Page 28 of Gift from the Nexus

I breathe a sigh of relief when I hear the change in his voice. The tremble has steeled into a firm order he’d give one of his E.F. members and a small, broken, watery smile crosses my face.

“I’m not sure of the number of Mastery here. They’ve only allowed a select few around me, but this prison is huge. So much larger than the one you were held in and it’s in the middle of a clearing. They’ll see you coming a mile away once you come through the tree line and cross the wards. There’re a lot of hostages, all drugged or subdued somehow, from what I’veseen. They plan to move half of them with me, so expect them to be outside as well. Everyone here is gifted and powerful, including a vampire.”

“Minute’s up. If you don’t come out, I’m coming in,” Trex yells through the door, startling me out of my mental concentration.

Shit.

“I have to go. I love you so much. Please tell them I love them too.”

“No, wait, Will—”

I slam a barrier between us and fortify my own mental block. It had to come down slightly for me to push through to him, but it has to be completely sealed around Trex. Yes, his words from a moment ago do make me look at him a smidge different than the others, but there’s no way I can allow him to hear anything going on in my mind right now.

He’s still the enemy, just not enemy number one.

The door slams open with the force of a wrecking ball, and I flinch as the loud bang echoes around the small bathroom. Trex’s furious face fills the doorway as he scans the bathroom and for a split second I panic, thinking he heard Tillman’s and my conversation until he looks down at the ground and sees me. The murderous rage smooths out, and he tilts his head to the side curiously.

“Why didn’t you come out when I told you to?” His concerned, more than angry tone causes me to falter while I scramble my mind for an answer.

“I…I just wanted a minute to sit down and catch my breath, but then I couldn’t get back up. You said if I didn’t come out, you’d come in, so I just waited.”

I’m not sure if it’s a complete lie because I didn’t try to stand, but based on how heavy I feel, it’s very possible. I’m sure the way I look sales it as well. I’ve avoided looking down at the damage done to my body. Even when I reached for some toilet paper towipe with, I kept my lids shut tight. The only eyeful I’ve allowed myself to see are my legs.

“You should’ve just called out.” He scoops me beneath my arms and lifts like I’m nothing more than a sack of potatoes.

Thankfully, he sets me on my feet and allows me to walk on my own, but his grip is firm on my arm. My brief reprieve was just a cruel tease that’s now causing more problems. After hearing Tillman’s voice in my mind, my bond, body, and soul rebel harder against his touch and the last thing I want is the four of them, plus Franklin, to surround me again.

You have to get that concealment down. You have no other choice.

A surprised shriek mixed with both pain and shock tears from me as we round the corner from the bathroom, and someone snatches me forcefully against them by my hair. Instinctively, I throw my hands up, about to release one of my elements, but a claw to my throat stops me in my tracks.

“Don’t even think about it.” Max growls low in my ear, pulling me firmer into his chest.

“What the fuck are you thinking letting her walk about without the cuffs on?” Donald yells in Trex’s face, shoving him in the chest hard.

Trex doesn’t budge, just stares at Donald boredly. Rolling his eyes, he replies, “I was thinking she was about to piss herself and personally, I didn’t want the stench of her urine all over me, so I took her to the bathroom. What threat is she to me? Look at her, she can’t even hold herself up. She’s a pathetic little rag doll right now.”

There went the small shred of empathy I had toward him.

“You’re even more of an idiot than I thought.” Donald sneers.

The massive asshole shifter at my back tightens his grip on my hair when I try to take a step back from Donald when he pins me with that demented gleam in his eye. I know him better thanthese men. At least I know this side of him better than they do. He’s not mad Trex let me walk around without the cuffs on. He’s pissed Trex allowed me to do anything without his permission first. Even now, with his fake Nexus brothers, he still believes I’m only his to possess.

My whole body vibrates with apprehension and fear when he reaches into his back pocket, and I hear the jingling of chains.

No. I just came up with a plan that did not involve cuffs.

“Donald, please. I did everything he told me—”

The familiar sting to my cheek causes a flood of memories to come roaring to the surface and I seal my eyes tightly shut. Gish’s Nexus brother punching me in the face hurt like a bitch, so did Franklin’s slap, but his backhand brings forth so much more than physical pain, it’s ten times worse.

“Don’t fucking speak unless I tell you to. Your manipulative shit may work on him but not me,” he whispers dangerously low, taking another step closer, crowding me between him and Max.

A piercing cry belts out of me when he snatches my seared wrist up and locks the cuff on before moving to the other side. The salty streams flowing down my cheeks cause my skin to burn as they soak into the impression of his hand on my chest and that rapidly turns my pain-induced tears into those of rage.

So help me, Elementra, he’s going to die for the things he’s done to me.

The sound of the other cuff locking into place echoes down the hall like a clock striking midnight and an ominous, intuitive sensation sweeps through me. I know if I don’t get these shackles off me, I’ll be shackled for the foreseeable future, possibly forever.

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