Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 66503 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 333(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 222(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66503 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 333(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 222(@300wpm)
It looks so painful.
I jerk at the chains, but it’s no use. They won’t budge.
“I’m not dreaming,” he mutters. It almost sounds like he can’t believe it. “You’re really here.”
“Yes, I’m here,” I reply, getting closer, but the second I think of touching his face, my hand freezes midair.
His eyes flash to my hand and then back to my face, the look in his eyes darkening. “You shouldn’t be. I fought to keep you safe.”
“I … I’m…” I blush and lower my eyes, stepping back. “They caught me when I went to look for you. I didn’t want to end up in this cell again, either. I’m sor—”
“Don’t,” he interjects. “Don’t say you’re sorry. Do not be sorry.” I’m hooked to his words and those soul-crushing eyes. “Did you fight for your freedom?”
I nod. More tears well up in my eyes. “But I should’ve stayed by your side, I should’ve helped, I—”
“You should’ve kept running,” he interrupts.
Guilt fills my bones.
Maybe he’s right.
But how could I stay away knowing he was there in that clinic, possibly dying of his wounds?
I had to know for sure. I had to see him for myself.
But now I’ve gotten myself in much bigger trouble.
“I needed to know if you were safe,” I mutter. “I couldn’t bear the thought of seeing you in that warehouse, dying a slow and painful death.” I look at him and all the scars on his body.
“Maybe death would’ve been better,” he murmurs. A few simple movements cause him so much pain he winces.
“What did they even do to you?” I mutter, looking at all the wounds on his body. There are more gashes than I remember there being.
“Too much,” he growls.
“They even tied you up like you’re some kind of monster,” I mutter, abhorred at how they’ve chained him up to the wall.
“There’s an implant too,” he says, eyes rolling away. “In my neck.”
I try to touch it, but the groan that follows makes me instantly remove my hand.
“It could kill me.”
My eyes widen. “How?”
“If the voltage is upped to the max.”
My jaw drops, but I swallow the gasp. “Who would do such a—”
“My owner …” he rasps, his eyes turning almost as black as the night with rage. “Lex.”
It’s the first time I’ve heard him say the man’s actual name, but the fact that it’s laced with such poison makes goose bumps scatter on my skin.
“How did he find you?” he asks.
I suck in a breath. “I heard about the clinic from someone, so I came to look …”
His lips part. “For me?”
I nod, and a gentle smile forms on his face, but it’s immediately disrupted by a bloodied cough.
I rub my lips together and bring my hand to his chest, placing it on top of his heart. “What can I do?” I ask, feeling helpless.
He looks down at my fingers, and I immediately remove my hand, unsure if he even wants me to touch him.
“No,” he murmurs, and he moves his hands, groaning in agony when the chains refuse to move with him. He’s stuck to the wall while I’m right in front of him, his body straining with everything it has, trying to be free. To get … closer to me.
“Don’t stop,” he says.
I hold my breath and look him in the eyes, then slowly place my hand back where I’d put it. His body is hot and sweaty but still as rigid and toned as I remember, despite half of it being wrapped up in bandages.
All this time, I wondered how and why I felt such a strong connection to him, but I think I’m beginning to understand. His need for a better life clashing with my need to save my father blinded me from the truth.
“You freed my father …” I murmur, leaning in closer. “Even when it almost cost you your life. Why?”
He licks his lips, blood still clearly visible on his teeth. “Because you love him … and I’m in love with you.”
I suck in a breath, but it still feels like I can’t breathe.
He’s … in love with me?
It’s almost too impossible to comprehend. Because who in the world would want to love someone like me?
But maybe he fell for me before Lex took off my gloves.
I immediately become hyperaware of my ungloved hands, but his voice pulls me out of my thoughts.
“I wanted you to be free,” he says. “More than I wanted to be freed.”
I interrupt him with a kiss. I can’t bear it any longer, this sense of gratitude. It’s a desperate, overwhelming kiss that steals not only his breath but mine too. And I wish we could’ve met in a better life. Because this man … this man has stolen the one thing I thought I would never be able to give away: my heart.
“Thank you,” I murmur again.