“He can’t save you here. Looks like you need to turn back and come find me.”
“I’m going to hurt you.”
“Promises, promises.”
Jason takes one slow step forward, and I turn back the way I came, moving faster than I did before.
I’m back in the hallway when the lights cut out.
In the pitch blackness, the song plays, bouncing off every wall at once so I can’t locate where it comes from. All I can do is imagine locking Vero up in a room with his fears, not that I could ever make his head silent—I swear a squirrel must live in there and feed him chaotic ideas.Feeling along the walls, I turn a corner and walk straight into a solid surface that wasn’t there before.
Except it isn’t a wall.
A hand closes around my arm, yanking me off my feet.
Suddenly I’m stumbling sideways, off balance, falling hard to one knee on the concrete floor. I’m ripped back up before the pain registers and spun around to face Clay standing there in the dark, bandanna across his face, his flashlight shining down on me.
“Get out of my way,” I snap, but there is no force behind it. Vero has gotten into my head enough that I can barely think straight.
He doesn’t move.
I shift left, and he mirrors it. So I go right, and he does the same. I drop my shoulder and try to go through him, but he catches me by the back of my jacket and shoves me sideways. His push is hard enough that I hit the wall and have to catch myself with both hands.
“You wanted me here, remember? No take-backs now. I can’t wait until it’s my turn with you. I plan to fuck you face down in the dirt and leave you in an empty grave.”
“An empty grave?” I laugh. “You’ll need to be a lot scarier than that to make me run from you, Clay.”
He grabs my wrist, the one without the band, and twists just enough to make me turn. I swing back with my free hand, catching him on the side of the head, and he goes still for a second as something behind his eyes shifts. It’s almost as if he is surprised I fought back. Then he steps away, flicks off his flashlight, and the darkness swallows him whole.
“Watching you get manhandled makes me hard. Maybe we need to stop the bear hunt and start a Vero hunt. Come and find me, I’m here waiting for you.”
I push through the next door and stop. Brawley is already in the room. He’s standing in the center, lit by glow-in-the-dark paint on his face and chest. His arms are at his sides, and he’s not blocking me in the way Clay was. He’s staring at me, assessing me, and under the pressure of his scrutiny, I want to back up, but I won’t show him fear. Someone like him would feed off it and want more.
“You want what’s mine,” he says, “but you’re going to have to earn it.”
He holds my gaze for another second, then steps aside to reveal a door behind him.
I walk closer and go to pass him, but just as I step past, he grabs the back of my neck. My fucking knees go weak. It’s thesame way he grabbed Vero, and I’m almost certain a whimper escapes me.
He leans in close to my ear. “You hurt him... emotionally, and after Clay fucks you and leaves you in an empty grave, I will bury you alive. Then I’ll sit there and listen to your screams. You wouldn’t be the first bitch to come sniffing around him.”
I knock his hand away from my neck and turn around to face him, stepping right up to his chest. “Why share if you’re this possessive?”
He grabs my face with one hand and my lips pucker, then he leans in and I can feel his breath on my skin. “Because I haven’t seen him this excited about making a new friend in a long time.”
“And what if I had a cock?” I push him because right now my pussy has come to life and I really don’t want to think about how long it’s been since that happened.
He grabs my pussy with his free hand and backs me up against a wall. “Hmm, you’ve got no cock, so I guess we won’t have to find out. It’s probably safer for you not to push me, but if you want to ride my cock while I cover you in pretty bruises that match your tattoos, fine.”
I scoff, and he laughs. “Don’t think I can’t smell your arousal—it’s practically leaking from you. If I move my hand like this...” He glides his palm up and slips it down inside the front of my jeans, dipping beneath my thong. Then he smiles without breaking eye contact. “Wet, just like I knew you would be. Does fear turn you on, Kayla? Does the thought of a monster catching you do it for you?”
“You’re not a monster. Vero has told me how much you care about him.”
He pushes his fingers inside me, hard and rough, with no warning. “Don’t ever think anyone else in this world could make me care. He is my only one in this lifetime, and I will follow him into the next. You’re just like everyone else to me: disposable.”
He draws his fingers out and pushes back in, and with each pump my body falls into his. There must be something wrong with me because inside I swoon over how much this man loves Vero, almost feeling guilty for wanting to get to know him better. Brawley removes his fingers as I moan, then with no warning his fingers are in my mouth. I close my lips around them and suck, tasting myself.
He slowly pulls his fingers out and lets my face go, then steps back. “Don’t keep him waiting.”
