Thump.
I flinched when the door closed as Kane walked out, leaving me alone with The Priest. He stood there glaring at me, giving me that look that said he wanted to have it out with me.
Not now.
Pain filled me, the sting more brutal than anything I’d ever felt in my life. This was why I wouldn’t get involved with men. This was why…tears threatened to blur the asshole in front of me. I fixed my gaze on the door instead. This was why I shouldn’t have stepped out into that fucking street in the rain.
This was all the weather’s fault.
If I’d only listened to my gut.
I wouldn’t be here. I wouldn’t be anywhere near here.
I’d be at home, playing them at a safe distance.
Not here, cuffed to a fucking heater with my heart…what about your heart? Don’t tell me you’re in fucking love? I closed my eyes and unleashed a moan.
Jesus Christ.
I was in love.
Maybe not in love.
But it was something.
Something that made me feel…wounded.
Thomas stepped closer, looming over me. I glared back at him, holding his stare. His right eye was bloody, pierced only by the dark brown pupil fixed on me. I winced at the sight, taking in the mess of his mouth, knowing what I saw was nothing compared to the rest of him.
I looked away.
“Don’t,” he croaked, taking another step closer. “I want you to look at me. I want you to see what that bastard did.”
Another step.
“You were there, weren’t you? At the church and later at the warehouse.”
I fixed my gaze on the dresser.
“WEREN’T YOU!”
I jumped, jerking my gaze back to the insanity in that gruesome stare.
“You were there,” he repeated.
“Yes.” There. I’d said it. I’d told him what he wanted to know. “I was there.”
Only he didn’t leave, he dropped to his knees and grabbed my jaw, clenching tight with cruel fingers. “Did you enjoy watching him torture me?”
I jerked my face from his grasp. Anger and pain filled me. But he wasn’t done, digging in his fingers as he grabbed me again.
“Well?” he barked. “Did. You. Enjoy. It?”
“YES!” I roared, that knot-like pain radiating through my chest. “Yes, I enjoyed it.”
He stilled, harsh, savage breaths surging between us. Fire exploded in the middle of my chest. His grip tightened until I couldn’t breathe. I thrashed, yanking my hands until the cuffs bit. But under the desperation, rage seethed.
“Fire,” I wheezed.
He scowled, released his hold, and shifted his weight, moving closer. “What?”
“Fire,” I gasped. “I can still smell your hair burning when he shoved you onto the flames.”
That memory burst into my mind. The smell of the fire. The sound of his screams. More than that, the pure rage that had been London St. James.
A dangerous sound slithered from The Priest. My eyes watered. I stopped fighting. My heart pounded so loud it filled my head as a sickening, desperate need filled me. I craved this…this force, this demand. This was worse than the sting of the blade and worse than alcohol. This was a need that bloomed inside me like an intoxicating flower.
I looked up into that bloody eye. To be at the mercy of a man’s hand made me feel powerless and empty.
Use me.
The words rose.
Please, just fucking use me.
“You like this,” he hissed, searching my gaze. He licked those scabbed lips and looked down to where my pebbled nipples pushed against my shirt, then lower, between my legs. His grip eased just enough for air to rush in. “You like it when my brother chokes you?” He leaned down, his other hand reaching between my thighs, forcing them wider.
Movement came from behind him. The external door cracked open…
“You like it when Riven takes you screaming?”
I bucked as a guard stepped inside, his savage gaze fixed on The Priest, whose grip clenched tighter around my throat, cutting off my air.
“I bet he likes it too. His fucking toy…his—”
I bucked, thrashing my head as I tried to get free.
The guard behind him lifted his gun and stepped closer. I could see it all. The gunshot, the blood…and The Priest slumped dead on top of me. Until, with one desperate breath, I slammed my head forward against his and screamed, “BEHIND YOU!”
