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“Two,” she continued, counting down.
“Just do it,” he barked.
“For fuck’s sake!” Saul grabbed the branding iron from Vashti and slammed it into the ribs of Rook’s bare torso.
Rook howled in pain, the sound like a wounded and dying wolf. His body convulsed, every muscle tense and strained as he writhed with desperate fury. His sharp nails tore into my skin, carving deep gashes that oozed crimson blood.
Fury. Agony. Desperation.
I could hear Vashti and her man fucking, their moans and cries filling the air. His beastly head looming over us.
Saul’s devil face staring at us, stretched with a delighted, evil grin.
Shrieks from the crowd behind us, the sounds of other people having sex.
With each passing moment, it felt like death was consuming Rook from within—and dragging me with him.
As the branding melted into Rook’s skin, his fate was sealed.
Rook was bound to the Magnolia, forever.
CHAPTER 46
Rook
For the first time in… well, since I could remember, I had a body pressed to my back. Arms stretched around my torso. Face pressed into my spine.
She was holding me.
I didn’t remember how we got here.
There were vague images of Hawke driving. My head in Summer’s lap. The feel of her shivering.
I’d tried to comfort her, to grasp her hand but then I’d slid back into the darkness.
Tentatively, I reached for my ribs—Saul’d deliberately branded right on the bone, where it would hurt the most. It was bandaged and the tugging on my wrist led my gaze to an IV by the bed.
Wincing as I pulled it, and the medical tape out, I tossed the line to the floor.
“That’s supposed to stay inside you. For the pain.”
“I don’t want it.” I could already feel the effects—my thoughts a little fuzzy, my eyelids heavy.
But I needed to clear my mind. Saul wasn’t done with us—not by a long shot.
I had to be prepared for what came next, especially now that he owned me.
A gentle touch traced up my spine, and my eyes blinked sleepily, my thoughts hazy. I closed them for a moment, enjoying the feel of her fingertips as they moved tenderly across my skin, tickling slightly. It sent a shiver up my spine, and a small smile played at my lips.
How had I lived without this for so long? The simple touch of someone who cared.
It was followed by the press of her lips at the base of my neck, her words mumbled against my skin. “You shouldn’t have done that for me.”
“And you should’ve given them my real name.”
“Saul would’ve killed you.” Her fingers moved up over my shoulder, then down my arm, her lips still brushing against my skin. “And I couldn’t accept that.”
“Better than something happening to you.”
