Page 56 of Breaking You Open

It’s Eric—the guy who got me drunk at the party Lilith brought me to. In some ways, I should thank him for getting Louis’s attention on me. If I hadn’t gotten so shit-faced that night, Louis might not have noticed me at all.

The question is, what the hell is he doing here?

Footsteps tap across the carpet, and I crawl desperately backward on my palms and feet until my shoulders hit the bed. Any second now, they’ll see me!

I duck and slide and crawl until I’m fully underneath the bed. My breath is staggering up my throat, but I try to keep every little sound inside as I turn around to my stomach, facing the door to the living room.

“Where does he keep them?” Eric asks. Now that I see him, he doesn’t look right. He’s slurring his words, and his steps are swaying too much. Maybe he’s taken a few swigs of the bottle himself this time?

“Check the cabinets,” the other guy says.

They rip open some of the cabinets on the wall next to the TV. What are they looking for? They have to know Louis will be coming home soon. Robberies are usually done in secret, so why break in so close to the end of his shift?

“Fuck, where are they?” Eric snaps. “Tyler, look in the bedroom. We’re running out of time already.”

The feet approaching the bedroom send my heart into overdrive, and I clasp my hand over my mouth lest they hear my gasping breaths. But what about my heartbeats? They’re pounding so hard I can feel my pulse all over my body. I feel sick. What would they do if they found me? What are they planning to do with Louis?

There’s a rattle of someone unlocking the door to the apartment. Louis! It has to be.

Eric lets out a hiss. “Fuck. Forget the guns. Let’s hide, and we’ll overpower him.” He crouches down next to Tyler behind the bedroom door.

“Have you seen the dude?” Tyler snaps. “There’s no way we can take him.”

“With this, we can.” Eric flips something open that glints in the moonlight. A knife? Oh god, no…

The entrance door opens, followed by Louis’s footsteps and the rustle as he takes off his jacket.

Shit, I have to warn him! But if I scream now, Eric or Tyler might try to catch me…

It’s worth the risk. I fill my lungs with as much air as I can fit and scream with all my might, “Louis! Watch out!”

“What the fuck?” Tyler mutters. Then several things happen in quick succession.

The huge silhouette of Louis enters the doorway. Tyler lunges toward him. At the same time, a hand shoots under the bed, grabs hold of my arm, and yanks me forward.

My knees burn as they skid over the floor. Eric keeps pulling my arm until he’s got me upright, and then he bends one of my arms behind my back so hard I think it’s going to break.

“Wait!” Eric yells triumphantly, and something cold and sharp presses to my throat. “Look what I’ve got.”

Louis, who’s got Tyler up against the doorway with a brutal grip on his throat, snaps his attention to the two of us. His eyes—dark and furious—fix on me.

“Don’t move,” Eric says, “or I’ll cut your little boy toy from ear to ear, bitch.”

Louis grunts, and his shoulders heave, his huge arms bulging with muscle. “Let him go. Or you’ll fucking regret it.” He looks crazed, nostrils flaring.

“Why would I let him go?” Eric asks, ripping me even closer to him.

“What the fuck do you want?” Louis growls, and his voice…I’ve never heard him like this. He doesn’t sound angry; he soundsbeyondangry. He sounds as if Eric and Tyler have opened the gates of hell, and the beast that slept inside isn’t happy about being woken up.

Tyler gets out of Louis’s grip and aims a right-hand hook, which Louis narrowly ducks.

Eric stumbles backward to avoid being hit by the both of them, and I take the one chance I’ve got to bite him in the hand that holds the knife.

I bite as if my life depends on it because maybe it does.

I bite with the same fury I hit Aaron over the head with.

I bite him for disturbing our home, for hurting me, for trying to hurt Louis,myLouis…

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