Falling for my boyfriend's Navy brother novel Chapter 224

224: Penny

I don’t change.

I should, maybe. Should peel off the tights and the leotard and the light layers from my performance, but I don’t. I just tug on my soft grey joggers over the tights, pull on my ankle boots, throw a light jacket over the silky top, and call it a night. The weather’s mild. Not cold. Quiet.

I gather my bag and take one last look at the dressing room. Still humming with adrenaline. Still too full of everything. The scent of flowers and makeup and warm lights. I text Asher before stepping outside.

Walking home. I’ll be there in 15.

His answer comes almost instantly.

Be safe. Text me the second you get in. I mean it, Penny.

I smile a little. God, I love him.

Outside, the air is just shy of magical.

Big snowflakes drift lazily from the sky, glowing golden under the street lamps. The world feels… muffled. Like everything is under a soft, sleepy blanket. The streets are quiet-most shops are closed, just the dim flicker of signs still blinking behind glass storefronts. Even in stillness, this neighborhood has life. It’s the kind of place you feel safe walking through at night. The kind of place Asher picked with me in mind.

My boots crunch on the dusting of snow. I wrap my arms around myself and take a deep breath of the night air, lungs filling with something calm.

Then I hear it-footsteps behind me.

I tense immediately. My fingers tighten around the strap of my bag. I keep walking, a little faster, then glance over my shoulder.

Two girls. Just two girls. Probably college-aged. They smile at me, one even gives me a small wave before they turn onto a side street.

I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding and shake my head, a little laugh escaping. Paranoia. Asher’s rubbing off on me.

I’m only a block away now. I can see the corner of our building.

And then-

Voices.

Low. Male. From the alley I’m just passing.

I keep walking. Eyes forward. Keep walking.

But from the corner of my eye, I see them.

Four. No-three now. Tall. Heavy jackets.

My stomach twists. I know those jackets.

I don’t let myself stop walking. I just move faster.

“Hey, sweetheart!” one calls out.

I don’t turn.

“Don’t walk away from us, baby. We just wanna talk.”

Another snickers. “Yeah, like we said last time-we just wanna know what that pretty mouth can do.”

That voice.

I freeze. Just for a second. My name doesn’t belong in their mouths. But then one of them says it.

“Penelope Vales.”

Ice floods my veins.

I stop. I turn.

And I know exactly who I’m looking at.

The jackets. The boots. The smirks. One of them is rubbing his fingers together like he’s already won something. My brain connects them even before my eyes fully do.

The Vipers.

No.

No no no no no.

I step backward.

“Easy,” one says, hands lifted mockingly. “We just wanna talk.”

I shake my head and keep moving. Fast.

“You remember what we wanted to do with that mouth, don’t you, darling?”

Irun.

I don’t even check behind me-I just sprint. My boots hit the pavement hard. I skid on ice but catch myself. I can hear them. Footsteps pounding after me. turn the corner and see the building.

Almost there. Just get inside.

My hand shakes as I grab the key Asher gave me. The stupid ring snags in my bag strap. I yank it free, fingers clumsy. I shove the key into the lock. Twist. Slam the door open.

But I’m not fast enough.

A hand wedges in the crack.

I scream and throw my full weight into the door. There’s a crunch. A scream-not mine.

The door shuts-almost.

But not enough.

It swings back open and he’s there.

His hand’s twisted at a disgusting angle, fingers broken or worse, but he’s snarling.

He doesn’t even come in.

“Keep her down. I’ll watch the door,” he growls at the others.

Then he’s gone.

The other two are inside. The door slams shut behind them.

They circle me like wolves.

I back up, trembling. My hands are shaking so hard I can’t feel my fingertips. One steps behind me, grabs my waist with both hands, yanks me back against

him.

“Let go of me!” I scream, but it’s choked, strangled by the terror crawling up my throat.

The other one steps in front. Leering. Eyes traveling down my body like I’m already his.

I try to punch but they’re faster. He grabs my wrist and twists until I wince.

“Down,” the one behind me whispers. “Lie down. Belly down. C’mon, baby.”

I shake my head. “Please… please don’t-”

A click.

Cold metal. He pulls out a gun. Points it at my face.

“Now.”

I fall to the ground. My palms scrape the hardwood.

Then something heavy-heavier than anything-crashes onto my back.

I cry out. Can’t breathe. He’s on me. Sitting on me like I’m a chair. I can’t move.

Panic claws up my throat. I can’t scream. I can’t move.

Flashbacks slam into me like bullets-four years ago, the break-in, the breathlessness, the helplessness. It’s happening again. I’m not safe again.

“You know,” one of them says, crouching down beside me, “it’s funny what you can find online. News archives. Crime, logs. Full names.”

He smiles. It’s not a smile. It’s a snarl.

“Isn’t this what happened when those thieves broke in? Didn’t you beg them? Cry like this?”

I sob now. Loud. Ugly. Real.

My chest is on fire from the pressure. His weight is suffocating. My cheek’s pressed to the wood floor, and I can’t even turn my head.

“Call him,” the one near my face says. “Right now.”

I don’t want to. I don’t want Asher to hear this. To hear me like this.

But the barrel of the gun taps my cheek.

I reach for my phone. My fingers shake so bad I almost drop it. I find his name.

Call.

He answers.

“Penny?”

My voice cracks. “Asher…”

The man

rips the phone from my

hands. “Hey there, hero. You should get

here. Or you’re

gomna

miss the party

He says

something else. want to scream. I want to

Something disgusting About what

fight but I

can’t breathe.

hell

do to me.

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