“Those were stupid words, Stone,” I whispered, shaking my head. “I just said whatever was in my mind to make you feel better. No more pretending, no more telling stories. This is real, and theywillkill you if I don’t get you out of here. I’m not about to let you lay your life on the line because of a few ridiculous words!”
Voices came from outside, and Stone’s eyes widened, and he yanked against the chains.
“Please go,” he choked out with rippling black eyes. I didn’t know what to do. My feet wouldn’t move to leave him. He jerked forward, but the chains yanked him back. “Adora, leave. If they decide you’re involved, this will all be for nothing.”
I turned to glance back at the barn door, then faced Stone again.
I shook my head because I didn’t want to leave him.
“Go,” Stone pleaded.
Tears burned behind my eyes when I shook my head again. “No.”
“Adora,” he said, catching my gaze. “I lied, all right? I lied to you. This isn’t the end. I promise.”
A breath tumbled out of me, and I stood on my toes, my lips catching his. A soft kiss. In case it was our last.
Stone closed his eyes and leaned into it, keeping me with him for a second longer than we could afford.
I tasted his blood on my lips and found myself swept by love.
Weak, doomed, a part of me no longer my own.
I wastakenby it, the way one was taken by a curse.
CHAPTER 36
STONE
Time moved differently.
Before, it had been measured by my darling’s subtle touch, her soft steps about the lighthouse, and her musical laugh. It was measured by notes cascading from the record player, dust captured by the daylight hours, my satisfying moans, and her carnal whispers. But at this moment, each second was moved by suffering, chains clashing, painful heaving, footsteps prodding on dead earth just outside the barn, and, at times, silence.
She’d come and gone just before the men returned.
I missed her already.
Beck approached first and wouldn’t look me in the eyes.
“You have to prove yourself,” he whispered as he unlocked the chain around my wrist. “Let it out, talk, dosomething. Now is the time, and you’re only making it more difficult than it should be.” There was something about the way he spoke. He kept his voice low, his words vague. It made me believe he didn’t want the others to hear. Julian, Zeph, and Phoenix were standing off to the side, watching intently and speaking quietly to one another. They had to be too far to hear what Beck was saying, but Beck still spoke as though at least one of them could.
The chain broke free and my arm collapsed to my side.
“Last chance,” Beck said, walking to the other side to free my other wrist.
His blue gaze dashed to mine for a response.
I stared back, giving him nothing.
Beck nodded. “Very well.”
The lock broke and I tumbled to the ground, my chest slamming into a concrete slab.
Every bone ached, and my elbows shook as I tried to lift myself up.
Just as my arms locked straight, a boot stomped into the center of my back, crushing and pinning me to the barn floor.
The concrete slab was cool against my cheek when Beck forced my arms behind my back and bound my wrists together. Then one of them grabbed my shoulders and snatched me off the ground. My legs buckled and my knee scraped concrete. A groan rumbled in my chest, and I squeezed my eyes closed and lifted myself back onto my feet.
