Total pages in book: 55
Estimated words: 51248 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 256(@200wpm)___ 205(@250wpm)___ 171(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 51248 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 256(@200wpm)___ 205(@250wpm)___ 171(@300wpm)
Life is a bitch for one reason only: all our actions are permanent.
As I grip the sheets tighter, I know that everything is wrong and not okay, no matter what Declan whispered on the way down here. When he turns to face me, standing tall and powerful in his suit pants and shirt, he looks so much like his brothers. There’s an expression on his face I’ve never seen before and it warns me to run. That I’m not safe. I was never safe with him.
“I didn’t—”
“Don’t.” He points at me, his jaw clenched and his body powerful. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
My eyes widen as the shock of his statement warns me from within. I could throw up, with the sudden sickness that churns in my stomach.
“Declan,” I manage as I lift myself slightly on the bed, feeling my aching body come back to life.
He cuts me off, though, the weight of reality truly setting in for me.
“I can’t hear you lie to me.” That’s all he offers before he turns from me, pulling his shirt off over his head and dropping it to the floor.
Tears prick and there’s a hollowness in my chest. My bottom lip wobbles and pleas beg to spill from me.
“I didn’t—” The words come without my consent. Barely voiced as slivers of moonlight filter into the room through the blinds. But he hears me. The man I thought I could love, the man I knew could kill me … he hears and his answer breaks the last thread holding me together.
“I said hush. The last thing you should do right now is test me.”
There isn’t a single ounce of warmth left in his words and large, hot tears spill down my cheeks. They soak into his pillow as I lie there numbly, absorbing it all.
I can’t help but cry silently. Ever so silently. I don’t move, I don’t try to wipe the tears away or make a sound at all. I only bury myself in the covers, attempting to survive and live through this. How? I don’t know how I ever could.
Not when I can barely breathe as it is.
With simple clean lines and varied tones of gray, the bedroom is just as masculine as it is cold. Each furniture piece is carved from dark, heavy wood. There isn’t an ounce of comfort or light. Every detail is consistent and sharp. Even the sheets and comforter on the bed look pristine as if they’ve never been touched.
The sound of metal clinking is what brings my blurred vision into focus. I quickly wipe at my face when I see Declan staring down at me with a set of cuffs in his hands. My wrists are already sore and have deep cuts in them. His eyes roam down my body and I can practically read his mind. Pathetic. I am pathetic and weak, lying ragged in his bed.
“I don’t think you need these …” he murmurs and then drops them to the nightstand with a loud clunk. Before I can respond he says, “You need to sleep. If you kill me, they’ll kill you. If you try to leave, they’ll kill you. If you lie there as you should, and sleep, you will live.”
The weight of his words and the position I find myself in are unlike anything I ever could have prepared for. I almost wish I hadn’t fought to live. I almost wish the deadly cold water had just taken me.
I don’t ask him if he knew they were going to do that to me. I don’t ask him if he told them to do it. I don’t ask him anything. I remain silent, closing my eyes and praying that when I wake it up it was only a horrid nightmare. Although I am already far too aware that this is my reality. This is what I asked for, loving a Cross brother.
DECLAN
With the brutal wind battering the windows in the early morning hours when all the sky is black, I know there isn’t a chance in hell I’m going to be able to sleep next to Braelynn. Hours have passed since she silently cried herself to sleep. All the while all I could do was lay here, contemplating the consequences of what I’ve just done.
I never should have touched her. I knew the moment I saw her that it would be a mistake. Rubbing my hand down my face, I try to rid myself of the image of her staring at me from across the bar, gorgeous and seemingly naïve. Rubbing my eyes harder I wish it would all slow down. I wish I could go back. Regret has never consumed me more.
I’m a fool and she paid the price.
The image of her in the water will be forever engraved in my mind and it haunts me as I lie here. This is all my fault. I’ve made everything way worse than it ever needed to be.