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“Not like this,” Marcello said. “She has to choose at Legare.”
“If we make it to Legare at this rate.” I rubbed a hand across my face, annoyed by the thought of Alex with anyone but me. “The doctor said sex helps her cope. Touch can bring her back when she’s having one of her fits. If she needs an orgasm, give her one. You can handle that, right?”
He groaned. “Fuck off, dickhead.”
“What, Marcello? Afraid you can’t handle your queen?”
I loved taunting him.
“Please, brother.” His laughter pierced my eardrum. “You’re the one who should be afraid. Alex has been begging for my cock from the second I dragged her pretty ass into my car. Consider yourself lucky I haven’t taken her up on the offer. Because if I were to fuck her, she’d never want your sorry ass again.”
I snickered at his boldness. “Keep dreaming, little bro. I’ve already left my mark on her. Fucking you would be a half-assed replacement for the real thing. She would come crawling back to her master like a good girl.”
I didn’t want any man touching her. But if she needed a release and wanted to use my brother until I got home, I could live with it. Not like I was a saint. She had tolerated a lot of shit from me over the years.
Did I drive her to this point?
Was all of this my fault?
Yes.
“Shit,” Marcello growled, keys jingling in his hand as his breath grew heavier. “Are you looking at the video feed in her bedroom?”
I glanced over at the video feed and gasped. With her eyes closed, Alex moved a table across the balcony and stepped onto it, her movements fluid, as if she were awake.
“Marcello, get in there. Now!”
She hopped onto the brick wall, with her arms stretched out at her sides like she was Jack and Rose from Titanic, pretending to fly. The wind blew through her hair, strands smacking her in the face. Unfazed, she stood there as if she were invincible. Did we fuck up already? Did one hour in the room make her want to kill herself?
No, she wouldn’t.
She couldn’t do this.
“Alex, no,” Marcello said as he hooked his arm around her middle and lifted her off the wall.
He carried her into the bedroom and kicked the doors closed behind them. Relieved, I sank back against the couch and expelled a deep breath. I called it years ago. This woman would be the death of me.
“I got her,” Marcello said as he set Alex on the bed.
She blinked in rapid succession, staring through Marcello like she wasn’t in her body. Marcello waved his hand in front of her face, and she didn’t even acknowledge him. She sat with her palms on her thighs and stared at the wall.
What the fuck?
Stay with me, baby girl.
“What do you want me to do?” Marcello turned his back on her and walked toward the ensuite bathroom. “She’s out of it.” He tugged at the ends of his messy black hair. “Unresponsive.”
“We move to plan B.”
“Okay,” he grunted. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”
I hung up and dropped my phone onto the couch beside me, staring up at the ceiling. Marcello and I hadn’t grown closer until last year, right after I sent Alex away. Almost thirty years old, and I had never formed a single bond with anyone but Alex. It was fucking weird.
She was the only person who made me feel whole. If anything happened to my girl, I couldn’t live with myself. I would rather die than lose her.
The darkness found me again. It always did. Hello, old friend, it whispered in my ear. Welcome back.
Like most nights, I tossed and turned, forced to endure my own personal Hell. Images flashed before my eyes, colors swirled together, the room spinning around me. Hands slid down my arms, touching me in places Luca had claimed for himself.
I rolled onto my side, and the hands slipped away. The room spun on its axis. A gray mist swirled around my head, the room replaced by a new nightmare—a new version of Hell.
My body ached from my feet pounding the cement. Every muscle cried out for me to stop, begging me to slow down. But I couldn’t. They were too close, right on my tail.
I ran through the crowded streets of Beacon Bay with a group of men chasing me. They called out my name, taunting me with each step.
Don’t stop.
Keep going, Alex.
They took Aiden from you.
Don’t let them take you, too.
“You can run, Alex,” a man taunted. “But you can’t hide. We will always find you.”
Not unless the darkness finds me first.
The soles of my shoes burned as I bolted down a back alleyway, headed toward The River Styx. But when I reached the rundown bar, my feet stuck to the ground. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t take another step. Stretching out my fingers, I reached for the door. The handle was right there, just a few more inches.
