Page 114 of Lunar Crest University

My thoughts are as quick as my panting now.

All amusement is gone from Javier’s features as he glares down at me, gritting his teeth as he squeezes my jaw so hard, my cheeks squish. His eyes seem darker this way, and that should scare me, I think, but all I feel is tired. I’m exhausted.

Levi is gawking at me from his spot on the floor, his hand against his neck as the gash bleeds. His eyes plead with me to shut up, but I can’t let Javier kill him. The attention has to be on me, or he’s in danger. Maybe once he has my blood on his hands, he’ll feel satisfied.

I know he won’t.

“You’ve got a mouth on you.” Suddenly, the blade is pressed to my cheek. “Do I need to shove my cock in there to get you to shut the fuck up?”

Levi growls at that, and Javier turns to point the blade at him for a mere second before twisting it around in his hand and stabbing it directly into my thigh.

I scream so loud, my voice gives out at the end, hunching over as my body shakes from the trauma it has endured. It feels like my leg is on fire, like he had pushed the knife all the way through until it jabbed the wooden chair. I’ve never felt pain like this before, and my neck pricks with sweat in response.

I’m going to pass out.

Pleaselet me pass out.

And then, like a saving grace, an explosion rattles the compound, and the alarm system sounds off as a red glow illuminates the room.

Chapter Forty-Three

FINLEY

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 22ND, 2023

Levi and I are quickly forgotten about after the explosion—not even an afterthought in Javier’s mind as he barks orders at his men before they all storm out of the room, closing the door behind them and locking it tight. A sloppy decision on their part.

Not that it matters. Where there is an explosion, there is also fire. If these wounds didn’t kill me, I’d just burn to death instead.

The ominous red glow of the emergency lights doesn’t help my nausea, nor does it lessen the growing feeling of the end. This is the end of life as I know it, because my extremities are getting colder with each shaky breath I take. He had to have hit an organ with the amount of blood oozing from my torso.

Levi doesn’t waste any time ripping the tape from his mouth as he scrambles over to me, his hands hovering over the knife still lodged into my thigh as if he doesn’t know what to do about it. His eyes flicker up to meet mine, and they’re glossy with fresh tears.

“Finn, I’m so sorry.”

I shake my head weakly. “Don’t do that.”

His face construes into a sad grimace as he looks down at my stomach, but he composes himself as he sniffles, grasping at the rope tied around one of my wrists. All my restraints are bound tightly, which he quickly figures out once it doesn’t budge. With a frustrated groan, he falls back into a seated position on the ground as his hands slide through his hair.

“You should f-find a way out?—”

“No.” He points a finger at me. “Fuck that. Don’t say that to me. I’m not leaving here without you.”

“I’m stuck,” I rasp. “The b-building is on fire, Levi.”

The statement of the obvious only upsets him even more. He turns his attention to the rope tied around my ankles but to no avail. Tears streak his dirty cheeks as he growls in frustration, rearing his foot back to swing the tip of his boot into the leg of the chair. The jolt shakes my entire body, and the pain that rips through me is almost crippling. A tiny cry leaves my lips as my head falls back, and he immediately stops as he cradles my face in his hands.

“I’m sorry,” he whispers. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking.”

“Don’t do…that again.”

“I won’t.” He wipes his face against his shoulder. “I won’t.”

There’s a faint smell of smoke in the air now, and I know he smells it too, because he starts to panic again. Leaving me for a moment, he paces back and forth in front of my chair. He’s mumbling quietly to himself, but I can’t make out what he’s saying over the sound of the alarms blaring.

“I have to take the knife out.” He stops pacing like the thought has lit up the lightbulb inside of his brain. “ I can cut the ropes off with it.”

“I’m g-going to bleed to death.”

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