“You. Betrayed. Her.”
“She would have died anyway. He was never going to let her go,fucker. He would have had her raped over and over by all of his men. All I did was save her from that fate.“ He pulls away, and my head topples forward once again against my chest. “He has Gabriel’s son, Sammy. He was going to murder the child, and Abe. I made an impossible choice, so hate me if you must, but know I loved her too.”
His footsteps sound on the floor, moving away from me. I hear the door to the room open, and then there’s a pause. “I will do whatever I can to save you; I owe her that.” The door slams in his wake, and I am left with only my thoughts for company.
Noah has Gabriel’s son? Noah’s going to murder Gabriel’s son? Wait, what fucking son?It’s the last thought I think before my body gives in to the abuse, and I allow oblivion to take me.
“Sir, your father would not approve.” The frantic whispered words pull me from the nightmare I was reliving of watching my Nightstar take her last breath.
“Good thing he’s not here, isn’t it? Do what you’re fucking told. I will deal with the consequences.” Ezekiel’s voice vibrates near my ear. I hear the rattling of chains, and then moments later, my suspended body is released, and I start to collapse forward with a pained cry, but before I can become reacquainted with the hard ground, an arm braces me with a grunt, and a shoulder slips underneath me to stabilize me.
“Heavy motherfucker,” the words are panted as they take on more of my weight. “Help… me get him to the bed.”
Another shoulder slips beneath my other shoulder, and an arm tightens around my chest, forcing a scream from my lips when it comes into contact with an injury. “Dammit, his shoulder is dislocated, I will have to pop it back into place, and I’m positive he has a few broken ribs.”Just a few? Based on the pain scorching through my abdomen at the moment, I would be surprised if it wasn’t all of them.
They struggle with my weight, moving at a snail’s pace until my knees make contact with a hard surface, and I’m dropped unceremoniously on a bed. I bounce with the impact, and every part of my body screams in vicious pain. “He needs a hospital, Ezekiel. I don’t have the necessary equipment here to fix everything that is wrong with him.”
Good. I don’t want to live anyway. Why don’t they just let me die and save themselves the trouble?
A grunt meets the statements as two hands struggle to turn me back over, causing me even more pain. “Do what you can; half alive is better than all the way dead.”
“What… are… you… doing?” I question between labored breaths, willing the energy to come back into my body so I can break his pretty boy face.He might be handsome, but his soul is pitch black and filled with evil.
“Trying to save your ungrateful fucking life, asshole.”
No more words are exchanged as I open one of my blurry, swollen eyes and meet two dark brown pupils filled with fear. The man before me is not familiar to me, but as he moves about, checking my body carefully for all my injuries and grimacing with distaste, I get the impression he might know what he’s doing.
Looks like the cunt has found someone to help him prolong my misery in captivity. Fucking great. All of a sudden, Ezekiel Rothesay has developed a conscience. Where was it when he was murdering my Nightstar?
“He has so many injuries, I don’t even know where to properly start. Hand me that bag, will you? I am going to do what I can, and at least give him something for the pain.”
“No! Nothing.” The words sound garbled to my ears, but I don’t want them to give me anything that could make me compliant, and that they could use to force information out of me. I would rather suffer, and know that I am aware of my surroundings and what is being done to me.
“Sir?” The beady-eyed man questions, staring at Ezekiel for confirmation.
“You heard him, nothing. Let the fucker suffer through you putting him back together.” Even though his words are crass and uttered with disdain, I see the respect and understanding in his eyes. I also see the pain of his actions plain to see. He is filled with regrets. Fuck him and his regrets. Regrets mean that it is too late.She’s gone.
“Fine. You both are lunatics. Give him something to bite down on while I put his shoulder back into place, unless you want his scream to be heard across this house?”
A thick cloth is shoved between my teeth, my jaw tensing and burning with the intrusion as they both lift me up. Ezekiel braces my body against his chest, and the other man positions himself at my side. Without any warning, he shoves my shoulder back into place with an audible pop, and I scream into the fabric.
“One injury down; about a dozen more await us,” he snarks, but I don’t hear any more words, as my head spins, and darkness claims me once again.
The next time I open my eyes, the pain still assails me, but it’s not as harsh. I try to move my arms, only to realize one is in a sling strapped across my chest, and the other has a cast molded to my hand and wrist.Well, what the fuck? They really are trying to put me back together and keep me alive. Idiots.
“I wouldn’t try to move around too much. You’ll just undo what the fucker spent hours fixing and complaining the whole time about.” Ezekiel’s rough voice greets my ears, and my eyes strain to find him in the dark room. A beam of moonlight lights a portion of his battered face as he sits in a chair at the foot of the bed. “He gave you something to help fight off the inflammation and infection. When it wears off, you’re going to feel like hell.”
“Why are you helping me?” I raise my casted hand to stop the flow of his words. “Don’t say it’s because you owe her. You’re a fucking psycho who feels little or no remorse, I’ve seen you in action. Tell me the truth.” I force my eyes to narrow so I can see the expression on his face, and determine if he’s telling me the truth or feeding me more lies.
He leans forward in the chair, his tattooed, muscled forearms on display in his tight, dark t-shirt as he rests them on his legs. Bandages wrap most of his fingers and one of his wrists, at least the parts that I can see. “Abe is out there somewhere with the rebels. They took him hostage when they stole Dinah’s body. I want him fucking back, and you are going to help me get him.”
Abe, of course. The man he loves. The man he would do anything to protect, even sacrifice my Nightstar for. I’m not surprised one bit that his goal is to get him back. Even if his other half might be inclined to murder him once he does.
“Why would I do that?” I question with curiosity.
“Because I am going to help you kill my father and take down the Brotherhood.” He answers so nonchalantly, as if we weren’t talking about murdering his parent, and taking on an organization that currently controls the world.
“Gabriel’s son?”