“I don’t want it anymore,” he pleaded.
“I know, baby. I know.” My heart shattered alongside the words I uttered. “But we have to play his game if we ever want a chance at escape, at a lifetogetheroutside of this. If we don’t, then he will strip you of everything, ofeveryoneyou care for until there is nothing left. He will kill Simon. He will kill Liam. He will kill Matthew. And he will kill me.”
He took a step back, his hands dropping at his sides. When his gaze lifted, life was stitched into the hues of his eyes once more. “I-I’ll try… but Thorne, I don’t think my body will let me hit you.” His fingers curled and uncurled, his scowl deepening. “You might… might have to make me angry.”
My throat bobbed, because I understood his dilemma far more than he realized. I’d been in his position even after his father had shattered my identity in those dungeons, unable to harm those I cared for. I’d known that once I did, there was no going back to the man I was. My refusal led to everything I warned Oren about: men being executed in front of my eyes as I was forced to watch their torture until their bodies caved and their lives faded.
Biting my cheek, I exhaled, slipping on the mask I’d worn like a second skin for far too long. “You want to know what I told your dad before we left for Venezuela?”
None of it. I meant none of it.
He shook his head, but he’d asked for this.Askedfor me to abuse him once more.
“I told him how pathetic it was that you’d even try to obtain a degree in art.Art,Oren? A worthless and wasteless piece of paper that would’ve merely rotted alongside your existence.”
“Thorne, it’s not working. I know you don’t mean this shit. I don’t know…” He glanced away, his fingers uncurling.
So I dug further.
“Do you know how broken Liam was when he saw Simon after that explosion? Fucking inept dumbass shouldn’t have been there”
“What do you mean? They were with you. My father lied about you going rogue to hurt me.”
“I did go rogue, and those fucking idiots followed me,” I growled. “Ultimately, it’s Simon’s fucking fault he lost his leg.”
Oren met my gaze. “How bad is it? I didn’t really see…” There it was, a crack in his demeanor.
“From just above the knee,” I confirmed. “If he would’ve listened to me, iftheywould’ve listened to me, then it never would’ve happened. All they did was get in the way, and Simon was stupid enough to assume the area was clear. And guess what?Hewas the one who stepped on that mine.Hedid it tohimself.”
I wanted to vomit.
“You’re lying to make me angry. He didn’t… didn’tlosehis leg.” Another blow and he’d let go, his fists already rising.
“He did. And you want to know what else? He’s been honorably discharged. He is no longer part of Special Operations and never will be again because of his own worth?—”
Oren struck.
His fist collided with my jaw, a solid hit he must have learned under his father’s tutelage, because it reminded me too much of mine.
Bracing his hands on my shoulders, his knee thrust into my stomach as I doubled over on instinct. Agony flooded my senses, the stitched wound in my side screaming beneath his onslaught. Swallowing a groan, I looked up at him. A perfectly timed punch landed on my cheek, twisting my head with enough force to look at the bed.
His breathing was erratic, the anger flooding from his system, but it wasn’t enough to please his father.
Laughing, I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand, blood coating my skin. “His worth in the ranks was never exceptional. If anything, I took him on that mission to see if he stood a chance in navigating desolation. Honestly, he was only another body I was willing to sacrifice to ensure we fulfilled your father’s orders.”
There was no hesitation as his foot met my chest, shoving me back with enough force to hit the nightstand.
My back cracked against it, only to be met with another blow to the face.
Coughing up a mouthful of blood, I looked up at him beneath hooded brows. My jaw feathered as I leaned against the wall, resting my head on it as I struggled to catch my breath. “What? You didn’t think I’d dispose of them? Simply because they're your friends?” A broken wheeze escaped me, encasing the chuckle I forced. “Liam will be next.”
“D-Don’ttouchLiam,” he spat, tears welling in his eyes as his boot collided with my side. Thesameside he continually hounded. His father had taught him well.
The force behind the kick was enough to rip a cry of agony from my throat; the sensitivity of the wound was too much for me to swallow. “F-Fuck,” I groaned, struggling to lift a shaking hand to it.
I felt the warmth immediately and knew that if Oren saw how far he’d gone, that he’d torn the stitches, he wouldn’t make it out to the training yard. He’d fall apart all over again in this room, and that wasn’t something he could afford if we wanted to keep up the ploy we were feeding his father.
Whether it was my cry of agony or the groan that slipped, Oren’s breathing lowered, his hands trembling once more. The rage, the fury, the wrath the general had instilled in him was still there, but it was dampened by my outward expression ofpain.
