Page 19

“What’s wrong, baby?” Gavin asks from behind me, making me jump at the sound of his deep voice. He turns me around to face him and places his hands gently on my hips. “You’re shaking.”

I am; I’ve never been so scared in my life.

“What did you do to them?” I whisper, gesturing to the cages behind me.

Gavin cocks his head in a predatory manner. His gray eyes are like liquid starlight burning into my soul as he stares at me.

His voice is soft and slightly manic when he says, “I hurt them, Aliyah. For you.”

CHAPTER 13

GAVIN

Why does she look so horrified? I thought she wanted her friends to hurt as much as they’ve hurt her, but I guess I was wrong.

Something must have shifted in her mind as we were walking down here, because she was different back in the sunroom. Maybe it’s a reach, but I could have sworn she seemed almost happy that her friends were missing. And she certainly didn’t seem to have an issue when I dragged Jamal and Megan down here.

“Anya, baby, wake up,” Ronnie says to his girlfriend, crawling to her pathetically on the other side of the cage.

Megan grips the bars and starts throwing herself around in an attempt to shake the cage open.

“LET ME OUT OF HERE!!!” she shrieks in that godawful voice of hers. I guide Aliyah to the other side of the basement to get away from the screaming and gently push her against the wall. Her eyes are wide with fear, but she doesn’t push me away.

“Please don’t look at me like that,” I murmur, leaning my forehead against hers. I’m dying to take this mask off and kiss her, but I’m not sure she’ll like what she sees. I don’t think I can take her rejection.

Her chest heaves as her breathing quickens. “I’m just scared.”

I nod. “I know, baby. But I’m here to protect you, and I’ll make sure no one hurts you again.”

CHAPTER 14

ALIYAH

Gavin’s words bring tears to my eyes.

How can a stranger make such a vow to someone like me? I’m broken, useless, and here he is in his dark cape and white mask looking like Death himself ready to carry me away from here.

His rough, calloused hands cup my cheeks as he gently presses the mouth of his mask to my temple. I turn my head and press my lips to his, desperately wishing I was kissing him instead.

Tracing the outline of the mask, I gently nudge it up before looking at him to gauge his reaction. His eyes, as usual, are intense, but he doesn’t stop me.

A bead of nervous sweat trails down my spine as I slowly lift the mask. There hasn’t been much time for me to even think about what he looked like all night, but now a million different possibilities flood my mind.

Does he look as hard and scary as he sounds? Or what if his face doesn’t match his voice and personality? What if he’s as average as they come? Will I still be attracted to him?

Yes, I answer silently, without a second thought. I would be because I’m very much attracted to the way he treats me, and right now that’s more important than anything else.

When the mask is off, I let it fall to the floor and…

My mouth hangs open in astonishment.

Breathtaking doesn’t even begin to describe how beautiful this man is.

“Wow,” I breathe, reaching up a hand to touch his face.

His features are just as rough and harsh as I’d expect of a man like him.

He’s much older than I was expecting, and a long, deep scar cuts down his face from the hairline on the right side down to the left side of his chin, perfectly mimicking his mask. His lips are plush and, dare I say, kissable. I graze my fingers over the scratchy stubble on his face.