Page 71 of Stolen Dreams

The door opens, and I fake that I’m sleeping.Something I’ve been doing so often I don’t even know how much time has passed.“I brought you something to eat,” he says, coming over to the bed, and I can feel him beside me, his hand running down my bare arm.The last time he took me to the bathroom, he stripped me bare, dressing me in a hospital gown before placing me back in the bed.My skin was crawling the whole time.“I brought you your favorite, and I even got you a donut.Everleigh had some brought into the barn.”I try not to sob out when he mentions people I love.“They set up this huge thing to search for you.”He laughs.“Idiots,” he hisses, “even Emmett’s fucking kid is helping pass out flyers.”I close my eyes even tighter to force myself not to say anything when I think of Lucy.Hoping the darkness finds me where I’m with her riding our horses.“Do you want to eat your burger first or your dessert?”

I open my eyes to see him walking over to the table and putting the bag down, and closing my eyes when he looks like he’s turning around.“My love,” he says softly, “it’s time to eat.”

I hear him walking back to the bed, and he bends to kiss my lips.“Love coming home to you.”His hand comes up to hold my face.His thumb rubs my cheek.“It’s going to be so much better when I come home to you and our babies.”He kisses me again.“Get up, my love.”His voice changes, and I know what will come won’t be good.It’s like a switch in him turns off, and he’s gone, and in his place is someone else.

“You have to eat something,” Sammy urges, his voice going higher and higher.“Why are you being like this?”He grips my hair in his hand, making me yelp.“Good, you’re up.”He holds up the burger to my lips, and I shake my head.He tosses the food he brought me on the table he moved beside my bed.I open my eyes to look at him, one of them only opening halfway after he hit me yesterday when he came back with boxed hair dye and started to dye my hair.I fought him as much as I could until he, of course, got the better of me.I lick my dry lips, tasting the metal taste, knowing he split my lip also, then tried to kiss me better.“If you don’t eat, you’ll get weak.”He rubs his hands up my bare legs.“You got to be strong, baby.It’s almost over.”

I don’t even know how long I’ve been here, to be honest.He keeps coming in and out, each time getting more and more frantic.“Sammy,” I beg, “please let me go home.”The tears roll down my cheeks.“I won’t tell them anything.You can leave, and I’ll never say anything.”

He sits down at the edge of the bed.“I can’t leave you,” he says, a soft, evil smile filling his face.“You’re the love of my life, and I can’t live without you.”His hand comes out to hold mine.“In time, you will love me.You are going to love the life we have.You are going to love the children we create.”His eyes light up.“I’ve been planning this since the first week I met you.”I swallow the bile.“You didn’t even know.”The pride in his voice fills the room.“Started to plan slowly but surely.Took care of everything I had to.Made sure you stopped taking your birth control by replacing them with sugar pills.”

“What?”I whisper.

“I couldn’t let your body be filled with all of that.I want you pregnant right away, so I had to.”He smiles from ear to ear, holding my hand and squeezing it harder in his hand.“I found us a house already.It’s nothing big, but I’m going to work my ass off to make sure you and our babies are taken care of.”

I’m about to answer him when the sounds of crashing come from the other room.He jumps off the bed.“Don’t say a fucking word.”

“Heeelllppp!”I start screaming.“Heellpp me, I’m in here.”He rushes over to me, putting his hand over my mouth, my head moving side to side.“I’m in the bedroom wall.”

“Shut the fuck up,” he hisses.One of his hands moves to the side of his jeans, and the next thing I feel is a burning sensation in my side.I move to the side and feel the burn spread to my back.

“Help me!”I scream one more time before I hear more voices, and he’s ripped off me.“Help me.”I try to keep my eyes open as I see Charlie rush to me.

“I’m here,” he soothes, and I sob out, my eyes going to the side, seeing Emmett.The pressure in my chest feels like someone is sitting on it.“Shit,” he says, looking at me.“Shit, we need a medic,” he says and then looks over toward Emmett, who has Sammy’s shirt in both his fists, as he slams him over and over into the wall.

