Page 53 of Stalked

“I’m explaining this bad; I don’t know much. I mean at this point Salem, and I were focused on ourselves. We weren’t involved in whatever Zion did.”

“As it should be,” Zion says, not caring what comes from his mouth.

“Alright, listen, meet us at Salem’s house. Dimitri and Mila will be landing in the next hour. We’re about an hour out, and we’ll figure out where Salem and everyone is.”

Everyone says their goodbyes, but all I can focus on is the fact that Gabriel can’t fight. Salem can hold her own, she’s smart. Blake, as much as she is a pain in the ass, she’s a Mafia princess, she knows this. She knows how to work a gun; she’s killed someone before for fucks sake. But Gabriel, my poor, innocent Gabriel.

I’m not going to survive without him.

25

Gabriel

Four hours.

240 minutes.

14,400 seconds.

My body shakes against the wall, freezing as my bare skin is exposed to the frigid air. I can’t see two feet in front of me, but none of this is new. It’s the same as it was fifteen years ago, only it’s a different set of monsters. These monsters are connected to Blake, and I was in the way. They wanted her, and I just happened to be there.

The darkness surrounds me, pulling me under, reminding me that I’m not human. Reminding me I’m meant for nothing but pain andtorture. The coldness wraps around me, sinking me into the dark part of my head. The place I was promised I’d never have to visit again. No amount of therapy was going to fix this. We’re never going to be saved, and when I hear Blake’s scream, I cover my ears, the tears streaming down. I knew what they were doing to her. I’ve lived this once before. I’ve been here before; this was nothing new. Only instead of my sister being on the other side, it was Tobias' sister. The Bratva princess.

Only I hope they kill her quickly. No one deserves to live with this kind of pain.

Six hours

360 minutes

21,600 seconds

Blake lays her head in my lap, blinking. We're aware of our surroundings, but neither of us are alert. Her body shakes, as she shoves her fingers into her mouth. I’m not sure why. I want to ask, but I can’t. She hasn’t spoken since they brought her out, and I think around the five-hour mark, she stopped screaming. I thought she was dead when they dragged her into this tiny closet, dropping her body like a bag of bones. She barely registered when I pulled her onto my lap. She didn’t make a sound, and what scared me the most was the vacant expression she wore.

I hum low in my throat, trying to bring some type of calmness, but it worries me more that she's so damn quiet. Not a peep, nothing but shallow breaths. It’s the only thing that brings me some peace.

And when one of them opens the door, his evil smile peeks down at us. He yanks Blake by her arm, and she doesn’t fight him, doesn’t move.

“Let her go!” I scream, pushing off the ground. I don’t make it two inches before something hits me in the face, darkness pulling me under again.

26

Tobias

Zion and Zane glare at each other.

Izel, Salem, Aziza, and my mom all huddle together, Salem trying to calm my mom down while Aziza holds Izel.

Killian types away on his computer while my father barks orders at some of his guards. Everything blurs together.

I stand there, my eyes glued to the blood pool in the middle of the kitchen. No one had bothered to clean it up, and my throat tightens. It’s either Blake’s or Gabriel’s, and I wish it was neither. I can’t lose Gabriel. Not when I finally got him. And I can't lose my baby sister. I remember when Mom gave birth to her, and I held her for the first time. She wasso tiny, but I swear when she smiled at me, I knew what sibling love was. She is the most annoying person, but always has my back.

“Tobias.” Someone calls me, but I can’t focus on anything. I shouldn’t have left Gabriel alone. I should have listened to Kyler when he said to leave him alone. I should have listened.

“Tobias!”

Snapping my head up, Zion is now hovering over me like the fucking beast that he is, his black skull mask firmly in place. Which is another thing I learned. Apparently, Zion is The Butcher, the famously hired hitman. Rumor was he retired, which was true, only because he found love. In Izel, whose brother is the love of my life.

I love him.

---