Page 138 of Monstrous Serpent

No use. Can’t get free.

Fuck.

Every muscle vibrates—my legs, arms, torso, even my jaw shakes against the fucking blood-soaked gag. And no matter what I do, it won’t stop. No clench is strong enough, no breath steadying, even screaming at myself to fucking stop fails.

And I am trying. I'm trying so hard my abs cramp from bracing.

A sound rips out of my chest. The gag mutes it, turning it wet and broken and useless.

If Cody were here, he’d hear me. He’d lose his goddamn mind and fight every single one of these assholes.

Except he can’t fight anyone right now.

Because I crashed into him.

My vision blurs, and the shaking worsens. Can’t even swallow right. Every time I try, my throat pulls tight. And I can’t breathe through my nose fast enough to keep up with whatever the fuck my chest is doing.

I broke him.

I took his legs. His future. Toronto.

Everything.

My stomach heaves, but nothing comes up.

“You up for good now, or you gonna pass out again?”

A chill zips down my spine and every hair on the back of my neck stands up. Five years later and that voice still makes my body want to crawl out of its skin. I lift my gaze only to meet the dark eyes of Hunter’s uncle.

A man behind him snickers. Like this is a fucking joke. A game.

My heart races, my temples pound, and I squeeze my eyes shut. Between the drugs, Hunter punching my head, and every other fucked-up thing happening, my skull feels like it’s about to explode.

“Easy, Bambi. You’ll tear yourself open before we even start.” Wade steps closer, laughing when I kick out at him. “Those legs won’t do you much good tied up.”

Still, I try, kicking out again and again.

Wade just steps to the side, crouching down until he’s eye level. He grabs my chin when I try to turn away, his fingers digging into the joints of my jaw so hard the ache alone forces me to give in.

“Look at you. All grown up.” Wade’s thumb presses into the bruise under my swollen eye as he leans in. White-hot pain explodes. “Bigger, sure. But still such a scared thing. And you came apart just as easy as you did at fifteen. Cried the same too. Not sure what my nephew sees in you.”

Nothing anymore.

Tears streak down my cheeks as I try to imagine myself somewhere other than here. But the stench of liquor and his hot breath on my cheek keep me grounded in the present.

Wade sinks back, and I catch the glint of a knife as he pulls it from his pocket. He drags the tip along one of the wet paths on my face. “Spent a lot of time thinking about what I’d do when I got out.” His head tilts to the side, eyes dropping to where his knife continues to trail along my skin. “Harlan had other plans that night. Was just going to kill you to punish his son.”

The blade presses in, enough to break skin, and I flinch.

He chuckles. “But now I get to choose. And skinning’s always been my favorite.” His eyes flick to mine. “I like taking my time. Like listening to the screams that turn into whimpers until there’s nothing left but quiet.”

Bile surges up my throat. It hits the gag and burns behind my tongue. I choke, body trying to force it out, but nothing gets past the cloth.

Fuck.

Wade yanks the gag down and everything spills onto my lap. “Jesus Christ. You’re such a mess.”

I spit, gasping, dragging air through a throat that feels too narrow, too raw, too fucking bruised.