113

113
ALEXANDER 

The moment my eyes fell on Raina, I forgot how to breathe. I just couldn’t. 

She was sitting on the filthy ground that I was sure was cold. Her hands were tied and her hair was all over the place, it looked tangled and matted together by sweat and grease. 

Her eyes locked with mine and I could see the unshed tears in them, she looked like she had been crying and I couldn’t understand the physical pain I felt. It felt like my heart was being stabbed multiple times over and over again. 

God, she was shaking. 

The tears that had welled up in her eye slid down her cheeks, leaving tear marks in their wake. She looked so small and broken and my heart broken even further just by looking at her. 

I couldn’t think of what Nathan must have done to her. I didn’t want to think of it. I wouldn’t because if I did, my anger would take over the logical side of me and it would make me overheat and do something that wouldn’t help well for any of us. 

I couldn’t afford that. Not now, it was too dangerous and I didn’t want to risk her and our baby’s life just because I couldn’t control myself. 

I forced my body to remain still and as calm as possible even though every fiber of my body was screaming at me to run to Raina and hold her in my arms. 

Nathan’s voice was what brought me out of my thoughts as it cut through the thick, smelling and tense air. 

“Welcome boys,” he cooed with amusement, his lips curling into a sickly twisted smile. “Let’s not waste anymore time, shall we?” 

I quickly scanned the room, my mind as sharp as a blade as I counted the amount of armed men that were present in the room. 

There were eighteen of them excluding the bastard himself. 

I balled my hands into fists by my side as I mentally tried to picture every scenario and every possible move that I could make to get to her, defeat them all and leave there unhurt but everything I could think of wouldn’t work. 

It would risk our lives and even if I dared to do it, they could harm the girl way before I got to them on the other side of the room. 

Nathan moved closer to me before he outstretched his filthy hand and gestured for me to take what looked like a combination of documents from him. When he saw that I wasn’t judging, he threw it at me like it was some kind of trash and it fell to the floor by my feet. 

“Pick it up. Fast,” he ordered as he moved away from me, pulled out a gun and pressed it directly against Raina’s head. 

Hesitantly, I moved as I swallowed the bike that had risen to my throat, threatening to make me vomit. My hands trembled as I slowly bent forwards and grabbed the papers from the floor. 

They were divorce papers. 

And there, in shaky but legible and a heart breaking scrawl was sitting Raina’s signature. 

I raised my head as I got up and straightened. My heart was pounding so hard that I could hear it in my head as my vision blurred. 

She wouldn’t have signed it, especially with the way the signature had been horribly written. Nathan had actually forced her to sign. 

His smile became wider as our eyes met. He was enjoying the moment like a predator would when it had finally caught up with its prey. 

“Stop looking at me like that and focus, okay?” He said as he lazily waved his gun in the air. “Sign the papers, Alex. So we can all move on without lives and go do better things.”

I looked down at the papers again and stared at it. My anger rose and my fingers tightened so hard around the corners that they became crumpled. 

I didn’t want to. Every inch of me yelled at me not to. This was our marriage, a proof of our love. It was my entire life. She was the only reason I was alive and breathing, I would be empty without her and she would be taken away from me if I signed it. 

But Nathan must have sensed my hesitation because he raised his hand and pulled the trigger, firing one shot into the air. 

The sharp sound of the gunshot echoed through the room, it was loud, deafening and scary. Raina let out a loud scream as more tears poured down her face, crying harder than she ever had. Her entire body was shaking like trees would during a thunderstorm. 

It broke me. 

Nothing mattered more to me than Raina’s life and happiness. Not the piece of paper in my hands or the now we had taken. Hell, my pride didn’t matter either. 

Nothing at all. 

Raina and the baby’s life mattered more than the mere title of us being married. 

With a dejected sigh, I signed on the papers. My hands were shaky and I could barely write my signature on the needed places but I did after a few minutes passed. 

Nathan outstretched his hand expectantly, looking proud of himself. 

“Now, toss it over here,” he spoke up. 

I didn’t want to but I threw the paper over to him with every single hatred and anger in my body. 

He caught them, carefully went through each page and grinned even wider. 

“Well, well, well my Raina,” he started saying as he turned to look at her, his voice sickly sweet. “Know who’s officially mine now?” He asked and she cried harder, making my heart bleed. “Well, it’s you, baby.”

Her body trembled even more and I could see the fear and dread that was not only evident on her face but also on her body. 

