“This is my buddy Carter’s place,” he confirms, kneeling in front of me. “His roomie went home for the weekend, and Carter is staying with his girl. He said we can stay as long as we like.”
I touch my fingers to the large Band-Aid covering his left temple as a fresh bout of shivers whips through my body. I haven’t stopped shaking since we left the hotel, tortured over thoughts of what would’ve happened if the guys hadn’t shown up to rescue me. “Does it hurt?” I whisper.
“Nope.” He grasps my wrist gently while shaking his head. “I have a hard head and it’s only a few surface scratches.” He smiles, and his entire face lights up in a way that does funny things to my insides. “I’ll live.”
“You can come sleep at my place,” Zach blurts, pushing off the doorway. I don’t miss the scowl he directs at Adam.
I turn onto my side, sliding my hands under my head. “I can’t. I’m still banned from seeing you.”
“I don’t like you withhim.” He spits out the word, sending daggers at Adam.
“It’s my choice, and I’m not going anywhere.” I need to talk to Adam. To find out how they knew where I was. And I need to think. And time to process all that’s happened tonight. I might look like I’ve got my shit together, but the truth is, I’m barely holding on. Another shiver tiptoes up my spine, and I swallow back bile. I was almost gang-raped tonight. My stomach lurches violently, and I move my palm to my tummy, rubbing gently as if that will make the awful churning go away.
I spent a half hour at their mercy, and even though I was drugged, it felt like a hell of a lot longer. I clamp my lips shut, forcing the panic bubbling up my throat to recede. Humiliation and shame compete with anger and frustration inside me as I remember how they toyed with me.
“Are you sure, babe?” Zach kneels beside Adam, reaching out and taking my hand. “He doesn’t know you like I do. I can take care of you. We can check into a hotel.”
“Because she really wants to go back to a hotel,” Adam sneers, doing little to hide his contempt for Zach.
“What the fuck is your problem with me?” Zach demands to know.
Adam’s nostrils flare. “The list is too long to get into right now.” He whips his head around to mine, gently cupping my face. “My priority is looking after Emily.”
Zach scoffs, but I tune him out, focusing on the tender way Adam is looking at me. His touch is soft and soothing, the complete opposite of the rough way Wes and his friends manhandled me earlier.
I squeeze my eyes shut, in a feeble attempt to ward off the images replaying in my mind, and an errant sobs flies from my mouth. I quake all over, and I’m so cold. I wrap my arms around myself, tucking my knees into my chest.
Adam climbs onto the couch, hauling me into his arms, as a fresh bout of tears takes hold of me. I cling to his shirt, siphoning his warmth and his comfort, needing it to remind me not every guy is a monster. The dam breaks, as restrained terror breaks free, and I fall apart in his arms. If Wes and his crew had had their way tonight, I would be broken beyond repair.What the fuck was I thinking going over there?A fresh layer of shame sweeps over me, and I’ve never felt more weak or more stupid.
When I finally stop sobbing, I look up, realizing we’re alone. “Where did Sam and Zach go to?”
“They left to give you privacy, but I can call them back if you like.”
I shake my head, sniffling. “I’m not in the mood for company.”
“I’m not leaving you alone, but I can go in the other room if you want privacy.” He rubs a hand through my hair, and it’s amazingly comforting.
“Don’t go,” I whisper, fisting a hand in his damp shirt. It’s soaked from my tears. I peer up at him. “Thank you for rescuing me.”
His jaw tenses. “I’m sorry we got there late. We thought we were early.”
“He brought the time forward because he had a date with Cassandra later tonight,” I say through gritted teeth as my fear transforms to anger.
He brushes his thumbs under my eyes. “You want to talk about it?” he quietly asks.
“Not really.” I gulp over the messy ball of emotion lodged in my throat.
“They didn’t… Did he…” His body is balling into a knot as he tries to get the words out.
“They didn’t rape me.” A shudder works its way through me again, and he wraps his strong arms more firmly around me. “They hadn’t gotten that far, but they cut my bra off with a knife and took turns groping me,” I admit in a shaky voice. “They enjoyed humiliating me, poking fun at my body, and taunting me with all the ways they were going to fuck me.” Tears prick my eyes again, and my lower lip wobbles. “If you hadn’t arrived when you did…”
He pushes the air out of his lungs. “We didn’t arrive soon enough,” he says, and I can tell he’s working hard to keep a level tone. “And now I’m regretting not throwing that fucker off the balcony. That animal doesn’t deserve to live.”
I don’t disclose that Wes rubbed coke on his fingers before shoving them inside me. He wanted me docile but not too high that I didn’t know what was happening, but he underestimates how often I use, and the dose he gave me wasn’t near enough to get me out of my head.
Pain slices through me, ripping my insides into shreds, and I cry out before darkness swoops in to claim me.
“Em?” Are you okay?” Adam’s voice worms its way through my subconscious. “What just happened?”
