Fear tries to swim through my veins, but darkness is tunneling my vision.
How does he know? Is the last thought I have before everything goes back.
I wake up sometime later with a splitting headache and feeling like I spent the night doing shots. My mind is groggy as I blink and sit up, clutching my head.
"Are you okay?" Finn whispers.
I glance to my right and find him sitting on the floor beside me. His head is bleeding, his lip is split open, and he's cradling his hand like he broke it.
I scramble to sit up, but I'm chained to the wall, and the metal cuff that's around my wrist digs into my flesh.
I wince as I fall back down on the floor on my ass. "Where are we?" I ask as I peer around the small, windowless room.
"I'm not sure," Finn says with his knees bent in front of him. "I blacked out when the car crashed, and when I woke up, two huge ass guys were dragging me in here. I tried to fight them off, but they were too fucking strong. Plus, I'm pretty sure I have a concussion." He frowns at that, then touches his forehead. "Man, my head fucking hurts."
"Are you okay?" I ask with concern. “You have some cuts on your face.”
"I'm fine," he replies, his gaze searing into mine. "But you never said if you are."
I take stock of my body. Every single limb aches, and my hands are scraped up pretty badly. When I can't feel any wounds on my head, I must have hit it since I blacked out.
"Maddy, look at me for a moment," Finn says in a cautious tone.
"Okay." I force my gaze to him, the room suddenly spinning.
Finn curses under his breath. "Your pupils are really dilated. I think they may have drugged you or something."
I blink, and it feels like my eyes are rolling into the back of my head. "Yeah, I think so too." I blink several times, but the room continues to spin like a cracked-out merry-go-round. Because of this, I'm way less cautious with my words than I usually am. "Finn, I'm scared."
He shifts, and I hear the sound of a chain jingling—apparently, they chained him up too. Arms suddenly wrap around me, and while a trace of shock trickles through my system, I'm too drugged up to feel it.
So I rest my head on Finn's shoulder, and his warmth spills through me.
"You're warm," I whisper as I curl into him more.
"No, you're freezing." He pulls me closer. "What the hell did they give you?”
That's the last thing I hear before darkness drags me under again.
CHAPTER 6
FINN
I've wantedto hold Maddy like this for weeks now, but not under these kinds of circumstances.
She's slumped against me, and her eyes are shut as her arms hang lifelessly to the side of her. The only comfort I have is that her breathing is steady, and when I check her pulse, it feels even too.
I'm unsure what kind of drugs they doped her up with, since when I was dragged in here, she was already chained up and unconscious, but it's causing a rage of a storm to burn inside me. I am usually not a very violent guy, but I'm about to become one. The moment someone steps foot into this room, I'm beating their ass.
While I wait, I hold Maddy in my arms, trying my best not to smell her hair like a fucking creep, but she smells wonderful, like sugar and strawberries. I breathe in her scent, letting my eyes fall shut.
I've never been so obsessed with a woman before. Usually, I hook up, and that's it. But Maddy is so different from anyone I’ve been around. She is feisty as hell, smart, and hot as hell. She also cares about people. She’s all heart, even if she won’t admit it.
If she wasn't into my brother and he was pretty much in love with her, I'd do everything I can to be with her. Unfortunately, River wants her enough to stray from the betrothed path that has been set in stone for him since the day he was born.
I'll admit when he had proposed the idea to me that I should fake date Maddy to keep the society off her back, I had been so damn tempted to do so. But he wants her, and I can't take that from him, even if I want her too.
"Finn," she murmurs, rousing from her groggy state. "I think… I'm like super high."
