“It doesn’t matter.” I moved to the window, checking sight lines. “What matters is keeping you alive.”
“By making me your…” She couldn’t finish.
“By making them think you’re mine, yes.” I turned to face her. “And that means you need to sell it. Starting now.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean you need to scream.” I stepped closer. “They expect it. Me establishing dominance, having my fun. If you don’t, they’ll wonder why. And suspicious means dead here.”
“You want me to pretend you’re?—”
“Yes.” I cut her off before she could say it. Yes, I wanted her to pretend like I was raping her. Brutalizing her. If I weren’t fucking careful, I’d be the one vomiting. “Scream like you’re scared. Like it hurts. Like you’re learning your place. Can you do that?”
She stared at me for a long moment, this woman I’d loved and left and was now destroying piece by piece. Then she nodded.
“Good,” I said, louder now, putting the cruel edge back in my voice. “Then let’s give them a show they won’t forget. Because your life depends on it, sweetheart. You need to scream.”
Chapter 3
Coop
“You need to scream.”
The words hung between us in the sudden quiet of my room. Through the thin walls, I heard Diesel’s laugh, ugly and knowing. Tommy’s nervous chuckle followed. They were settling in for the show, and Mia just stared at me like I’d asked her to fly.
She stood frozen in the center of the space, arms wrapped around herself like she could hold the pieces together through sheer will. Her hair had come loose from the bun, blonde strands falling around her face in a way that made her look younger. Vulnerable.
The same way she’d looked the morning after our first night together, standing in my kitchen wearing my Marine Corps T-shirt, making coffee like she belonged there. Like she’d always belong there.
That was before. This was now. And now, she couldn’t afford to look vulnerable.
I moved to the window, checking sight lines again. Snake’s shadow passed across the porch—of course he’d position himself where he could hear everything. The man had survived this long by being paranoid, and two plus two equaled four in his world just like everyone else’s. Former military guy suddenly going soft on a witness? Snake would be listening for any sign that this was more than just me wanting to get laid. Any indication that I actually cared what happened to her.
I didn’t know what the fuck to do.
The room felt smaller with her in it. My gear took up one corner, meticulously organized the way the Marines had drilled into me. The bed dominated the space—a double that would seem massive compared to military bunks but now felt like it was screaming its presence. The closet door stood partially open, revealing tactical vests and spare weapons that were part of my cover. Everything in this room was a lie except for the woman standing in the middle of it.
“They’re expecting you to scream,” I said, the words harsher than intended, but we had no time for gentle. “Me establishing dominance, claiming what’s mine. If you don’t sell it, they’ll come in here to see why.”
She opened her mouth, understanding flickering across her features. I watched her throat work, the delicate muscles contracting as she tried to force sound out. Her lips parted, shaped around a scream that wouldn’t come. Nothing. Not even a whisper. She tried again, face flushing with effort, but terror had locked her voice away somewhere she couldn’t reach.
It was the same look she’d had when I’d told her about my last deployment before everything went to hell. The one where half my squad didn’t make it home. She’d tried to find words of comfort, but nothing had come. We’d sat in silence on her couch for hours, her hand in mine, both of us understanding that some things were too big for words.
“Come on, Mia.” I moved closer, keeping my voice low enough that it wouldn’t carry. “Please. Our lives depend on this.”
Her mouth opened and closed like she was drowning on dry land. The panic in those honey-brown eyes wasn’t directed at me—it was at her own body’s betrayal. She was trying. Christ, she was trying so hard her whole body shook with the effort, but her throat had sealed itself shut.
Through the wall, Diesel’s voice rumbled. “Getting awful quiet in there, Coop. Need some help?”
The suggestion in his tone made my skin crawl. I’d heard Diesel’s version of “help” through too many walls over the past six weeks.
“Just getting started,” I called back, injecting false bravado into my tone. “Some things are worth taking time with.”
Tommy’s laugh was again too loud, too enthusiastic. Kid was probably pressed against his wall, getting off on what he thought was happening. The thought made bile rise in my throat.
I knew what would work. Knew exactly how to terrify her into screaming. A hand around her throat, just tight enough to trigger survival instinct. Throwing her on the bed, letting her think for one moment that I might actually?—
No. There were lines I wouldn’t cross, not even to save us. Not with Mia. Not with the woman who’d waited for me through three deployments, who’d made me believe I could have a life after the Marines.