I wanted to fucking kill him. I wanted to so badly tear him apart with my bare hands but I couldn’t do anything. At least not yet because if I did, I would be risking getting her killed. 

I thought that was all but Nathan was far from done. 

“It’s your turn now, big brother,” he mocked as he turned to face Dominic. 

Before he handed it over to Dominic, my eyes caught what it was as he picked it up. They were transfer papers of shares, estates, companies and many more. Everything that was owned by the Grahams was listed on the papers. 

He then gave Dom the papers the same way he had given it to me before he walked back to stand not just in front of Raina this time but also Faith. He held the gun up, turned the safety off and then he cocked the hammer lazily. 

“You know what to do,” Nathan said as he tilted his head with a twisted smile on his lips. 

Dom didn’t need to be told twice. He didn’t hesitate as he quickly signed all the documents. 

He didn’t say a word but his face was hard and filled with the same frustration that was coursing through me. 

I could feel the anger radiating off him in waves, the air was filled with it and his shoulders were tense. And just like me, he was letting it go and choosing the girls over everything else. Even our feelings. 

Nathan laughed, he sounded pleased and happy with all that was happening. 

“This was way too easy. You guys are making everything go so smoothly,” he said as he clapped his hands once, twice like a child that was meant to be in a psych ward. “I like that you are cooperating. If I had known it would go this smoothly, I would have done it years ago.”

I didn’t respond, instead my eyes were locked on Raina’s trembling body. I tried to silently communicate with her and assure her that everything would be fine and that she just needed to stay strong and remain calm. For her to hold on for just a little longer until we could figure something out. 

But out of nowhere she without warning, Nathan sharply turned back to look at me, his face serious and filled with hate as his eyes sparkled with malicious intent. 

“And this,” he said as he raised the hand holding the gun to the air. “This is for taking what has always been mine.”

The shot echoed through the air before I could react and before my mind could catch up with what was happening. 

Pain exploded in my body, starting right from my stomach, my vision blurred and my ears were ringing. I let out a small gasp as I staggered backwards, my hand immediately went to my stomach and blood covered my hands almost immediately. 

“Alex!” Raina screamed as more tears poured down her face uncontrollably. 

I saw her struggle to get up, saw her thrash against the men that moved to her to hold her body down and I saw the horror on her face as she screamed and cried. 

“Alex!” She cried, her voice cracking as her face reddened. 

I fell to my knees as the room started tilting around me and as my eyes started losing focus. 

The pain was unbearable and I tried to speak but no words came out of my mouth, breathing was hard, staying still was impossible. 

My eyes kept going in and out of focus and I watched as Faith was untied and roughly pushed forward as they released her. Her knees were weak and I saw her stumble forward towards Dom who caught her just in tone before she fell face flat to the floor. 

My heart fluttered and I started to smile, believing they would release Raina too but I was wrong for being happy and giving myself hope. 

It was Nathan, he had always wanted Raina. Of course he would let her go, how stupid of me it was to think otherwise. 

I watched as he roughly grabbed Raina, who was still struggling against the men and pulled her to her feet. 

“No!” I managed to say with all the strength I could muster but my voice cracked and it was barely audible. 

I tried to push myself up and move forward but the pain that shot through me stole the remaining breath from my lungs. 

Raina tried fighting against him, she clawed at his arms, tried kicking him, biting him as she screamed my name. 

“Alex! Alex, please!” She begged, not knowing the proper words to say. “Please don’t give up on me. Don’t close your eyes, stay awake. Stay alive.”

I tried. Heaven knows I did. 

I tried to force my body up and it worked but as I tried to move forward and reach for her, I saw her being pushed into the back of a black jeep. 

She was still fighting, still looking over her shoulders at me and still crying for me. 

The doors were slammed shut and it cut off her tears and screams. 

The car came to live and the engine roared. Dom tried to go after them but Nathan’s men blocked him as they raised their guns and aimed it at him. 

He stopped, looking helpless, his body shaking with anger as he watched the keep zoom off his sister taken away to an unknown location as dust clouded the air. 

I collapsed to the floor, my vision blurring and darkness tugging at the corners of my eyes. 

“Alex!” I heard Dom shout but it was sounding far away. Too far away. “Alex, stay with me.”

I wanted to respond. I wanted to fight to keep my eyes open and I wanted to go save Raina. 

But all I could see was Raina’s tear streaked face and her red eyes as she fought to come to me. Fought to break free as she screamed for me. 

And then everything went black as I lost consciousness.