Page 41 of Barinov

“Shh,” he whispers.

He gives another thrust mixed with a nasty moan he doesn’t mean. Another scream I force from deep in my lungs.

“How are we going to get out of here?” I whisper under his weight.

“Working on it,” he admits, lips brushing close to mine. “Do you trust me?”

I nod as a tear runs down my cheek. He catches it.

“Scream.”

“Zeke!” I wail. “Stooooop!”

“Nicely done,” he whispers. He lets the sheet fall halfway down his back before picking up his pace, revealing just enough of his skin to make this shit look disgustingly real. “I’ll be back. We’ll figure this out.”

I search his face.

“You never…” I say through a sniffle. “You never left me, did you?”

“Never.” He winks.

“I missed you.”

“Scream one last time.”

I obey.

He glances down at me with glassy eyes. “I missed you too, sis.”

“Very good, Zeke,” Luca’s voice reverberates through the room. “That’s enough fun for now.”

Zeke freezes, his mask falling back into place. He slowly lifts off of me, gripping my wrist before he stands. His fingers gently squeeze our brother’s name inked on my skin.

“I’ll be back when I can,” he whispers. “Promise.”

♥♥♥

CADE

Costa Rica

12 days since Bella’s kidnapping.

“Cade!” Lex roars behind me, but I barely hear him.

All I can hear is the scratch of graphite on paper mixed with the echo of Bella’s scream bouncing off the inside of my skull.

My fingers are still smudged, stained, and trembling as I stare down at the sketch. The lines feel foreign. Like someone else carved her pain onto this page with my hands.

But I can’t stop staring at Zeke’s body curved into hers, or the shadows knotted at their hips. Her leg is slung over his. His mouth is at her throat.

My hand did that. Every inch of it. Every line and every contour.

I blink through the burn in my eyes and trace the shape of her shoulder. The arch of her back. The dip of her waist. The way his fingers grip her like she’s his.

And she’s not.

She’s not.