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“I’m here because I have to be. And I told you we’d do this together.”
Elise tenses against me. “Stop talking to him.”
Jacob pulls me closer. “Your kitten has claws, Gabriel.”
“Shut up,” I say.
His eyes narrow for a split second, but it’s not anger that crosses his face. It’s worry. Am I that obvious? Is it that clear to him that I’m losing it?
I turn Elise around to face me. Kiss her again. Jacob wraps his arms around her to hold her still. This time, I let them see me push my hand under her dress. I let them see me explore her body.
Elise is warm and sweet and fascinating.
Not like other people. I’m not pretending. My heart is beating in a sharp, painful pattern, and every inch of her skin is a devastating, beautiful thing. My mind falls into it, longing for escape. Longing for home.You feel so good here. And here. And here. Oh, look. Look at your face. That felt good. Let me do it again, let me, please.
She melts.
I don’t know whether to feel monstrous or relieved. Elise was wet before, but now her response has gone through her whole body. Her face is pink. Flushed. Her lips parted. Her nipples peaked. The bindings on her wrists don’t seem to bother her.
If I let myself forget them, can I let myself fall into it, too?
The room begins to fade away. The sick feeling dissipates. A little more. A little more, and then I’ll be able to—
Chambers clears his throat.
Not Bettencourt.Chambers.
I don’t know why he’s in such an ungodly rush, but Jacob responds. He pulls me in by the shoulder of my jacket, almost the way a soldier would bring another one close. Man to man in the middle of a battlefield. My hand lands on his bicep. He’snot actually angry. It’s a show of impatience for his father. And perhaps a hint of frustration at me.
“Gabriel.” His voice is low. Insistent. “Are we going to do this?”
He’s put himself this close to distract them from the conversation we’re having. “You said it yourself. We walk out of here, we die.”
“I’m always down to fuck beautiful people.” True. He loves to fuck. For a while, the only person he wanted to fuck was me. The phrasing is purposeful, though. We’re not forcing, we’refucking. I can feel Elise panting in his arms. I hope to God the kissing has gone to her head. I hope she’s overwhelmed by pleasure. “I thought you were, too. But you’re hesitating.”
Elise is a live wire between us. One of her hands is hooked in my lapel, and she pulls me closer to her body even as Jacob keeps her against his.
“I’ll do whatever it takes. Whatever we have to do.”
His blue eyes darken with more concern. And suspicion. “To get money? Is that what this is about?”
“No. I already have money. It’s power I want. It’s power I’m going to get.”
Elise shivers. The three of us are so close to each other that it could be my own body, shivering in the cold.
“Gabriel,” she whispers.
Jacob takes his hand from my shoulder and puts it on the back of my neck, like he’s going to reposition us. To reset the scene.
Except it doesn’t feel like brisk, gentle encouragement to move on with this fucking nightmare so we can get it over with.
It feels like a stranger’s hand locked at the base of my skull, shoving my cheek hard into the brick wall of an alley four blocks from the worst apartment we ever lived in.
Stale, overheated summer air fills my lungs. It’s thick with pollen and dust and the smell of an overflowing dumpster that’s been baking in the sun. It’s so late. It should be cool outside. I should be able to breathe. But it’s choking, suffocating city air.
It’s the pressure of his hand on my neck. My head is twisted. If I try to fight, he’ll snap it, and I’ll die. Mason’s already dying. He won’t be able to find me. Jameson will have to be the one to search. He’ll have to be the one to find my body with its broken neck and its knife wound. I won’t be in it anymore.
I try to stay still. Staying still seems like the best way to stay alive. But it hurts. The brick on my cheek hurts. It feels like the rough, chipped edge is splitting my skin. It hurts, please.
