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Killian’s eyes turn wild, the muscles on the sides of his jaw throbbing. “You said we would have more time.”
“Hmmm, you see, but then you went and got The Kings involved, and well…” I pale. Shit. He knows that we got them in.
“Where the fuck is Eli?” I yell, pushing up from my seat, only to be shoved back down from whoever it is behind me. Fingers bury in my hair as my head is yanked back so far cracks snap around my collarbone.
“Ahh, see, you’re going to want to just settle the fuck down, Cartier. Isn’t she, Killian?”
“Cartier, do what he says!” Kyrin’s voice comes through the phone and I feel my emotions threatening to waver. I’m not a crier. I never cry. I’ve never seen the point of it honestly, aside from wasted energy, but right now, hearing my brother’s voice during a situation that I feel I have severely underestimated, it’s inevitable.
“Why?” I yelp when the hand in my hair tugs farther, ripping bits of my hair from their roots. I keep my eyes on my phone when the screen turns black, before Keaton’s face is filling it. His features are buried in a black hoodie, all that I can see are the sharp angles of his jaw. I squeeze my eyes closed because it’s too much to see him after the unnecessary pain we constantly put each other through.
“I’m going to suggest you take your fucking hands off her.” Keaton never has to raise his voice or be loud. People move when they’re supposed to and listen whenever he speaks.
The grip in my hair releases and I exhale loudly from the relief.
“Put Cornelli back on the phone, Keaton. You and I are done.” Dominic waves his hand in front of him.
“No. You said you’d give us more time. It was why you had him.”
The words settle in the back of my mind, and I reach for my phone. “What do you mean, had him?”
Dominic smacks my hands away, leaning against the table while tapping his forehead with his finger. “That was, until you went above my head and decided to gain an alliance with The Kings, now it’s playtime. Don’t worry. I’ll call back in two hours. See if you’re up for it then.” He taps the hang-up button and I launch to my feet again, ready to run and find Eli when something heavy hits me over the side of the head and I fall to the floor. Sprinkle of stars blur in the sky, warping together to form one big sun. Or moon. Maybe it was a moon… Something cold is around my ankles and my eyes won’t open fast enough. A hammer pounds against my head to a beat so hard it could cause an earthquake.
“Take her down.”
I’m lifted from the floor and then jolted as someone carries me down a set of stairs. Silence. Everything so silent. A loud crack splinters behind the back of my head, and when I try to push my body up from the floor, I fall back down.
“What did you do?” A voice. A familiar voice. “I fucking told you I would handle it! Dominic! Dominic!”
“Eli?” I whisper out, only my mouth fills with metallic blood and the marrow in my bones turns to stew.
“Yeah, baby, it’s me. Hey!” Warmth rests on my cheek. “Stay with me, Cartier. We’re going to get through this.”
“Through what?” I ask, my brows turning in. My eyes slowly blink open, and Eli’s face fills my vision. “We can just kill them all.” His face, bruised and bloodied, looks up behind me.
“If only it was that easy.”
Bringing my palms to the floorboards again, I push myself up, ignoring the constant pain exploding from my head. “What are you talking about? We can get out.” When he still doesn’t break his eye contact with me, I finally turn to see what he’s looking at.
There are two men, both naked with markings all over their bodies. Scratches, blood, mud, and—I don’t want to know what else.
“Who?”
“Just use me.” Eli moves, shuffling in front of me. “I am the deal, not her.”
“You’re part of it…” one speaks. I can’t get a reading on their age, but I would say mid-thirties. Both look military, or at least they are built that way.
The other one, who doesn’t speak, flashes my phone. “We’re going to play with you both for two hours and send some little clips to your boys. Then we will see if Killian wants to comply.”
“Comply with what?” I yell, skirting backward until my back hits the edge of the bed.
Eli’s head turns over his shoulder, and that’s when I notice all the marks on his back. Some old, some new. “I’m sorry, Cartier.”
“It’s not your fault.” It isn’t. It’s all my fault. I did this to him.
The one holding my phone launches at me and I squeeze my eyes closed, bracing for impact when he slams me back down onto the floor, everything turning black. Light cracks through every few seconds, my ass scraping against the concrete as I’m shoved forward, but it’s black. Like sandpaper between my legs, I cry out, only nothing comes out.
“That’s right. Look into the camera, Cartier. Show them who they’re fucking with.” I squint my eyes up to the flash, tears finally falling from the corner of my eyes. I don’t just feel him between my thighs, I feel him penetrating my soul too.