He fell backwards, turning at the last instant. I didn’t know how he knew…but he reacted, flinging his arm backward in a perfect arc that knocked the gun out of the guard’s grasp. The guard lunged, slamming into The Priest.
I wrenched against the cuffs as the guard lifted his fist, grasped hold of his black t-shirt, and unleashed, hitting Thomas in the cheek.
“NO!” I howled. “GET THE FUCK OFF HIM!”
But the guard didn’t stop, landing another blow, one that hit The Priest square on the nose.
Crunch.
His head snapped backward and his eyes rolled in his head. All I saw were the whites as the bastard flung him to the floor with a thud. Then he slowly turned his gaze to me…and smiled.
“He has a toy to play with, yet he stands in our way.”
I shook my head, and for the first time in my entire life, fear found me. True fear. I shook my head as he stepped over the slumped body of The Priest and slowly came toward me.
“I fucking knew it.”
“No.” I forced a croak as he stood over me. “No.”
He reached for the button of his pants and unzipped his fly.
“I’ve heard you bitches take it all. We can do anything we want with you.” He reached down and fisted a handful of my hair, yanking my head backwards. My eyes watered with the burn.
I couldn’t do anything. Cuffed. Alone.
I wasn’t getting out of this.
“Isn’t that right?” His eyes glittered as he stared down at me. “You won’t even fight when I fuck you so hard you’ll see stars? I might take you back to the boys, how about that? Let’s see how many of us you can take at once.”
“Fuck. You.”
He stilled, scowled. “What did you say?”
“She said…fuck you,” The Priest mumbled as he staggered to his feet, then grabbed a gun from the top of the cupboard. “She’s not yours to touch!”
The strands of my hair strained, blurring my vision. But it wasn’t the gun in his hand I cared about…it was the key, the fucking key Riven had slammed down a second before he turned and walked out on me.
Fire lashed my scalp as the guard released my hair and lunged at Thomas with a roar. Fists flew. They slammed together with savage roars and sickening howls of pain…ones that came from the only man who could help me.
Bang!
I jumped at the terrifying sound, frantically jerking my gaze from the gun in The Priest’s hand to his body. Who shot who? WHO SHOT WHO?
The guard stumbled backward, then looked down. His fingers came away bloody as he touched his side. Everything happened in slow motion. The Priest turned as the guard lifted his gun and lunged, slamming into the same dresser with the gun…and the key.
Bang!
Wood splintered under his hand. He swiped the surface and spun with a roar. Metal glinted as the key flipped end over end toward me. My heart lunged, slamming against my chest as I shoved my feet out, sliding as far as I could. The key hit my body, coming to rest against my stomach.
Screams came from The Priest.
Guttural and desperate.
Like a man fighting for his life.
One he was about to lose.
I fixed my gaze on that key, my breaths punching it higher. I tried to slow them, my entire body straining as I gripped the steel cuffs and pulled my weight backwards. Come on…COME ON!
My knees shook as I slid my feet underneath me.
The Priest and the guard still fought.
But it wouldn’t last long.
Please…
PLEASE…
I pushed upwards and twisted my hand in the cuffs. But there was no way I was going to reach it. I grabbed my t-shirt instead, gripping it until the fabric pulled taut, lifting the key. It slid, tumbling toward me at speed. I did the only thing I could. I opened my mouth, snapped my head forward, and bit.
My teeth gnashed against the cold metal. I jerked my gaze toward them as The Priest stumbled and went down. The gun in the guard’s hand was all I saw as I wrenched my head to the side, forcing my focus back on getting free.
I prayed, maybe harder than I’d ever prayed before, and twisted around, pushing the key in my mouth to the lock. It pushed in, letting me bite down and twist my head to the side.
Click.
The cuff snapped open.
I’d never been so frantic in my life as the guard lifted his gun and took aim. I yanked the key free, my movements automatic as I shoved the key into the lock and twisted.
I was moving before I knew it, driving myself forward until I slammed into the guard’s legs, knocking him sideways.
