Page 105 of Shattered In Darkness

My voice cracks, high and desperate. “You saw what they wanted you to see. You saw what Marcus made happen. You didn’t even try to save me!”

He grabs my arm, not hurting, just trying to keep me there. “Save you? You didn’t look like you needed saving. You looked pretty fucking comfortable.”

I wrench away, stumbling. “Because I didn’t have a choice! I was alone, and you fucking left!”

He slams his fist into the wall, the sound like a gunshot. I flinch. He bites out, “I came back for you, and all I found was a whore working for your monster of a father!”

I want to scream. My whole body shakes, but not from the cold. “You don’t get to call me that. Not after what you did to me!”

He laughs, but it’s empty. “Yeah? Tell me what I am, then. You think I wanted to be this? You think I wanted to be the kind of guy who drags you out of hell just to throw you in another one?”

Tears threaten but I blink them away, voice hoarse. “I never wanted you to be a monster. I just wanted you to come back. I just wanted you to believe me.”

He’s breathing hard, fists tight at his sides. “I don’t know how to believe you. I don’t know how to stop hating you.”

I drop down by the fire, shoulders shaking, not caring if he sees me cry now. “I hate you too,” I whisper, voice small.

He stands over me, shadowed, silent. Finally, he speaks, voice choked and soft but still hard as stone. “Good. Maybe hate’s all we have left.”

We sit in the frozen silence, broken and burning. The fire crackles, throwing weak orange light. I curl into myself again, shaking so hard I can barely breathe. My fingers have gone stiff and blue. I try to rub them, but it’s useless. There’s no warmth left in me.

Brody paces. His breathing is ragged, fists flexing, jaw clenched so tight it must hurt.

I squeeze my eyes shut. I want to disappear, but my body just keeps betraying me. A violent shudder wracks my shoulders. I fold deeper, biting my lip to keep from begging for help.

There’s a sudden rush. A heavy movement. Brody kneels by my side. The thick quilt slams onto my back, then his hands, rough and hot, wrapping the blanket around me like a straitjacket.

His palm lingers, heavy, pressing me close to the fire. His voice is a growl in my ear. “Stop being stubborn. You’ll lose a fucking toe.”

I can’t look at him, but I can smell him. Dark, angry. The blanket is heavy, trapping the heat and his scent. I shiver harder, the violence of it almost tipping me over.

His hands stay on my shoulders for a heartbeat too long. He pulls me closer, just a fraction, until I’m pressed into his side.

For a split second, I let myself lean into him. I feel the moment he snaps out of it. His muscles tense. His hands go cold and careful, then vanish.

He stands, sudden and stiff, like he’s been burned. “Don’t get used to it,” he mutters. “You’re not my problem.”

Moving to the other side of the cabin, he turns his back, arms crossed, face gone hard again. I tuck the blanket tighter, but the warmth he left lingers, more agonizing than the cold.

I watch his silhouette in the gloom. So close, but so fucking far. My heart hammers. I want to scream, to beg, to break something. I remember how he fucked me last night. It’s so different from when we were together back in the day. I hardly recognize him.

I can’t stay here. I need to go.

“Did you drive here? Could you go into town and pick up supplies? Please? We don’t know how long the power will be out,” I pleaded, hoping he might leave so I can try to make my escape. There must be a road nearby. I can find someone to let me in their car.

He shakes his head. “We have enough. I parked a few miles away. You think I didn’t plan ahead? I brought everything we’ll need. You’re stuck here with me. There is no fucking way I am leaving you here alone. You’re my prisoner, remember? Fucking act like it.”

“What do you mean; you planned this?”

He takes a moment to answer. His jaw clenches, and his hands shake. He looks at me, almost as if he’s bleeding from the inside out. “I heard my father talking. He hired men to take you somewhere. He wanted to use you as leverage or revenge.” He takes a deep breath. “I couldn’t have him take you away, I would never see you again, so I planned to intercept. You’re mine to break, Bambi. Mine.”

I blink in surprise. My head feels like it’s stuffed with snow and static. I stare at Brody, the words echoing so loud I wonder if the cabin will split open. “Your father set this shit up? Oh my god.”

I hold my head in my hands. The men that took me. They were hired by Richard? The same Richard that allowed me to eat family meals with them. The same Richard that allowed me to go on beach trips with them. The same Richard who sat at the table and asked about my grades. The one who smiled at my mother and poured her wine.

I can barely force out a whisper. “You’re telling me your father is the reason I’m here. That he… what? He sent people after me like I’m a thing, not a person?” I laugh, wild, but it dies in my throat. “What the fuck, Brody? Why?”

He paces, rubbing his face hard enough to leave red streaks. For a moment, I almost see the boy I used to know, lost, desperate, but then he shuts down again, a shadow hunched against the wall.