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“Wait!”
Nix jerks to a stop and stares down at me. “What, baby?”
“Something isn’t right.” Why can’t I shake this feeling? The shots are coming from the back of the house so logically, we should go out the front but I can’t help but feel like that would be the wrong decision. Then, it hits me.
“Emma!” Nix snaps, his body trembling from the rush of adrenaline.
Fear overwhelms me. Ryan is here. This is it. This is the moment I’ve been waiting for and dreading for the past week.
“Go to the kitchen.” As soon as the words are out of my mouth, his eyes widen and he gapes at me.
“Have you lost your mind?!”
“Please, baby. Trust me.”
His gaze flicks back and forth between the front door and the kitchen. Uncertainty vibrates through him but finally he sighs and marches into the kitchen.
The moment we enter the space, someone yells, “It’s a fuckin’ recording!”
Nix gazes down at me, his eyes full of astonishment.
“How did you know, baby?”
“Do you remember when Ryan took me?” He nods. “He had Evan at the front of the house to draw Chance out while he snuck in the back. He was counting on you wanting to get me as far away from the gunshots as possible.”
I look up at him and he gazes back at me but his eyes are blank. My brow furrows in confusion as he slumps to the floor and I come face-to-face with Ryan.
I gasp and my hand flies up to cover my mouth. Ryan throws a piece of wood off to the side as he takes a step toward me. He inches closer and I quickly take two steps back, trying to keep distance between us. He smiles at me and it scares me more than anything else. It’s maniacal, inhuman almost. How did I ever fall in love with this man?
He rushes me and I don’t move quickly enough to escape him. His arm hooks around my waist as he moves to stand behind me and yanks me into his body. I fight against him with every ounce of power I can muster up, but it’s no good. He pins my arms at my sides and secures them there with one arm. I’ve never felt so defenseless in my entire life. The tip of his nose trails a path along my neck and he buries his face in my hair, inhaling deeply. My skin crawls.
“God, I missed you, baby.” His free hand strokes over my arm and I have to bite down on my lip to keep from sobbing. I can’t help but remember the last time he touched me. “Did you miss me, Emma?”
I should probably lie right now. I should tell him that I’ve missed him so much and that I could barely get out of bed without him but I refuse to lie. I refuse to encourage him.
“No.”
His arm tightens around me. “You’re mine and you always will be. Did you forget that?”
I shake my head. “No, I’m not.”
He chuckles. The sound is so out of place in this desperate, dark moment that it grates on my nerves.
“Yes, you are,” he growls right in my ear. His breath washes over my skin and I want to claw it off. “You and me are going to get out of here, baby. We can be happy again, you’ll see. We just need to get rid of these things.” He jabs a finger into my belly and I suck in a breath. Oh, God, no. Not my babies. His arm tightens further and I hold back the squeak of pain that so desperately wants to escape. “I’m so fuckin’ mad at you, Emma. How could you do this to me?” His finger digs into my belly and this time, I whimper. “How could you give him what belongs to me?”
“I’m not yours and I gave myself to him because he never demanded a single thing from me.”
A growl sounds from deep in his chest as he grabs my face and twists my head so I’m looking back at him.
“You. Belong. To. Me.” I shake my head in his grasp and he grits his teeth. “So Goddamn stubborn.” He releases me and my face aches where he was grabbing me. I know the feeling well. I’ll have his signature fingerprint bruises there tomorrow morning.
I don’t know why I’m taunting him. If I was listening to logic, I would go along with his delusion, but I just can’t do it. I don’t love Ryan anymore and I never loved him the way I love Nix.
“Let me go, Ryan.”
“Never. How many times do I have to tell you that you are mine?”
“I’m not yours and I never will be again.”
