Page 27 of Living Without

“Let’s deal with this. Then we still do what we gotta do to find Nary. No one stops looking even if Mason can come through,” Talon ordered and started for the door.

Leaning over, I grabbed the handle of my suitcase and turned to Julian as men scattered around us. With a wink, I asked, “Which one is Dallas’s room?”

He smiled, even giggled, but it didn’t reach his eyes.

I’m praying all this works.

Chapter Ten

NARY

The following day

The sun rose and fell on four days. Four days without food or a shower. We got water only two times a day, and I ended up giving half of mine to Kelsey. I was so worried about her. She slept more and more throughout the day and night, and when she did, her thin frame wouldn’t stop shaking, no matter how much I hugged her close and made sure she had most of the thin blankets. I was also concerned for myself. Every noise made me jump; every shadow had me cringing away.

The place was starting to wear me down. The men and their lingering gazes, their brush of hands and their sickening smiles were getting to me more and more.

I was weak, so weak, and it made me angry.

Four days and I was feeling broken on the inside.

Fragile.

Afraid.

Scared.

As I wiped at my eyes, my mind drifted to my family. Josh would be going out of his mind. My brother, my sweet brother, didn’t deserve the pain, the worry. None of them did. Stoke, Mum, Saxon, Jerimiah… God, he would be taking all of the blame onto himself. It hurt to think about it; it also hurt to think I’d betrayed him when Saxon was the one to consume my mind.

Jerimiah would be hurt more when… no,ifI was rescued because he would see how strong my feelings were for another man. Hurting people was something I never wished to do. Mum had felt enough devastation when she was with my real father. I never wanted to experience or inflict that pain on another person.

In a way, I wished they’d killed me instead of the hell we were going through because I wasn’t the only one it was happening to. My family would be feeling it as well, and thinking of it wounded my heart more.

My hand went over my stomach as it growled in complaint. Kelsey shifted beside me. It had only been a short time since she’d come back from Baxter’s room. When the door had opened and they’d thrown her in, I saw fresh blood soaking her lip and ear.

While she went through her hell, I went through my own.

My eyes closed as I leaned my head back against the wall, my jaw clenching so I could stop the sob wanting to escape. I didn’t want to wake Kelsey. After he’d taken her, his men had come in to our cell. They’d touched, they’d licked, and they’d made me… Bile threatened. My chest heaved up and down as I tried to control it. I could still taste them in my mouth.

I was weak.

Broken and scared.

“Nary,” Kelsey whispered beside me.

Sniffing, I ran my hand down her arm to let her know I was listening. My mouth couldn’t form words just yet. I needed to get my emotions under control.

Her voice broke when she rasped, “I want to die.”

“Kel—”

“N-no, I thought I could take it. I-I thought things would get better. They haven’t. They won’t. I can… I can only take so much.” Her tremors worsened as tears overtook.

I gripped her tighter to me. “I promise we will get out of this. I promise.” My own voice caught with emotion.

She shook her head. “I-I can’t….”

My body stilled. “You can’t what, Kelsey?”

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