Page 96 of Cruel Vows

ELLIE

“Sean!”

I scream as I pound my fist against the door, though the heavy thumping does nothing to help the way my head aches.

Reaching up, I wipe more of the blood from the corner of my mouth, though my head still feels like it’s spinning as I look down at the maroon smear on the side of my palm.

Aiden makes a noise in the back of his throat. “You’re not going to be able to break the door down.”

“You shouldn’t be talking right now.” I take a step toward him, swaying on my feet. “Do you know where they took Sean?”

“No.” Aiden coughs, a little blood spraying onto his already stained white shirt.

He tilts his head back against the white epoxy floor, staring up at the fluorescent lights overhead. “We’re going to die here. Royce doesn’t know where I am right now. I told him that I had a meeting overseas. I would be back, but he probably wouldn’t hear much from me.”

“Idiot.” I clamp my hands to the sides of my head, trying to get the aching to dull as I head over to the sink and grab the rags that fell when Jace slammed my head into the wall.

Aiden chuckles, but it turns into a cough that has his entire body shaking.

It leaves him wheezing and gasping for air as he rolls onto his side, bile trickling from his mouth and onto the ground.

“Shit.”

I drop to my knees beside him, even though my entire body is screaming at me to stop moving and just take a moment to figure everything out.

There’s no time to pause though.

Aiden coughs again as I keep him rolled onto his side, waiting for the fit to pass.

My heart hammers in my chest, pounding against my ribs as Aiden finally stops coughing, his body done shaking.

As I get to my feet, I wipe his blood on my pants, but it still stains my hands. I feel like I’m going to be sick as I go to the sink and find a little bucket beside it. I fill the bucket with cool water and grab the pile of rags before kneeling beside Aiden again.

I dip one of the rags into the bucket and wring it out before cleaning away the bile and blood from Aiden’s mouth. His dark eyelashes flutter against his cheeks, his breathing ragged as his eyes close.

Rinsing the rag out, I glance around the room.

Only one door.

And the guard standing in front of that door doesn’t look too friendly. He doesn’t look like the meanest man I’ve ever seen, but I doubt he’s going to be accepting friendship anytime soon.

Not that I want to be his friend.

I only plan on doing whatever the hell I need to.

Whatever it takes to get out of here, save my brother, and find my husband.

Aiden groans as his eyes flutter open and he looks up at me, regret shining bright in his eyes.

He braces his forearms beneath him, struggling to push himself into a sitting position as his teeth grind together. “You know, if that sick bastard really is going to kill us, then there are some things I should have told you.”

“We’re not going to do this.” I wipe some of the blood from his chin, stubble scraping against the fibers of the rag.

“We are going to do this because he’s going to kill me, and we both know it. That’s been his entire goal since he came back, and right now, he’s going to get what he wants. There’s no way the three of us are getting out alive, but you and Sean might be able to get out.”

“So, what?” I ask, tone sharp as I toss the soiled rag to the side and grab a new one to wrap around the cut that’s still oozing on his bicep. “You get to throw yourself on the sword of nobility so we can live? Not happening.”

“Ellie, you have to be reasonable about this.” Another round of coughing breaks up his words, the wheeze he takes sounding more like a death rattle than anything else. “He’s going to kill me either way. You need to focus on getting you and Sean out of here.”

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