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“Are you sure about that, Paulo? I mean, she’s brought enough shit into your life.” There’s a dark threat in Manny’s tone as he speaks to Paulo. I wish I could see them, but the desk is closed in the front, which means I’m safe, but I can’t tell where they are in the room.
“Yes. She was nothing more than a distraction. We could’ve got some good money for her at the auction, but there are a million more girls out there, most of them virgins, and you know how much those assholes will pay for a pure beauty.”
His words should hurt, but they don’t. Not anymore. I’m done allowing him to add to the pain in my heart. I have to close my eyes and pray he can get through to his boss, or I’m a dead girl.
“Fine. Let’s get out of here. Those boys aren’t going to stay down for long with what we gave them. Get the men,” Manny orders, and I hear footsteps retreat.
I’m about to move out of my hiding place when I hear a shuffle, which has me holding my breath once more. A few clicks, and then his voice comes loud and clear. “If you so much as utter a word to the police, I will come for you and your little boyfriend. I’m not scared of him.”
I don’t reply.
I can’t.
Words fail me, but tears stream down my cheeks. I’m almost out of this. I’m almost free, but the price Cassian had to pay was steep. If he had never claimed me as his, this would never have happened.
But then again, Cassian Thorne is stubborn. If I tried to walk away, he would never have let me. Not when he had so many questions as to what I did that night, why I did it.
Footsteps ring in my ears as they near me. He stops inches from where I’m kneeling before he grips my ankle and tugs me toward him, lifting me to my feet. A scream is wrenched from my throat, but Paulo is fast.
I take him in then. Missing teeth, swollen eyes, and a busted lip. They really did a number on him. A sinister smile curls his lips as he looks me over.
“You weren’t even a good fuck,” he tells me, but I know everything he says is meant to hurt me. “One last high for me,” he says before I feel the pinch in my arm.
For a moment, he just watches me, but then he chuckles when my knees wobble and slowly give out. Paulo releases his hold on me, inadvertently dropping me to the floor.
“Oh, and by the way…” He stops a few feet away from me before he glances over his shoulder. “I’ll make sure your little red-headed friend is nicely seen to. She seems like the type of girl I could actually marry.” I know he’s saying it to hurt me, but my heart is cold.
By the time I release a breath and lean back against the wooden surface of the desk, I’m shaking. Glancing over the top, I find the office empty. My heart leaps into my throat, and I move slowly to where Damien dragged me from, only to find Harris waking up from whatever they did to him. Damien rushes into the house from the back garden, his gaze immediately landing on Cassian slumped in a chair.
When I reach him, I find a needle sticking out of his neck, and my breath catches.
Shit.
Shit.
Shit.
Harris and Damien move quickly as they lift Cass.
“They’re fucking gone,” Finn grits as he re-enters the living room and realizes his brother is out cold. “What the fuck?”
“I ran out after Manny; it seems Paulo had something up his sleeve,” Damien says, his eyes locked on Cass. I settle on the sofa beside him, noting his breathing is shallow but calm. I’m not sure what the hell Paulo gave him, but it must’ve been strong.
“I’ll call Dr. Hoxton. He can come to the house to check Cass out,” Finn says while pulling his cell phone from his pocket. “Perhaps easier than trying to explain what happened to someone at the hospital.”
“Good idea,” Damien affirms before settling into an armchair, but his blue gaze never leaves his brother. They’re close, always have been. And it fills my chest with love watching them together.
My head is spinning from whatever Paulo injected into my veins, but my concern is with Cassian. I take his hand and settle in. I’m not sure how long he’ll be out, or how long it will take the doctor to get here, but I’m not leaving his side.
And as I lean into him, my eyes flutter closed.
32
Cassian
The Past
The end of the day has come too soon. But then I recall what’s about to happen, and I’m thankful I’m ready to get out of here. School may be over for me, but Kalyn has another year left before heading off to college.
