night and never get tired of the view.”

At this point, I knew my face was turning a nice shade of red. I didn’t know how to respond, so I said the first thing that came to mind. “Wait, how did you get here?”

He chuckled. “I brought you arnica. For your neck. I was discussing a matter with Ivan and Misha when we heard you scream. We thought you were in trouble or being kidnapped.”

“Why would anyone want to kidnap me?”

He cocked his head to the side and smiled slyly at me. “I could think of a few reasons.”

I clearly didn’t fully comprehend his answer. “I’m nobody. There’s no reason to kidnap me.”

“You’re not nobody, Persephone. And unfortunately, you’ve been marked by a powerful mafia boss’s son as an enemy. A petulant child of a son, but still the son of a powerful man. He won’t stop until he has his revenge for the disrespect he feels you caused him.”

“He thinks I disrespected him?? HE TRIED TO K*LL ME!!”