Page 69 of Better Hide

“Let’s go.” Cole shoves a bleeding Ralph in my direction. Jayden also turns, and when he locks eyes with me, his dark eyes are alive, angry, and haunted. I immediately take a step back.

“What are you looking at?” Jayden snarls.

I jump. What the hell just happened in the few minutes he’s been gone?

“Go,” Jayden growls.

I dart back to our room, skirting along the back of the couch.

The men follow, shoving Ralph in before them and slamming the door.

I try to blend in with the furniture.

Jayden locks eyes with me. “Where’s your collar, kitten?”

What? I glance at the other two. Ralph is looking as lost as I feel. What the hell is going on?

Jayden strides up to me, and I try to dart backward, but he snatches me up by the neck. He snarls through clenched teeth, “Don’t make me ask again.”

“I don’t know! In the car?” I try to claw Jayden’s hand off my throat, but he doesn’t let me go. Instead, he watches me struggle, eyes lighting up when I can’t budge his grip.

“Knees,” Jayden demands, then jerks me to the ground. “Or did you forget your place, slut?”

My knees hit the floor with a harsh crack.

“Cock-hungry whores belong in one place: at my feet.”

Humiliation burns through me.

“Jayden,” Cole says with a note of warning in his tone.

I glare up at Jayden. I hate him. I hate him and his bossy, asshole self. I snarl, “Sure, big man. Whatever makes you feel better about yourself.”

Jayden leans down so fast I think we’re going to knock heads. “You think I won’t fuck you right here to teach you a little respect?”

No one talks to me like that, and I see red. “You’ll clearly fuck me anywhere and in front of anyone just to prove a point. Well, guess what? You’re a selfish asshole who only cares about himself.”

Jayden’s eyes flash a second before his hand is around my throat again.

“Jayden!” Cole barks. “Get the fuck over here and help me.”

Jayden glares at me for a second longer before glancing at Cole, who is gripping Ralph by the back of the neck. Jayden looks back at me, giving me a long look. “Don’t fucking move. You hear me? You’ll stay right there.”

I narrow my eyes at him.

Jayden smirks meanly, then gets up.

Ralph backs up, hands in the air, trying to escape from Cole and get out of the room.

“I don’t know what the problem is. I’ll give you guys anything you want,” Ralph sputters.

Jayden stalks over to the bedside and grabs a laptop there. “Couch,” he demands.

Cole shoves Ralph to the couch. Right in front of me.

Yeah, fuck this. I stand, but before I can walk out of the room, Jayden has thrown the laptop down and is gripping me by the hair. Immediately, I turn to fight him. I kick as hard as I can, making contact with his leg, but he doesn’t even flinch.

“Let me go, motherfucker.” I whirl to claw at Jayden’s face, and he simply stiff-arms me away from him. He grabs a decorative bowl of flowers with a gravel base off the coffee table and throws it on the floor. Tiny rocks skitter all over the floor.

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