“That’s it!” The woman boasts with a shrill laugh.
The man’s hand covers my exposed breast roughly, and he pinches violently at my nipple as I scream. “I love it when they fight!”
My hands swat at him erratically as I beg—plead—for someone to save me. My stomach turns with every touch as my insulin pump beeps, but it’s only background noise as I fight for my life.
The man rips my thighs apart, causing a gasping sob to crest past my lips as he wedges between them and tears at my clothes. He rips the garter belt that connects my panties to the bust before flicking the fly of his slacks open with a single motion. He towers over me triumphantly as his cock springs free and he gives himself a long, slow stroke.
“I hope you’re dry. I want to make you bleed—” His words are choked off by a metal arm that rips him back into a strong chest. The person cutting off my attacker’s airway is large and shrouded in black clothing as he squeezes the life out of the sick man. I faintly register the woman’s scream, but my pulse is pounding so loudly in my ears that I can’t spare a moment to look away from the scene unfolding before me.
“Rosalie! Rosalie!”
I snap out of it, finally piecing together who’s saving me.
“Roman,” I choke out past trembling lips.
“I’m here, baby.” He says through gritted teeth as the man thrashes in his arms. He’s turning blue, but Roman doesn’t stop until the light has faded from my attacker’s eyes and he’s a slumped, lifeless body. Roman drops him to the floor, breathing deeply.
“Is she hurt?”
My head whips up at the sound of Kairo’s beautiful voice, and tears prick my eyes as he and Maddox subdue the woman to the chair.
“Kairo…” I whimper. “Maddox. You came for me.”
Roman’s eyes soften with relief as they sweep over me. “We’ll always come for you, Siren. Are you hurt?” He steps over the man on the floor, grabbing the blanket under me before wrapping it around my shoulders. His hands hover over my cheeks, and I see his hesitation.
I place my fingers over his, urging him to cup my face. “I’m okay.Pleasetouch me. I need to know that you’re real.”
He drops to his knees, fear embedded in his features as his warm, welcoming thumbs stroke over my tear-stained cheeks. “I’mreal. I’m so real, Rosalie.”
I throw myself into his arms, sobs wracking my body as my arms squeeze his neck tightly. “I was so scared…”
“I know,” he says thickly, holding a hand to my back as he presses me to him. “I know, baby…”
I pull away, touching his face with a mix of sweet relief and gratitude. Something overwhelming grips my chest at the sight of him. “How did you find me?”
“We paid Waylon a little visit,” Kairo smirks as he holds a gun to the sniveling woman’s temple. “He’s downstairs, and yours to dispose of, Thorn.”
Maddox gives me a coy expression. “If you want to, that is. If not, we can handle him.”
My insulin pump beeps again as I turn their suggestion over in my head. Roman produces another reservoir from the pocket of his tactical pants, quickly working to replenish my insulin as so many thoughts filter through my brain.
I’ve never been the vengeful type. It wasn’t in my nature, but this? Selling me off to men who wanted to exploit my body—my vulnerability. It’s crossed a line I can never come back from. My father destroyed every feeble connection we shared the moment he handed me over with no remorse.
He’s dead to me in spirit. Why not make it physical, too?
If anything, the men surrounding me have taught me not to take shit. Not from them, my father, or anyone else who thinks they can trample over me. I’m done being the doormat. The scared girl of my past burned up and died long ago, and I refuse to let her claw her way back to the surface.
“I want to make him suffer,” I decide with rage boiling inside of me.
Kairo nods. “Good shit. Close your eyes, baby.”
I only have a moment of darkness before a shot rings out, and I can hear a body hitting the floor. Roman guides me up as the smell of copper fills the air. He leans me out of the room, and Maddox closes the door behind us.
“Wait,” I stop them. “What about the others?”
Kairo grins charmingly. “They’ve already started without us. We’re late to our own party.” He slings an arm around my shoulders as he guides me down the steps. I’m a little confused by his words until I walk into absolute chaos on the first floor.
There are other men dressed in army uniforms and tactical gear, brandishing guns and barking orders at the partygoers. All of the women are huddled together, fresh t-shirts and loose, baggy sweatpants hanging off their hips as they watch army vets control the beasts who once had all of the power.
