Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 56628 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 283(@200wpm)___ 227(@250wpm)___ 189(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56628 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 283(@200wpm)___ 227(@250wpm)___ 189(@300wpm)
“You’re the only one to escape me, love.” Tears slid down my cheeks. I hated when he called me that. “And I can’t have that. You’re supposed to be mine.”
“Vin, please,” I begged, tears streaming down my face.
He undid his belt, and I sobbed. “Oh, I’m going to love listening to you beg me to stop.”
I yanked at my cuffs, tears streaming down my face. Tears of relief slid down my cheeks when I looked down and realized I was still in Tristan’s clothes.
I was still dressed.
I wasn’t naked.
I was on Tristan’s bed. I was okay. Vin couldn’t hurt me here.
I squeezed my eyes shut, turning my face to the side as silent tears streamed down my face.
Unable to fight it, another fucking flashback dragged me under, and my entire body trembled as I cried.
A scream tore from my lips, my heart pounding hard in my chest. My eyes snapped open when the door flew open, and Zyla rushed in with Tank and River. “Please get me out of these,” I sobbed, my eyes searching out River’s. I’d paid enough attention to River a year ago to know he would go against his president, and he wouldn’t give two fucks about the consequences as he did it either.
River ran by his own book, and I was relying on that. I needed him to help me.
“Let me help her,” River said softly as he gently moved Zyla aside so that he could get to me. Zyla nodded, standing back, wringing her fingers in front of her.
Tank placed a hand on River’s shoulder. “You know Tristan will be pissed,” he warned his friend.
“You think I give a fuck?” River growled, swinging furious eyes to him. “This is fucking inhumane, Tank. She doesn’t deserve this shit. What Adelaide needs is fucking love and support, and Tristan is being a goddamn dick.”
I squeezed my eyes shut, desperately fighting against the images wanting to rise to the surface. A sob ripped from my sore throat, and I pulled at my cuffs again, losing the battle. My chest was caving in, and my entire body shook.
I fell into my tortured memories again. But before I could completely succumb to the darkness, to the pain and torment, River’s lips brushed my forehead. “Just come back to me, darlin’,” he whispered before I disappeared inside of my head completely.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Tristan
When I walked into my room, I did not expect to see Adelaide no longer cuffed to my bed. And I was even more shocked to see Tank leaning against the wall beside my door like he was standing guard, all while River sat on the floor with Adelaide in his lap, gently rocking her as she sobbed, her entire body shaking. Zyla was whispering soothing words to her, but they didn’t seem to be helping.
I didn’t know whether to be pissed or jealous. She was clinging to River as if he were her lifeline, clinging to him in a way that she had never done with me. His forehead was resting against hers as he whispered soft words to her, being her rock, taking my place and doing what I should have been doing.
But once again, I was fucking failing her.
“What the hell happened?” I snarled as I stepped further into the room, glaring down at River.
“She flipped the fuck out, Grim,” River grumbled. He swallowed hard, shaking his head. His arms flexed protectively around Adelaide, and it took everything in me not to snarl down at him. “Someone fucked her up bad, Grim.” He glared up at me, rage burning in his eyes. “Cuffing her to the bed triggered numerous flashbacks, so real good fucking job there, Prez,” he sarcastically snapped at me.
I opened my mouth, my fingers twitching to permanently shut River up, but Adelaide jumped up from River’s lap before I could and rushed over to me, shocking the fuck out of me. I caught her before she knocked us both to the ground, instantly wrapping my arms around her, my body relaxing as I held her tight to me.
“Please don’t cuff me to the bed and leave me like that again,” Addy sobbed into my chest. Guilt swirled in my stomach, and I closed my eyes, drawing in a deep breath in an attempt to steady myself. “Please don’t,” she begged again, her voice trembling.
I soothed my hand over her hair. “I won’t,” I quietly promised, feeling like a real jackass.
What the fuck had I done?
Zyla, Tank, and River left the room, closing my bedroom door behind them quietly. I sat on the bed with Adelaide in my arms, leaning against my headboard with her cradled on my lap.
“Don’t let him hurt me,” Adelaide whispered as she clutched my cut in her hands, her head falling onto my shoulder. Exhaustion pulled at her limbs, making her go slack in my arms. Just how long had she been falling apart in River’s arms on my fucking floor?