Tempted Hero by Ella Miles
Ri
I wakeup curled around a naked Beckett. His hand rubs up and down my back soothingly as he smiles up at me.
“Wait…you can move,” I practically scream.
“I can. And you?”
I blink rapidly, but there is no cloudiness to my vision, no dizziness, just a mild headache.
“I can see. No more bumping into trees.”
He grabs the back of my head and pulls me into a kiss sending delicious little shockwaves through my body. “Thank god for that.”
My gaze goes up and down his body. I lick my lips as I think of all the dirty things I want to do with him.
“Down, girl. We aren’t in a safe place yet. We need to get out of here.”
I sigh and roll off of him.
We both quickly put our clothes back on. They’re only slightly less damp than when we removed them last night. We both grip our guns as we stand at the edge of the cave.
“What’s the plan?” I ask.
“We get out the woods, find a car, and drive as far away from all of this as we can.”
“We don’t go back to Caius’s place?”
“No. We need to get away from everyone. Then we can figure out a plan.”
I blink, not sure I believe what I’m hearing. It sounds like Beckett is ready to fight for us, for our future. He’ll fight with me to put an end to Vincent’s game. He’ll find a way for us to be together.
Now isn’t the time to talk about it, though.
“Ready?” I ask.
He nods.
We head out of the cave into the early sunrise. We’re cautious at first, listening carefully for any sounds of others still lurking. But other than a few birds chirping, we don’t hear much.
Still, we are silent as we walk, so we don’t draw any unwanted attention our way.
In the light of day, we are able to see footprints in the mud. Beckett remembers where the cars were parked, so we trudge in that direction.
After walking for a bit, Beckett stops.
“Hop on my back.”
I frown. “No, I can walk.”
“I know you can, but you carried me last night, and I can tell you’re hurting. Let me help you.”
My back is killing me, and my legs barely want to move anymore.
“Fine,” I grumble as I climb on Beckett’s back.
He seems to carry me easily as he walks out of the forest. I must admit I enjoy it—being a lot closer to him, being able to smell him and feel the muscles moving in his back.
We continue on like that for at least an hour before finally coming to a clearing.
“There’s a car still here,” I sigh in relief. Beckett gently sets me down on the ground.
“You know how to hotwire a car?”
“Of course, do you?”
He winks at me, and we both jog over to the car. It turns out we don’t have to hotwire it, as the keys are already inside.
We hop in quickly, and Beckett floors it.
I lean my head back against the headrest. “God, how did we survive that?”
“Because you’re the most fucking incredible woman, that’s why.”
I smile over at him. “It was rhetorical.”
I’m about to ask what the plan is when a car pulls out in front of us suddenly. Beckett slams on the brakes to avoid hitting the car, but our abrupt stop sets the airbags off.
My head spins a little from the sudden stop.
“Beckett, are you—” I don’t get my words out as I’m ripped from the car.
At first, I think it might be a Good Samaritan who saw us stop suddenly and is trying to help us. But from the way I’m roughly being gripped and my arms tugged behind my back, I’m being kidnapped, not saved.
“Beckett!” I yell, but I don’t see him. Is he still in the car, or did they already drag him out?
I try to shake the men off, but I can’t. My wrists are already tied behind my back. My gun has been taken. I’m not going to be able to fight them off.
“Don’t hurt him! I’ll do whatever you want; just don’t hurt him!” I scream.
There are chuckles all around me.
Goosebumps creep up my spine. Finally, I look up into the faces of my captors.
Caius.
Gage.
Lennox.
Hayes.
And even more men, all of whom I assume belong to the Retribution Kings.
My heart drops.
I’ve been played. Beckett took advantage of my emotions and got me to trust him. He set me up; I just don’t know why.
I wasn’t drugged; that’s the only thing I can be thankful for. They bound my hands and ankles. They gagged me. They threw me in the back of a van and didn’t speak to me.
Now I’m being carried by men I thought I could trust. Men I thought were on my side. Men I thought were good and decent.
This doesn’t make any sense. I’m usually a good judge of character, and I still think I am.
So why are they treating me like I’m the enemy? What am I missing?
Hayes has a look of concern on his face as he carries me. Lennox keeps glancing back at me like he can’t believe what’s happening. Gage refuses to look back at me, and Caius is chewing on his bottom lip like he’s about to bite it off.
We enter the building on the Retribution King’s complex where Caius and Beckett fought. I still haven’t seen any sign of Beckett.
The only thing I’m hoping for is that this is some sort of initiation. That Beckett has chosen me as his new bride, and this is some weird part of a tradition they have to do. Kidnap me to ensure I’m strong enough for him or something. Judging by the serious looks on all the guys’ faces, that’s not the case.
Hayes carries me while the others guard me from all sides as we walk into the building, up the stairs, and to the stage in the center of the room.
People are already seated like they are waiting for play. It feels more like I’m being carried to my execution, and I have no idea what I did to deserve this.
When we get to the stage, I see a pole has been bolted to the floor. I look into Hayes’s eyes, begging him to stop this. Don’t tie me to that pole; run and get me out of here.
