God. Fucking. Dammit. Anguish rips through me, and moisture gathers in my eyes. There’s something else festering inside my chest, too, but I don’t give it permission to break free yet.Because when I fuckin’ find that rat bastard…My mind rages, full of all the things I’ll do once I get my hands on him.
That’s gonna have to wait. As much as I relish the idea of tearing Bradley limb from limb, Noah needs mewithher right now. Present. Focused. Prepared to help her through this. Pressing my lips into her hair, Icautiously whisper, “Noah, I’m gonna get you out of here.”
She doesn’t say a word, but a tiny, terrified moan falls from her lips, and her body tenses as she clutches at me in a desperate attempt to keep me close. “I need—” Another sob bubbles from her chest that pierces me right through the heart and a fresh wash of tears flows down her cheeks.
“Tell me. I’ll give you anything.”
She shifts, frantic hands reaching up to claw at the material at the neckline of the tattered, soiled dress. The wild look in her unfocused eyes is a gut punch I wasn’t ready for. “T-take it off,” she wails. Her voice is desperate as her hands continue to tug and pull.
I quickly swallow, looking down the back of the gown where a million fucking pearls keep her trapped inside this hell. I grasp either side of the closure and firmly yank. Buttons pop off in all directions, and the sound of rending lace fills the room.
Together, we peel the dress from her torso and shove it over the curve of her hips. My eyes crash shut as I take in the damage done to her delicate skin, redness and scratches and bruises. Her skin is a canvas of painful colors. Shock ripples through my veins. Some of these marks are older, telling a horror story I wish she hadn’t lived through.
An ache is building inside me, the likes of which I’venever known. As my gaze lands on the split in her lip, my fury rises. Blood has dribbled down her chin to cake and dry there.Fuck!How long must she have been lying here alone, frightened, and hurting? How long hasallof this been going on?
On the verge of insanity, I stuff that down along with all the ways I’m going to dismantle the demented fucker who did this to her. Instead, I cradle her in my arms, then hurry into the opulent bathroom. Yanking a silky white robe from a hook on the wall, I bundle her into it.
The next few minutes pass in a blur as I rush from the suite and down the hall with Noah trembling in my arms like she’s going to completely fall apart at any second.
Back in my room, I set her on my bed and draw the covers to her chin. Tears continue to stream from her eyes and ragged, hiccupping sobs claim her. Trying to get hold of myself, I turn around, only to hear her plea. “Don’t l-leave.” That stutter in her voice nearly breaks me, so I sit back down beside her, brushing a few strands of hair away from her face.
A steadying breath can’t even calm me as I stare out the window into the darkness. Even though it’s late, there’s no hesitation when I pull out my phone and put the call through.
It only rings twice before Kade’s gritty voice reaches my ear. “Rhett?” He gives a dark chuckle. “Make itquick. We just got back to the room, and your brother’s about to fuck your sister.”
His deep rumble of laughter reaches me, and I can imagine the smirk lifting one corner of his lips. In no mood for his humor, my voice comes out like grit over gravel. “My room. Five minutes. Bring Sage.” Pausing, I exhale hard into the receiver. “John fucking Cena.”
NOAH
23
Rhett Jameson Riversis the only thing keeping me from spiraling into the dark abyss and rotting there. Now more than ever, Ineedhim. His presence is going to be crucial to my survival. That thought alone snaps tight in my chest, sharp enough to steal my breath. My arms lock harder around him without permission, fingers digging into his shirt because if they loosen even a fraction, I’ll slide backward into something unsurvivable.
Please don’t let me go.Rhett’s body is warm, solid in a way the rest of the world isn’t anymore, the steady rise and fall of his chest, the only rhythm my breathing will follow.
Everything else feels loud and too close. The room presses in from every angle. Even though I know in reality I’m safe now, my body doesn’t care. It’s convinced that the only sanctuary left is right here, wrapped aroundRhett, where I can anchor myself and keep the world from dropping out from beneath me entirely.
Footsteps draw closer, and I stiffen. I don’t lift my head. I don’t look. The idea of breaking this contact—even to acknowledge who else is in the room—sends a sharp flare of panic through me, and my arms tighten instinctively, body making the decision before my mind can interfere.
When my breath catches in my chest, it tightens until the air stutters on its way in. Rhett must sense the sudden shift because his grip adjusts automatically as if he feels the fracture before it reaches the surface. It keeps me from unraveling.
Reassuringly, his hand moves down my spine, the pressure even, unchanging, and never demanding more than I can give. “It’s okay, Starlet. Nobody is gonna hurt you again. I promise.”
The air shifts as someone moves closer, careful, cautious, the mattress dipping near my hip, and I know who it is before anything else registers. “Noah. It’s Sage.” Familiar. Quiet. Solid.
She doesn’t touch me, and I’m grateful for it in a way I can’t explain. Her being here without asking anything of me feels like mercy.
Another presence fills the room behind her. Without lifting my head, I know it’s Kade. He follows her like a protective shadow.
“What the hell happened?” The question Sage breathes out holds an angry weight, but her voice stays low, as if she understands that the wrong volume could splinter me.
Rhett shifts beneath my cheek. Not away, never that, but his demeanor hardens into something more complex and fury-contained. The muscle under my face tightens, his chest expanding as if he’s bracing for impact while his arm stays locked around my back. “I’m not sure,” he bites through gritted teeth. “She’s barely uttered more than a groan since I found her. The state of their suite and the bruises—old and new—tell me every fuckin’ thing I need to know.”
There’s an undercurrent of restraint flattening his reply, and I know it’s for my benefit. Any other time, I’d be peeved that they’re speaking about me like I’m not even here, but not now. Today, I’m grateful.Please don’t make me tell you. Don’t make me relive it.
“Bradley is a fucking dead man walking. He awakened his reaper and numbered his days.” Rhett’s chest vibrates against my ear. I catch enough to understand its shape, even if the details blur. His voice is different now than it was when he was comforting me—rawer, stripped down to something brutal and unfiltered. The promise in it lands heavy and dark, settling deep in my chest where it doesn’t move. “I’ll bring that bastard to the brink of death, and when I do, he’s going to beg me toend him. But I won’t, not until he’s suffered an unimaginable amount of pain and torture. Not until I reclaim the fucking light he stole from her eyes. Then and only fucking then, will I allow him to meet his maker.”
Rhett’s threat doesn’t scare me. It steadies me. Something about the certainty of it quiets the frantic buzzing in my head, even as my body keeps shaking.
