Page 70 of Rogue

He stands there, looking like he’s about to collapse any moment.

“Why are you helping me, Zane?” I ask. “I don’t deserve it. I never did anything for you when you needed me.”

“I made my choices, Gabriel,” he says. “And I understand why you had to make yours.”

I want to trust him. I want him riding by my side as a brother. As the brother he’s always been to me. But can I?

“I saw how you looked at that doctor lady today,” he says, answering my unasked question. “You never looked at even Angel that way. You love her and I couldn’t take the woman you love away from you. I might’ve been very angry at you for a very long time, but I can’t put you through that pain again.”

Many things are rushing through my mind, gratefulness and guilt chief among them. They’re all making it impossible to speak.

He shakes his head and grins. “We’re wasting time, Rogue. Trust me or don’t but make up your mind fast.”

I extend my arm to him, the movement happening outside my conscious control. But as he clasps it, I know it’s exactly the right thing to do.

“Thank you, brother,” I tell him. “Now let’s ride.”

His eyes are hard, like two circles of stone, but they soften for a split second before he nods.

“Thought you’d never ask,” he says.

And he’s not the only one. But welcoming Zane back feels like the most right thing I’ve done in the last ten years.

The feeling doesn’t last long though.

Melody is out there somewhere, alone, scared and in danger. And nothing will be right until she’s safe. Nothing will be right until she’s back by my side where she belongs.

34

Melody

Teller was followed into the trailer by two of his guys and Tito and now the small space is so packed they can hardly move. All I really see is the huge hunting knife in Teller’s hand that he’s still just pointing at me. Tito’s brother is still holding onto my arm.

“Good luck making me scream,” I snap at him. “Not gonna happen.”

He laughs and it feels like nails scratching my chest.

“I think gonna enjoy breaking you, darlin’,” he says.

I don’t know what’s worse, getting stabbed to death in this cruddy trailer or being stuck with Teller trying tobreakme.

“Just kill me now,” I say. “Because you’re not touching me.”

His eyes turn very hard and he raises his hand. But instead of the knife piercing me, he just punches me twice, fast, once in the face and once in the stomach. The force of the blows knocks me out of the guy’s grasp and onto the sofa. Hot blood is gushing from my nose, I taste it in my mouth and I’m having trouble breathing right, but I still glare at Teller as angrily as I can. It makes him laughs again.

Then the flash of his camera goes off, blinding me and leaving dark red spots floating in my vision once he’s done.

“Maybe we should rip her clothes up too,” the guy with Teller suggests.

“Good point,” Teller says.

I kick and scream as he comes at me and get punched a couple of times more for my trouble. Cool air is hitting my naked chest and stomach as the camera flash blinds me again.

“She looks like shit,” Teller says as he looks at his phone. “Good. I’m sending the photos now.”

“They’ll come for her for sure,” his man says, chuckling. “The Devils never could resist saving a little lady in distress.”

“Let’s hope Unholy was right about that,” Teller says, typing something on his phone. Probably the text to go with the images of me in distress. He looks like it’s causing him a painful amount of effort to write the words.

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