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“You’re going to have to give me some of your bravery if you want me to go with you. It’s the last place I want to be.” My voice trembles with my words, and I inhale a few quick breaths. “I feel fine about yesterday, but the idea of facing monsters... Please, Sawyer.”
Sawyer groans deep in his throat, resting his head to my shoulder. “You need to have a bit of fear, Hayley. It’s good for you and your nature. If you were fearless, you might do something reckless. I need you to be cautious. I know I’m asking a lot from you, but I feel that your presence might be enough to elicit the emotions we need to get what we want from the renegade donors. We need to figure out what they’re planning. I’m sure that they probably consumed vampire blood and aren’t susceptible to mind manipulation for a while, and I prefer not to keep them around.”
I remain silent, thinking over his words. I know he has his reasons, but I don’t like them right now.
“Again, I know I’m asking a lot of you, and I’m sorry. If you really don’t want to do this, I’ll call Cooper or Knox. One of them can stay with you. But I am still not going to wipe away your fear completely.” Sawyer straightens his back, waiting for me to argue.
My mouth quivers. “I will go but if I can’t handle it—”
“I’ll remove you immediately. Trust me. I know your signs as if they are mine.” Sawyer grazes his finger along my jaw until he touches my chin, tilting my face up to meet his gaze. Easing forward, he kisses me softly. “I’ll protect you—your mind, body, and soul. You’re everything to me, Hayley. I wouldn’t ask this of you if I didn’t think you were capable. You underestimate yourself.”
He might be right about that. But it’s just that I’m so used to living as if I could die at any second. And now that I know that I’m pregnant, I have to be even more worried. I don’t want anything to happen. This is far more important. The fetus I carry will grow into something powerful enough that everyone thinks it will change the future. And maybe it will. It has already changed me. Even in such a little amount of time, I can feel myself looking at the world differently.
“I love you, you know. I expect lots of cuddles for this. Maybe a bubble bath with you.” I smirk with my words, watching as Sawyer’s eyes light up, his desire rippling over his body as he imagines the two of us together.
“Whatever you want. I’ll get this done with and then we’ll truly celebrate.” Sawyer adjusts me against him and carries me off the bed. I have a feeling he’ll never set me down again to walk on my own, I don’t mind. I’ll cling onto him as if he is my pillar of strength. I know that in his arms, I’m safe. This is probably one of the safest, most secure places in the universe.
The world blurs around me, and I nuzzle my nose to the crook of his throat, teasing him by sucking his skin, leaving the marks he loves.
He takes the stairs instead of the elevator, hopping down one flight at a time, making me squeal as my stomach raises to my throat and back down as if I’m flying through the air on a trapeze or a swing. As if I’m spinning on my aerial hoop. It makes me miss it. The adrenaline I get from performing.
I can’t wait for all of this to be over so I can get back the parts of my life that I loved, like being on stage.
Silence fills the air as the world slows, and I peek up at the old conservatory leading to what they now use as a dining hall. The old restaurant hasn’t changed much since the Uprising, but I can no longer see what it was called. The conservatory is also the same with the dried floral art pieces that transform the world into a haunting, fairytale-like paradise.
I haven’t been in the section much, because my guys prefer to feed me dinner in one of our suites instead of with everyone, but it’s nice to be out. Their overprotectiveness doesn’t bother me any, because I’m used to it. It just makes me appreciate the little things more.
“Little bird, has Sawyer been treating you well? I didn’t expect him to bring you.” Monroe materializes behind Sawyer, looking at me from over his shoulder. Blood splatters across his face and his shirt, an obvious fight ravaging his body with bullet holes and stab wounds. But he acts as if they’re nothing. Before, I would’ve panicked at the sight of him. Now, I know that he was just having his fun. The twisted bastard. I love the hell out of him.
“I thought my presence could be helpful,” I say, trying to keep my face expressionless. Sawyer play-growls in his throat, realizing that I’m taking credit from this point on for what he wanted.
Monroe raises an eyebrow, questioning my words. “You just want to fuck with them, don’t you?”
Now that he mentions it... Maybe this is exactly what I need to get over my fear. If I can go in there and channel his badassness, maybe I can learn to face the monsters.
“What do you suggest I do? I’m not touching anyone’s nasty dicks. So don’t expect me to cut them.” I shudder at the thought, knowing that to cut one off you have to touch it, and there’s nothing that seems less appealing than that.
Monroe roars a laugh, his eyes shining with his devious thoughts. “I can agree to that. Those hands are mine. The thought of them around any other cocks besides ours makes me want to cut some heads off. Chuck them and see them roll. Maybe that’s what we could do. Play a game of catch. Really set the fuckers off. They will regret ever messing with us.”
Damn, does he have a twisted imagination. I should be more concerned than I am, but I know he has his reasons. He is chaotic and fucked up, but he has a good heart. He does it for the right reasons, punishing people for their actions. Making a point.
“Dismembering people shouldn’t sound so damn fun, Monroe. You make me feel a bit psycho that I kind of want to see if I can handle it.” I grin and reach for him, getting him to press flush against Sawyer’s back so I can kiss him how I want.
Sawyer releases a little groan then shakes his head. “Maybe this was a bad idea. You’re encouraging him too much, Hayley. His boner is about to get smacked if he doesn’t reposition his junk. You’re both way too excited.”
I lean back and meet his gaze. “No changing your mind now. I won’t leave you out.”
Monroe reaches over Sawyer and grabs under my arms, yanking me so quickly from him that I screech out in surprise. He spins me above him until he can get a good hold and restrains me to him, dodging around Sawyer as he comes after us.
“Don’t worry, little bird. You’re going to get what you want. We can test you. I know that Sawyer and Knox both want to be careful, but I think pushing your boundaries is good. You don’t know how you’ll truly react unless you try. So let’s do this. There’s a fucker on the end that threatened a whole bunch of disgusting shit. He can go first. We won’t need him when there are plenty of others that we can interrogate.” Monroe chuckles as he rushes into the dining hall and sets me on my feet behind the renegade donors, ensuring they can’t see me just yet.
My heart picks up pace, seeing their backs, watching as they all struggle against the restraints binding them to the chairs. Walcott stands in front of them, blood splattering across his clothes. He looks even worse than Monroe, and the twisted fuck might be holding onto someone’s finger as he uses it to point at the guy in the middle.
Holy hell. My stomach flips, and I suck in my bottom lip, taking a slow breath.
Can I do this? I’m about to find out.
Monroe holds me tighter, bringing his lips to my ear. “It’s okay if you were just teasing and playing into my desire. I can take you out of here. You don’t have to face these assholes.”