He doesn’t look at me, but I can feel his heart racing a million miles a minute when my head falls against his chest.
Something’s wrong—very, very wrong.
Hayes stops in front of the pole, and all the guys face us now. My arms are undone from behind my back but are immediately tied together above my head and then to a chain attached to the top of the pole.
I’m still gagged. My ankles are tied together. I’m covered in mud, and my clothes are still wet from last night.
I can’t do much about my appearance, but I won’t appear weak. I look out into the crowd of people that are obviously here to watch something involving me. I won’t show fear. I will stare every one of them down if I have to.
Caius picks up a microphone and starts speaking. “As you all know, we are here today to finish the initiation of Beckett Monroe into our ranks. After today, there will be no doubt that he is our leader. He was given the final task of getting retribution for Odette’s death. And today, he’s figured out who caused my sister’s death.”
The room is silent as my heart beats wildly in my chest.
“Beckett, if you will, please come to the stage.”
Beckett walks up the same steps I was just carried up. Unlike me, he isn’t covered in mud and wet clothes. He’s showered and is wearing dark jeans and a grey shirt. He doesn’t look at me; he walks to Caius’s side.
“Would you like to show the evidence on Odette’s killer?” Caius asks.
Beckett nods. “Play the video.”
I turn my head to see a screen coming down behind me, and then a video starts playing. It takes me no time at all to realize it’s footage of the night Odette was taken. What shocks me is that scene of me or a woman who looks very much like me, walking into the room.
My heart stops as I realize why I’m here. I’m the retribution. They’ve brought me here because they blame me for Odette’s death. And Beckett is about to kill me in order to get revenge for his wife.
I watch the video.
I watch myself stab Odette.
None of it rings any bells.
It’s a blank space in my memory.
But there are so many confusing things about this video beyond not remembering doing it. For one, Odette’s wounds are all extremely superficial for the amount of blood I know is left in the room. For two, I’m not fighting in the way I usually would. And three, I would never fight an innocent woman.
Is this really me?
The woman who looks like me turns, and there’s a scar under her ear—a scar that I have.
It’s me.
But why?
I can’t make sense of it.
The video stops.
Beckett takes the microphone. “The evidence speaks for itself.”
The crowd nods and shouts their agreement.
“The price Rialta Corsi will pay for killing Odette is her life,” Beckett continues.
The crowd cheers. They cheer my death like I’m a monster. I guess to them, I am. I’m the woman who killed their princess. I deserve to die.
Beckett hands Caius the microphone, and then he walks to me. His steps are slow, strong, majestic. I’m mesmerized by how powerful he looks as he walks toward me. He’s going to take my life without a word.
I’m stunned into silence. There is nothing I can do. I can’t speak. I can’t move. I can’t fight for my life.
All I can do is look Beckett in his eyes and plead with him, try to make him realize that I didn’t do this. This isn’t me; he has to believe me.
I love him. I would never hurt his wife. I would never kill anyone innocent.
He walks about a foot away from me, and then he stops suddenly. That’s when I notice the gun in his hand.
At least it will be a quick death.
I don’t want to appear afraid, but the tiniest of tears escapes the corner of my eye. Not because I’m about to die, maybe this will be for the best. My father can’t marry me off if I’m dead. No, I shed a tear because I thought he loved me. Last night, I truly thought he did.
I was wrong.
He hates me.
I close my eyes before he can raise the gun to kill me. Even though he’ll be the reason I die, I don’t want to die thinking he hates me. I want the memories of last night in that cave to fill me as I leave this earth.
“Wait!” A high-pitched voice rings out. “Wait! Don’t do it!”
A hush comes over the crowd, and I finally open my eyes. Every man on stage has drawn their gun and is staring at the stairs where a blonde woman is running up them.
No one moves.
No one speaks.
All eyes are on this woman.
I can’t quite see who it is until she reaches the stage, but she comes into view, and there is no doubt who it is.
Her long thin legs, bouncing blonde hair, and thick red lips. A spitting image of the woman I just watched myself stab on video.
It can’t be.
She’s dead.
And yet, Odette Monroe stands in front of us all.
Beckett can’t tear his eyes away from her. He looks like he’s seen a ghost—we all have.
“Don’t…don’t shoot,” she sobs, walking to Beckett and taking his hand like he’s hers. “Rialta didn’t kill me. She helped me escape.”
Did I help her?I don’t remember this woman. I don’t remember anything.
I still can’t get over how undead she is; she’s very much alive.
That means Beckett won’t kill me in retribution.
It means he’s still married to her.
It means my heart is breaking into a thousand pieces.
Odette is still gripping Beckett’s hand like a long lost lover. She must see pity in my eyes because she bends down and whispers in my ear. A single phrase is spoken from her lips, and all my memories return.
A lot of things now make sense, and yet looking at Beckett, knowing that he was about to kill me, none of it matters.
I just lost the only man I’ve ever loved.
Thank you for reading Tempted Hero! I hope you enjoyed it! Beckett and Ri’s story continues in Fatal Princess!
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