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Aeron reaches into his pocket, withdrawing a key that is identical to the one that opens our cages. My heart hammers in my chest as I look down at it, adrenaline making my blood pulse around my body. It’s shiny and new. Like it’s been made recently. My eyebrows raise but I don’t touch it, keeping a cool facade that Aeron most likely knows is a lie.
“Seems Doc has a few tricks up his sleeves for an old dog,” Aeron says, admiration in his tone. “Rufus takes the key back each time after his visit, so the last time he put a silicone mold in his bag and took a cast.”
I nod, approving of his subterfuge. “Can we trust him?”
He seems like he’s on our side, well, at least Lark’s side, and it appears he’s been on the payroll of the Tailors for years. We can’t ask anyone to confirm that, however, and for all we know it could be some sort of trap. I’m not trustful by nature, only the guys, Lark, and Adam have earned that privilege. Although our bird is the one who got us into this mess, I still trust her with my life, heart, and soul.
“I don’t know.” Aeron sighs, tucking the key into his hidden pants pocket. We all have them, our pants specially designed for these kinds of situations where we need to hide items on us easily. “He seems legitimate, but until I can check with my father, I can’t say for certain. Though we have little choice at the moment.”
“True. He’s also been helping Lark for years, even going so far as trying to get her out of here,” I muse, rubbing a hand over my stubbled jaw. I need a fucking shower. Maybe afterwards, a hot bath with my Pretty Bird between my thighs as I wash her soft skin.
My jaw clenches at the images that threaten to overwhelm me, stills of what that beast did to her while we couldn’t do a thing to stop it.
“They will pay, Tarl,” Aeron says, his hand on my shoulder as I blink back to this moment and not the hell of that time. I can see by the burning of his eyes that he knows where my mind went and he craves retribution just as much as I do. “We will burn this place to the ground with everyone trapped inside, their blood decorating the walls. Starting with his.”
We’ve grown up together, both with terrible pasts full of pain and torment so it’s no surprise he knew where my mind went. I’m sure he has to fight the dark memories just as fiercely as I do.
“But we get to play with them first, right?” Jude interjects, closer to us than he was before. “I want to feel their hearts beat as I rip them out of their chests. I want to strangle them with their own intestines and make their eyeballs watch from the other side of the room as I tear into their bodies with my bare hands.”
Fuck, his talk has me hard in an instant, the violence a perfect aphrodisiac. I wonder if our bird will be healed enough to let me make love to her in their blood. I bet she’d look stunning clad in the ruby of our enemies’ life force. It’s not an issue if she’s not, there will be other ways to celebrate our victory.
A whimper from across the room draws all of our attention to her, Knox stopping in his exercise to take in her trembling form. Our ruin, our soulmate, and the missing piece to us. We watch her as another small cry leaves her lips before she settles down again, hardly moving probably on account of her many injuries.
“We should be with her,” Jude says between clenched teeth, his hands fisting tightly as he steps closer to Aeron, his eyes dark and menacing as he glares at his brother.
“If we get caught, they’ll know we have a key, then they might take her away. At least this way she’s down here with us and not out there with them,” Aeron replies, his words hanging bitterly in the air. If Rufus wanted to show our impotence, he’s currently doing a good job about it.
“Fine,” Jude growls out before stalking away and joining Knox in his push-ups. I sigh, feeling his frustration with every fiber of my being, but the most important thing is to keep her here, with us.
* * *
“PILLOWTALK” by ZAYN
Lark
I jerk awake, a quiet cry on my lips as Dean’s rancid breath seems to hang in the air, my ribs twinging as I shift.
“Shhh, Nightingale. I’m here, it’s okay,” Jude’s voice whispers in my ear, and it’s then I realize that there’s a warmth at my back, strong arms holding me close. My body instantly relaxes, even though at some point the Soldiers have switched off the bare bulb that provides us light, so darkness covers us in a thick blanket.
“Jude?“ My voice is hoarse, my throat tight like I’ve been crying in my sleep, and when I bring my hand up, the pillow underneath my face is wet. “W–what are you doing here? How?”
He chuckles, nuzzling my neck as he takes a deep breath, scenting me. An involuntary shiver races down my spine landing on my nipples and making them hard and aching even as sharp pain zings across my body.
“Doc made a key and gave it to Aeron. I stole the key when Aeron fell asleep,” he tells me, peppering the side of my neck with kisses that has me arching into him, then gasping as it pulls at my ribs. “I couldn’t sleep, not with all of those noises like a wounded animal you were making. Nightingale, I get nightmares too. Where I’m trapped and you're screaming, and I just can’t reach you.”
“Jude…” I say as a small moan slips free when his hand ghosts across my peaked nipple, pinching it just enough to send a jolt through me. Fuck, this boy knows how to play me like an instrument, making me forget the past few days, unable to focus on anything but his warmth, his talented fingers, and his lips as he sucks my neck.
“I want to make the nightmares go away, just for a little bit, Nightingale. Will you let me do that?” he asks, his voice low and growly as his hand travels down my stomach, avoiding all of my bruises and sore patches like he’s memorized them.
“I— My—” I swallow hard, freezing in his hold, my pulse picking up at all the reasons that this is a horrible idea, not least of all the fact that the thought of having sex with anyone, even one of my guys, leaves me feeling sick to my stomach.
“I won’t penetrate you, sweet Nightingale, just make you feel so good that all you’ll remember is my touch. Can I make you feel good, my darling? Do you trust me to make you fly?”
His hand stops at the waistband of my leggings, not moving any further, waiting for my permission. I promised to trust them more, and a part of me is desperate to find a glimmer of light in this horrific situation, especially as I don’t know what Friday will bring. I close my eyes, not that it makes a vast difference given the blackness that surrounds us, and it feels like a weight lifts from my chest as I let my body tell me what it needs.
“Yes.”
He lets out a breath, and I can feel his relief in the way his body relaxes more against mine, the way his lips smile against my neck.
