One of the men holding Vail transformed from a shadowy outline into a muscular man with a stern mouth and thick, dark eyebrows. Ilya. I growled under my breath, instantly recoiling.
Wait. Vail wasn’t at the soap factory. No one would have let him anywhere near that disgusting place. This couldn’t be real. I’m dreaming. I’m dreaming. The thought slipped away from me and confusion closed in.
I redoubled my efforts to grab Vail’s hand and the chains fell away, but I couldn’t get close enough. I started to run toward him, but Ilya kept dragging him farther away. They moved so quickly I began to scream. I’d never catch up to them. My throat felt raw, and water began to pour into the room from the inky abyss beyond the light. Maybe I really was under water and that’s why I felt like I was being choked. I touched my neck. The water on my feet was cold and came up to my ankles. Vail was too far away. The water kept filling the room and went past my knees, even while I struggled forward. Ilya stopped, pointed, and laughed. The gleam in his eyes was greedy as he stared at my crotch.
Glancing down, I swore and covered my dick, which was swinging in the wind. I was completely naked. Where had my clothes gone? Embarrassment had me sloshing backward through the water. I didn’t want him to see me. Shame heated my entire body. He was still laughing and looking—and I’d never worried about my body before today. I’d never felt helpless. I hated it. I hated that all I could do was let him look and caress his hand along my belly.
Where did Vail go? Where is—“Aspen!” I yelled. My voice echoed, and he was nowhere to be seen in the shadowy room. He couldn’t help us.
Couldn’t help me.
Vail was suddenly back and struggled against Ilya but couldn’t get free. Ilya began laughing again, and this time his men were with him. They appeared out of nowhere, not caring about the water in the room, pointing and laughing at me. I glanced down and there was a gun in my hand. I started shooting and blood flew through the air. It flickered, bright and real for a moment—a memory. I’d seen that. The bullets hit the men and they fell backward one by one. The water that had raised past my thighs turned into a red, dangerous ocean.
Horror filled my throat and made me gag. I touched my neck while I continued to fire the gun.
A cloud of smoke drifted up from the muzzle, and I couldn’t see anything. I swiped at the gray fog. My heart raced. Had I accidentally shot Vail or Aspen? My pulse hammered faster. What if I did? How would I know?
“Aspen!”
“Quiet, they’ll hear us, boyo,” Cillian said in my ear and covered my mouth with one hand.
“Who?” I asked somehow, even though his palm was still touching my lips.
“Them Russians. Who else?”
I glanced around, but the gun and the water and the laughing men and Vail and Ilya... they were all gone. It was just us inside a gray, murky thunderhead. Lightning flashed nearby.
“Oh.” Confusion bogged me down and I began to get angry. “Aspen isn’t here!” I rushed forward, and as soon as we broke through the deep cloud bank we were in a clean room with a cement floor and gray cinder block walls. It seemed familiar, but I wasn’t sure where from. “Don’t you care about Vail and Aspen?”
“I do!” Cillian shouted at me, and he grew until he was ten feet tall, rage etched into every line on his face. For some reason he began to look like Padraig, his eyes flashing blue, his lips getting plumper.
Rowen shoved me from the side, and I stumbled. His hair flashed a dazzling neon red that wasn’t possible but made me stare. “I love Vail best, ye muppet.”
Cillian had the gun I’d fired. He pointed it at me, and I froze in fear. Then he aimed the muzzle at the floor, and I glanced down. The dead Russian was there between us. The man I’d killed. I gasped as he twitched, then sat up. He turned to look at me.
Cillian shot him.
I clawed at my throat.
My eyes snapped open, and Aspen was over me, holding my hands down. His lips were pursed and he was shaking his head.
“Stop, you have to leave the tube alone.”
Confused, I shivered and glanced around the room that seemed too bright, half expecting a zombie to shamble toward us. My dreams had been wild while I was knocked unconscious, but this most recent one had me shaking. Sweat ran down my cheeks and made me shiver, and I wished I could curl up in Aspen’s arms. I wanted to be at home in our big bed.
Vail came to Aspen’s side and leaned over the bed railing to caress his fingers across Aspen’s, until he let go of that wrist so Vail could take my hand. “You’re okay, Fallon.” Vail’s soft apple scent swirled around me; he must’ve showered right before they came to the hospital. I drew as much of that smell in as I could because it was home to me, along with Aspen’s manly musk. “We’re right here. You were napping. They’re coming to take the tube out any minute now. You’re doing so well.” He bent and pressed a kiss to my cheek.
I closed my eyes so I could enjoy the warmth of his lips and wriggled my fingers until Aspen laced his together with mine.
“Be good, okay?” Aspen squeezed my fingers gently.
I nodded, but the fear from the dream clung to me, and even though Vail was smiling, I felt like something sinister could be lurking out of sight in the room.
I held Aspen’s hand until my fingers went numb, and he grunted. I should be excited to get the tube out of my throat, but I didn’t have any enthusiasm for any-fucking-thing. I reached up to touch my neck, and I was as weak as a baby. If someone like Ilya burst in here right now, I’d fucking die.
Maybe that was an exaggeration. I closed my eyes and wished I could talk. Aspen wouldn’t let anyone kill me. He kissed my forehead, and I couldn’t wait to go home. I wanted it so bad. I missed curling up with him at night. Our snuggle pile usually went Aspen, me, Rowen, Vail, Cillian these days, or sometimes Cillian, Aspen, me, Vail, Rowen. I’d gotten used to Aspen having my back. I hated to think I was relying on him to protect me, and it pissed me off that right now I wanted that more than anything.
Aspen had kept me safe while I was out cold.
