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He drags her closer to the edge, stepping onto a raised step overlooking the sheer drop. Then he gestures at Felix. “Call her brother, tell him where we are. I’ve made sure he’s on the guest list. Then the real fun can begin.”
Felix hesitates, looking to Austin for direction.
“Now!” Jason barks and dangles Audrey over the edge, his hand gripped around her neck.
Austin holds out his hand and nods at Felix, giving him the go-ahead. The conversation that follows is low and short. My ears are ringing, so I don’t pick up what they say, but I can hear the urgency in his tone.
“Look at that–your alpha listening like a good boy,” Jason purrs, while Audrey gasps for air.
A growl rumbles out of Austin.
“You got what you want,” I say, and the words are almost pleading. Why did I leave my gun at home? We didn't bring any weapons, and it is the stupidest move we've ever made.
When Audrey’s feet find purchase on the stone wall and his arm is wrapped back around her waist like an iron grip, I try to breathe again. My mouth is dry, and I’ve got tunnel vision. But the second Audrey slams her heeled foot down on Jason’s, and he releases her with a curse, she tumbles to her knees, barely missing the fall.
“Audrey!” Austin shouts as he lunges for her. Jason grabs for her at the same time, yanking her back by her hair.
Panic blooms like a poisonous cloud inside of me as he moves her closer to the edge again. He’s too far away. We can’t reach her before she plummets sixteen stories to her death.
“We can talk about this,” I say, reaching an empty hand out in their direction.
He throws his head back, laughing like an insane hyena. “That’s funny coming from the guy that uses his fists to talk.”
My knuckles crack as I close my fists, digging my nails into my palms, imagining doing exactly that as soon as Audrey is safe. A muscle pulses in my jaw as I grind my teeth together. He catches both movements and chuckles. He knows he’s not walking out of here. That’s dangerous.
She goes still when he holds a switchblade to her neck. “Did you tell your alphas you begged for my mark,princess?”
He presses the blade firmer against her skin, and she whimpers, tearing my heart and soul out while boiling my blood all at once.
He continues with a sneer. “That you were on your knees for me?”
Her mouth trembles as tears streak dark lines down her face. The mask hangs around her neck, forgotten and out of place with the wet feathers. Her dress is torn up the side, blood from her knee making a path to the strap of her heels.
“Tell them!” he shrieks, his hand dropping from her neck as he shakes her again, clearly walking the thin line of completely insane and unhinged.
“I did,” she sobs. “I begged him to save my brother!”
“That isn’t why!” he yells.
I share a look with Austin and Felix. We can’t wait for her brother to get here. This is only getting worse. He’s spiraling down a dark hole. There is no talking him out of this.
“You’re right,” Audrey gasps. “I wanted you. I’ve only ever wanted you.”
I hate the lies she is throwing out, but I recognize them for what they are–a way to talk him down.
“You can have the mafia and the money, Jason. I’ve never cared about any of it. I’ll give it to you.”
His face flushes, and he gentles his hold on her, bringing her into his chest. “It means nothing without the De Luca name backing me. I didn’t know that before.”
I can feel my pulse pounding in my temples as he seems to calm down, if only slightly.
“You can’t be marked,” he says, his gaze dropping to our marks ringing her neck. He fists her hair and yanks her head roughly back, holding the blade to her throat again, at our crescent marks. “I’ll cut them off.”
CHAPTER58
Audrey
He pulls my hair back;the roots burn from the pain, then he slides the cool metal of a knife over my skin.