The warmth filling my hand, and when I move my hand, it’s covered in my blood.“She’s bleeding pretty bad,” Charlie says as my vision gets hazy.

My head gets heavy as I look to the side.Emmett is on top of Sammy, his hand coming up and then blowing down on him over and over again.“Stop,” I croak out, holding out my hand for him.“Emmett.”I call his name, but he’s so focused on Sammy that he doesn’t hear me.

“Emmett!”Charlie screams, running to him.“Emmett!”He grabs his hand, and I hear Sammy groan.“She’s bleeding, and she needs you.”It’s like Emmett isn’t even there.“We need to get her help.”His voice goes low.“She needs you.”He blinks, and ever so slowly, his head turns my way.

His eyes find mine, and I can see his lips move as he says my name.“Lilah.”The tears are running down his face.“Lilah,” he repeats my name, but my eyes are having trouble staying open.

He moves, rushing to my side.“Where the fuck are the keys to the cuffs?”he hisses at Charlie, who is now going through Sammy’s pockets as he just lies there.

“Here.”He hands them to Emmett.“She’s been stabbed,” he says, and I feel his hand on mine.

“I’m going to get you out of here, baby.”I open my eyes when I feel his face next to mine.“I’m going to get you out of here.”The tears rolling down his face are seeping into the hospital gown I’m wearing.“It’s going to be okay.”He goes to the other hand, letting my hands free.I feel his hand touch my forehead and go into my hair.“Stay with me,” he pleads, his voice in a panic.“Where is help?”he says over his shoulder at Charlie, who has kicked the knife away from Sammy.He turns back.“Help is coming, baby,” he reassures me and bends to kiss my lips.“Don’t leave me.”His voice is desperate, and my eyes shutter closed, the blackness taking me while he yells, “Don’t fucking leave me!”

ChapterForty

EMMETT

Itouch her, making sure she’s real and not just in my mind.“Stay with me.”I panic when her face gets paler than it was.“Where is help?”I ask Charlie, who is standing by a bloody and unconscious Sammy.Charlie kicks the knife I didn’t even know Sammy was holding away from him.

“On their way,” Charlie says.“Pops said they are a couple of minutes out.”

I turn back to her, seeing her beautiful face half beaten, and the rage creeps back inside me.“Help is coming, baby.”I bend to kiss her lips, not sure if I should even touch her, but knowing I can’t help myself.“Don’t leave me.”My voice is so desperate, as her eyes close and take even longer to open—until they don’t, and the only thing I can think of is,Don’t fucking leave me.I put my forehead to hers.“Don’t leave me, baby,” I beg.“Please don’t leave me.”

I kiss her lips again, then her cheek, which has a purple bruise, and I get up, seeing black again.I walk toward his body lying on the floor, then lift my leg back and kick him in the side.A soft groan comes out of him, and I do it again.

“Jesus fucking Christ.”I look over and see Brock and Brady rushing in.His hand goes to his mouth while Brady rushes to the bed.“Would you look at this fucking room?”It’s then I stand back and look at it.The whole wall is covered with pictures of Lilah.Pictures he’s taken of her at work and a couple at her place with her sitting on the couch.There is even a couple of her sleeping.“Sick fuck,” Brock says.

“How is she?”Brock asks, looking at Brady.

“Her pulse is steady,” he reports, “but she’s bleeding.”He looks around and then rushes out of the room, coming back with a towel and pressing it to her side.

It feels like an eternity before we hear the sirens.I walk to her side, taking her bloody hand in mine and bringing it to my lips.“Help is here, baby.”I move to the side of her head, talking in her ear.“Help is here, baby.I am going to need you to be stronger for just a little bit longer.”The need to crawl into bed with her fills my body, and I hear the pounding of footsteps coming our way.

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