Page 56 of Map of Pain
Luka nodded. He knew. Of course he knew. But the thought of potentially losing the fragile trust they built made his chest ache with a hollow, gnawing fear.
Another whimper from Nick pulled his attention back to the kitchen. The air in the trailer felt heavier, charged with the electricity of escalating distress. Luka’s beast paced beneath his skin, urging him to move, to act, to protect.
“Nick? Nick?”Caleb’s voice rose with increasing panic as he leaned closer to his brother. His hands hovered uncertainly, afraid to touch but desperate to help. “He’s not breathing.Luka, what do I do? He’s not breathing!”
Luka moved before conscious thought could form. Nick’s face turned an alarming shade of red, veins standing out starkly against his forehead and neck. His eyes remained vacant, but his body was stone, muscles locked in a silent battle against unseen horrors. His chest didn’t rise or fall—hewasholding his breath, the air around his body vibrating with tension.
Caleb’s fear escalated, his hands reaching for his brother.“Nick, please—”
Luka placed a firm hand on Caleb’s shoulder. The pain of speechwasworth it for this. “B-ack. Please.”
The shock of hearing Luka’s damaged voice seemed to penetrate Caleb’s panic. He froze, then slowly withdrew his hands, eyes wide with surprise and confusion.
Marcus appeared behind Caleb, gently pulling him into a protective embrace. He whispered something in Caleb’s ear, but Luka didn’t care to decipher it. All his focus narrowed to the man kneeling before him, trapped in a nightmare Luka couldn’t see.
Luka pushed all awareness of the others from his mind. The trailer, Marcus, Caleb—all of it faded to background noise as he knelt beside Nick. With infinite gentleness, he wrapped his arms around Nick’s rigid form, pulling him into a firm but careful embrace. The position was awkward with Nick’s knees still bent, but Luka managed to cradle him against his chest, one hand supporting his head.
Hot tears tracked down Luka’s own face as he began to whistle—the familiar, haunting melody of Jupiter. The notes came slowly, deliberately, each one carrying a silent plea.
Please come back. Please breathe. I need you to breathe.
Nick remained unmoving in his arms, the unnatural stillness broken only by minute tremors. Luka continued whistling, the melody flowing from somewhere deep within his chest. His tears fell silently, soaking into Nick’s hair as he rocked them both.
Please, Nick. Come back to me.
I need you.
Chapter twenty-two
I'm a good boy...
Nick
The room spun, the elegant furnishings blurring into a slurry of pain and fear. A sharp, throbbing ache pulsed in his left middle finger—or what was left of it. The tip had been cut off at the knuckle, the wound still raw and seeping. His seventh failed attempt to escape. He’d gone somewhere strange in his head during the amputation, a place where the pain couldn’t reach him.
Nick’s sobs muffled against fabric, rough and chafing against his mouth. Gianmarco’s eyes, usually so cold and calculating, held a strange intensity as he removed the gag with a gentle touch.
“Where did you go just then, kitten?”Gianmarco asked, his voice laced with curiosity and a dark undercurrent that made Nick’s stomach churn.
Nick’s mind raced, trying to make sense of the question. Hehadno answers, only the echoing screams of his own pain and the distant realization that he failed again. Gianmarco’sface transformed, a look of delight and hunger spreading across his features.
“We need to make sure that doesn’t happen again,”Gianmarco said softly, his fingers trailing over Nick’s cheek, leaving a chill in their wake.
“Nick? What’s wrong? Hey, what’s—”
Caleb?
A wave of dizziness crashed through Nick, and he stumbled, his balance off. Gianmarco steadied him with a firm hand, his touch gentle but unyielding.
“Let’s try something different this time, kitten,”Gianmarco murmured, his voice a low purr.“I want to hear you say my name. You’ve never done that, have you?”
“P-please,”he stammered, his voice cracking.“I-I’ll be good. I’ll cut off the rest of my finger. Just please don’t—”
Gianmarco leaned in, his breath cool against Nick’s ear.“Say it, kitten. Say my name.”
Nick’s lips trembled as he tried to force the words out.“G-Gianmarco,”he whispered, the name tasting like bile in his mouth.
A slow, satisfied smile spread across Gianmarco’s face.“Good boy,”he murmured, his fingers tightening on Nick’s shoulder.