BANG!
The gun went off.
I tried to shove myself upward, but my knees buckled. The guard swung around as I shoved up, screaming, “Get the fuck off him!”
He roared and swung his fist, driving his gun against the side of my head with a crack!
Blinding white lights detonated behind my eyelids.
Then there was only darkness as I fell.
I hit the floor hard and my head bounced. Agony ripped through my skull. I moaned and rolled, staring up as the guard stepped over me, then reached down.
Panic surged and I tried to shove backwards, desperate to get away from him…but my thoughts were slow…too slow. He clutched a fistful of my hair and dragged me up,.
Searing fire lashed my scalp. I screamed, clawing his clenched fist, until he released my hair but grabbed my wrist instead and yanked me hard against him.
“You’re not supposed to fight me, remember?” His eyes blazed as he grabbed my other hand and wrenched my arms behind my back.
Agony tore along my muscles. I bucked, fighting against him. But he was strong…really strong, holding both my wrists in one hand.
I slammed my head forward, kicking and howling.
“STOP!” he roared, grasping my throat with his other hand.
Only he wasn’t like the others. There was no slight pressure, no playing and teasing. His bruising fingers clenched around my windpipe, cutting off my air.
A hiss came, but there was no gasp.
Only blinding white…
Until he released me.
I jerked forward, slamming against him to feel the fabric of my shirt tearing. His other hand was all over my breasts, frantically mauling before he yanked the soft satin cups of the bra Riven had bought me…before he stilled. “What the fuck?”
I didn’t even have the strength to look down. I knew he was looking at the thin white lines that marred my soft flesh.
“You’re fucking ruined.”
I gasped, flailing as he reached for my jeans.
“Don’t care, pussy’s still pussy,” he grunted, jerking open my zipper.
“NO!” I screamed, trying to get away. “NOOO!”
He grabbed my mouth, grinding my cheeks against my molars. His eyes were wild with desperation and rage. “You’ll shut the fuck up. Do you hear me?”
His fingers pushed into my mouth. I gagged at the salty taste of him.
“Fucking bitch. Aren’t you whores supposed to just lie back and take it? You need breaking in, Daughter, and I’m gonna enjoy doing it. It’s better when they fight anyway. So fight. Scream. Let me feel you kick and buck when I ram my cock all the way inside. Let’s see how that bastard likes you when you’re split from asshole to cunt.”
I bucked, the fight in me fading, until his eyes widened.
Gray ate at the edges of the room…but Riven’s face was the blinding light I needed as he wrapped his arm around the guard’s neck and dragged him backwards.
Those dark eyes glanced at his brother, unconscious on the floor, before they fixed on me, taking in my ripped shirt and my torn-open jeans. But it was my mouth he fixed on, swollen lips pulsing. The taste of him was still on my tongue.
Riven said nothing, just tightened his hold around the guard’s throat. His chest was heaving with brutal breaths, as though he’d been running. But there was no running now and no release.
Just.
Pure.
Icy.
Rage.
The guard slammed his hands against the floor, his eyes bulging from Riven’s strain.
I was mesmerized by Riven’s ruthlessness as the sick, raping bastard swung his hand up, those fat fingers still shimmering with saliva from my mouth, clawing for a hold.
Riven just ducked his blow, clenching even tighter until the corded muscles in his arms stood out and the tendons in his neck strained, but never once taking his eyes from mine.
Until, with a choked hiss, the guard in his hold slumped.
I expected Riven to release him. But he didn’t. He clenched even tighter.
Until, at a sickening crunch, his lips curled, baring the true predator to me.
I held that stare, my heart booming in my chest.
He’d killed the guard for his brother.
But he’d fucking destroyed him for me.
Until, finally, he let go.
The guard’s body tumbled sideways to the floor, the head rolling unnaturally.
“No one touches what’s mine.” Riven’s tone was chilling. “And you, Trouble, are mine.”
