Dragan continues to leer at my naked body as I scream, “No! Stop!” Striking out, I hit Cross’s shoulders and arms as he grunts in concentration. Chestheaving as sobs rack me, I throw my head back, crying my heart out.
“There it is.” Cross meets my eyes, a horrible evil smirk lifting the corners of his lips.
I suck in a breath and let loose with the loudest shriek I can manage as he maneuvers the IUD from my body.
“Fuck all, Cross. I haven’t heard someone scream like that in a long time.” Dragan laughs as his brother drops the T-shaped device onto the tray at his side. My eyes crash shut at the knowledge that the only thing saving me from being irrevocably tied to this place is gone.
Mission complete, Cross gently squeezes my knee, then leaves my side, dragging Dragan out into the hall with him.
I’m not even faking the tears that fall anymore, they slide down my hot cheeks in meandering rivulets as I wait for whatever hell comes my way next.
TWENTY-EIGHT
HAYZE
Tension shoots through me,my muscles drawn taut like a bow. There’s no processing a single thought. That was Delilah’s scream. It was audible all the way from the other side of the building in Nolan’s rooms. My heart kicks into a gallop as I burst from my seat for a second time in the last few moments.
“What the fuck?” Gannon grumbles. I ignore him.
We’ve only semi-recovered from Leif’s panic and the subsequent uproar it’d caused, and now this.Fuck.Is the rest of the Collective in the exam room? I could have sworn they said they wouldn’t be back until later this evening. Why is she screaming? Nolan went down to the cellar to tend to Fenix, and I swear Cross has to be the only one with her. Except Dragan is also missing.Fuck.
My throat is so thick with worry I can hardly breathe. I don’t know how many seconds pass whileArrow, Malakai, and I stare at each other. Arrow’s chest heaves with ragged breaths, his eyes frantic.
Oh fuck.As much as I want to know what’s happening, I can’t have Arrow going off half-cocked. “Take him outside, Mal.” I hastily wet my lips. “I’ll find out what’s going on,” I grunt.
Malakai’s dark eyes focus on me, and he exhales hard, giving me a look that readsAre you fucking joking?but then grips Arrow’s elbow. “Come on.” He tugs roughly on his arm until Arrow finally moves. A moment later, Malakai successfully steers them through the back door.
Those screams.They’ve reached right inside me and twisted me up bad. I can’t even seem to calm myself. Can’t think.
The others go on with their meal, quietly eating and talking among themselves. I’m not paying any fucking attention. I stand at the side of the room, my gaze anxiously flicking between those remaining around the table and the empty front hall.
I’m grinding my teeth so hard my jaw aches with the abuse.Fuck this.Decision made, I stride purposefully in the direction the screams had come from. I have no idea what my intention is, but I have to know what’s happening down there, no matter the repercussions.
But then, from up ahead, someone emerges from one of the doorways.Correction. Three people.I stop in my tracks as soon as I see Cross. The second is Delilah. He has a hand on the back of her neck, forcefullyurging her to walk. Dragan trails behind them, a nasty smirk on his face.What the fuck happened?I can’t help but scowl as I shoot Cross a questioning look, but he wrenches his gaze from mine.
That just makes my frown deepen and my pulse quicken. A breath heaves from me as he tugs the door to the cellar open and roughly guides her through the doorway and down the stairs without so much as a word.
Once they’ve gone, my brother smirks at me. “It was fuckin’ beautiful the way he made her scream. Bitch deserved it.”
I school my features, even though my fists are clenching and unclenching at the glee in his voice. When I think I’ve got myself under control, I mutter, “What do you mean?”
“Did Nolan not say anything?”He didn’t.And no one had dared question the lethal set to his features before he slammed the door to the cellar open and disappeared. My dickhead brother throws his head back and laughs. “Turns out she had some contraption up inside her cunt.”
I freeze, staring at him, then slowly rub a hand over my face. “What are you talking about?”
“Cross told me. It’s called contra—” He slicks his tongue along his lower lip as he scratches the side of his head. “It’s contra-something. I can’t remember the word. Means no matter how much we fucked her, she wasn’t going to conceive.”
I blink, shock rolling through me. “You’re lying.”Oh fuck.If anything was going to send Nolan into a rage, that’d be it.
He shakes his head, a sick chuckle falling from his lips. “I’m not. It showed up when Nolan was using some machine to make sure the baby was a boy.” He grins wryly. “I was outside the room when he started bellowing about it. Leif interrupted, otherwise I think Nolan would have ripped it out right then and there.” He smirks again. “Instead, Cross got to do it.”
My mind scrambles as it conjures things I desperately hope aren’t true. I heave out a breath, fighting for both control and to hide my true feelings about the matter. “When you see Cross, could you tell him to meet me outside? I wanna hear more about this.”
He shrugs. “Not your errand boy, but sure.”
I don’t have the patience to deal with his ego right now. Turning on my heel, I head for the side door and exit—because if I don’t, my head might pop clear off my neck.
Outside, I pace as I suck in lungfuls of fresh air. My heart thuds harshly as it forces blood through my body. The vessels in my head feel like they’re going to burst.Is she okay? Did he hurt her?Everything my asshole brother just told me runs through my mind, making me crazy with the need for more information.
