Brighton shot up in the bed, her head weighing a thousand pounds. Dreams clinging like deadweight.
“Let me in!”
Ladomer. He found me. Her first instinct??—submit??—was quickly drowned out by the tastes of freedom and hope being here with Stone had injected into her aching heart.
She wasn’t going to be used anymore. Amid the banging and shouts, she scrambled off the bed. Grabbed her packed bag and darted to the bathroom, locked the door. Heart racing, she shoved her legs into the pants. Stumbled. Threw open the patio door, half expecting Finch or Drex to be there but the room was empty. One more glance across it to the door, light stabbing through and broken only by shadowed feet firmed her resolve.
No. No more.
Brighton cleared the hip-high rail and sailed onto the path. Her ankle pinched, reminding her of the injury that had healed some. She shifted to avoid the pain, but lost her balance when her backpack caught on something. Spinning around with a yelp, she crashed forward??—right into a solid mass. Felt like Finch.
“Let me go!”
Hands grabbed her shoulders.
She screamed. “Get off! I won’t go back!” Brighton thrust the heel of her hand against the solid chest.
Oof!
The hands held tight. “Easy??—”
“Stop!” She wriggled. “Let me go!”
“Brighton!”
Through the panic-driven chaos, she saw the face. Registered it. “Ray.”
“Got the first letter,” he said with a nervous chuckle. “Rowe.”
“Right.” She heaved breaths, still frantic. Glancing at the door. Shifting away, she did her best to control the panic but knew her time was short. “I … I have to go.”
“Go where? You okay?”
The banging erupted again with more shouts from inside.
Brighton jerked and cried out. Her legs clipped on something and slipped. Rowe pulled her forward into his arms, saving her from a brutal fall.
She caught his biceps, gaze glued on the room. “They’re here. I can’t go back.” She tried to tug free. To run. She wasn’t doing that life again. Wasn’t submitting to Ladomer. This time he’d brutalize her. Again. “No. I can’t.”
“Whoa, hang on th?—”
“Let go! Stop!”
“Release her!” Stone’s voice punched through the chaos, slamming into them like a brick wall.
Brighton spun toward him.
He was a storm. Fury and ferocity. Strength and violence. Gorgeous and terrifying. He barreled toward them, his rage focused on Rowe.
She threw herself at him, slammed into his chest, buried her face. “They’re here. Help. Please. Don’t let him take me. I don’t want to go back. I want to stay with you. Please.”
“Easy, Brighton. Easy.” Large hands cradled her, held her fast in the storm thrashing her mind and thoughts. “What??—”
Bang! Bang!
Stone pivoted from the room, protecting her as he looked in that direction. “What is?—”
“It’s him. Ladomer. He’s here,” she choked out.
