Page 30 of Thorns Laced In Blood

A few moments later, his hand fisted in my hair, yanking it until the world spun. Only this time, I didn’t freeze. This time, I moved. Bear tumbled from my hand as I twisted, the knife flashing in the dark. The blade sank into his shoulder with a wet crunch. His blood was hot. Hotter than the shower, he'd scalded me in. Hotter than the fever dreams I'd drowned in. It splattered my face, my chest, my hands marking me.

Stab. Stab. Stab.

He roared, shoving me back. I hit the dirt, gasping, but my fingers found Bear before my lungs found air. His button eyes gleamed in the fallen flashlight's glow, his stitched smile smeared with dirt.

Master clutched his bloody body, his breath ragged. “You—”

I didn't let him finish.

I ran.

The knife stayed in my grip, his blood drying between my fingers. I couldn't let go of it even if I tried. The trees blurred again, and the night swallowed his screams of rage. For the first time in seven years, I was ahead of him.

I continued to run for my life, and I thought I was free for one breathless second. Then, the world exploded in white. Twin beams, blinding as bright as hellfire, ripped through the night. Tires screeched. Metal screamed. My body left the ground before I could even gasp, limbs twisting like a doll’s as the car struck me. The impact was a star bursting behind my ribs.

I hit the tarmac hard. Too hard. The taste of copper flooded my mouth, warm and thick. Blood. My blood. It poured from my temple, pooling beneath my cheek in a slick, dark halo. The knife was gone. Bear lay a few feet beside me.

Footsteps pounded toward me—voices, muffled. Then, frantic, they cut through the ringing in my ears.

“Oh shit. She came out of nowhere. Oh, God. Call an ambulance!”

“Is she alive?!”

But I already knew the truth. Freedom had been a dream, and death had won. The edges of my vision frayed, darkness creeping in like ink in water.

My lips curled.

Fuck him.

Part III

Chapter 18

Saul

I stayed awake all night. Even with the sedative, she tossed and turned. Sometimes mumbling Daddy or Master but always clutching her teddy bear to her chest. I thought she was having a seizure the way she hit the floor and began to shake uncontrollably. Dom talked me through it all. I could operate under harsh conditions, but the breakdown caught me off guard. The various men I knew had very different types of PTSD, but none as extreme as hers. I sighed and pulled her a little closer to me.

My phone glowed, and I picked it up from the nightstand.

Grayson:I have a lead. There was some chatter in the club about a man who had a blonde girl in his basement. He used to recruit men to have free use of the girl. Fuck. I hope it isn't her, but these events happened in groups. I’m still hunting down a name.

I thought of her terror and mumbling. My heart sank because I had a feeling this was the girl from the basement. I texted back using one hand.

Me:I think it might be her. Text me every bit of detail they gave you, and as she comes around I will try and get answers. Try and get a match on a location close to where she was found.

I paused because this guy could be wealthy or a member at Club X. Possibly the kind to take things too far at the club, like me. Anything Grayson sent would be passed onto Dylan.

Me:Check if it might be a member or someone you previously banned from the club.

I placed the phone back but face down and turned towards Jane, listening to her steady breathing. The prefrontal cortex ofthe brain is used for planning, judgement and decision-making, and a woman’s brain develops until their early to mid-twenties.

I could only speculate the damage done to her psyche, but I knew the human mind, soul, and spirit were resilient enough to be healed. From how she acted before her flashbacks, her acquired tastes would not be classed as normal by societal standards. My fingers moved along the rough scars on her arm as my eyes closed. She wouldn’t descend in a downward spiral. There were bound to be bumps in the road, but that was to be expected.

I wouldn’t give up on her.

???

I was met with her wide, pale blue eyes when I opened my eyes. Her pupils dilated to match the darker ring around the blue. Her plump pink lips parted, and the memory of them around my shaft. I almost groaned at my morning wood reacting to the memory while staring at her lips.

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