kidn*pped by The Biker Gang Leader

Chapter 7

Selene’s POV

The world exploded in pain and chaos. The bullet ripped past me, grazing my shoulder.

I screamed, stumbling back, and slammed into the wall.

Cassius’s hand caught mine, dragging me down behind a toppled shelf. “Stay still!” he barked, eyes wild.

I clutched his jacket, chest heaving. “It…it hit me…”

“No, you’re alive. That’s what matters,” he said, his voice low and tight. His thumb pressed gently against my arm, trying to stop the tremble.

Luca roared with frustration. “You can’t hide forever!”

Cassius’s eyes locked on Luca. “I don’t hide. I fight.”

Another shot cracked the air. Splinters flew past us. My heart jumped into my throat.

Cassius shoved me behind a crate. “Can you move?”

I nodded, though my legs wobbled. “I think so.”

He leaned close, brushing wet strands of hair from my face. “Good. Stay close to me. Don’t let go.”

I nodded again, feeling his chest press against mine accidentally, but too intentionally to ignore.

The storm outside pounded harder. Rain smashed through broken windows. Shadows moved faster, and closed in.

“Cassius…what do we do?” My voice trembled.

“We fight our way out,” he said simply. “And we survive. Together.”

I swallowed hard. His words should have comforted me, but my pulse raced for more than fear. His closeness, the way he held me, made the world smaller and safer, even as it was falling apart.

Luca lunged again, and raised his gun. Cassius tackled him to the floor, wrestling him.

I clutched my chest, too close to the edge of panic. “They’re not stopping!”

Cassius growled, holding Luca down. “I won’t let them. Not tonight.”

A shadow moved at the doorway, another attacker. Cassius kicked him back into the rain.

I gasped, grabbing his arm. “There’s too many of them!”

“Not for long,” he muttered, teeth clenched. His eyes flicked at me, just for a heartbeat, sharp and intense. “You trust me?”

I swallowed. “Yes.”

“You better,” he said, voice low, rough, and almost a growl. “Because if you don’t…we die.”

I felt my stomach twist, my heart clashing between fear and something I didn’t dare name.

Luca kicked free, blood running down his temple, and aimed the gun at me again.

Cassius reacted instantly, throwing himself between us. His shoulder hit mine, startling me and holding me steady.

“Cassius!” I cried.

“Stay down!” he yelled. “Not a step!”

My fingers brushed his accidentally, fleeting, and it made my pulse spike.

Luca hissed, rage cracking his voice. “You’ve always protected her, haven’t you? Afraid of losing what’s yours!”

Cassius’s eyes darkened. “She’s not yours to touch!”

“You care too much,” Luca sneered. “And that’s your weakness.”

Cassius’s jaw tightened, his hand moving toward his holster. “Not tonight.”

Another shot rang out. The crate beside us splintered. My back hit the wall, with a sharp pain slicing through me.

Cassius’s hand found my chin, tilting my face towards him. “Look at me. Not away. Not ever. Breathe.”

I stared, heart racing, feeling something dangerous and intimate between us, even as bullets screamed around us.

Luca twisted, moving closer with his gun pointed at me. Cassius tackled him again, knocking him off balance.

I scrambled back, pressed against the wet wall, and rain dripped down my neck.

Cassius pinned Luca to the floor, chest heaving, eyes wild. “This ends now!” he shouted.

Luca grinned, dark and cruel. “No, it doesn’t. It just began.”

Cassius’s hand went for his knife. I flinched. “Cassius…”

“I won’t let him touch you,” he growled. “Not now. Not ever.”

I felt the truth in his voice, sharp and dangerous, and my chest ached with relief and something else I couldn’t name.

The door burst open again. More shadows, guns, and screams.

Cassius glanced at me. “Hold my hand. Don’t let go. No matter what.”

I did. My fingers are locking around his. Heart hammering, storm outside and inside.

He shoved me behind a toppled shelf. “Stay down! I won’t lose you!”

A bullet shattered the wall next to us. Splinters rained down.

I pressed against him, chest to chest, feeling his heat, his strength. “Cassius…don’t die.”

“I can’t,” he said, his voice low and rough, so close I felt his breath brush my ear. “Not when you’re here.”

I closed my eyes, clinging to him, praying and hoping.

Luca struggled, writhing under Cassius’s weight. “She’s mine!” he hissed.

Cassius didn’t flinch. “She’s alive. And she stays alive. That’s the difference between us.”

The storm outside peaked. Rain lashed the broken windows. Thunder cracked like gunfire.

Another figure appeared at the doorway. Someone I didn’t recognize.

Cassius’s head snapped toward them. “Who the hell are you?”

The shadow stepped inside. Wet, silent, menacing. Guns raised.

I froze. “Cassius…”

He swore under his breath. “More than I can handle…”

The stranger’s gaze landed on me. “That one’s important,” he said, voice cold and smooth. “And you’re about to find out why.”

Cassius’s hand tightened on mine. “Stay close. Don’t breathe if you can help it.”

The storm outside matched the chaos inside. My heart pounded in terror and something dangerously close to something else, something I couldn’t name.

Then, lightning flashed. The new figure moved closer. And I realized it wasn’t Luca who was the biggest threat anymore.

The stranger smiled. Calm. Cold. Terrifying.

“I’ve been waiting for her,” he said.

And just like that, the room went silent. Everyone froze.

Cassius turned to me, eyes blazing. “Selene…run if you can. Or hold on. Because what comes next…”

I swallowed hard. “I…don’t know if I can.”

His fingers tightened around mine. “You can. With me.”

A gunshot cracked from somewhere behind us.

And everything went black.