Page 74 of The Boy I Loved
My eyebrows furrowed in response as I attempted to recollect my thoughts, sifting through them to find the response he was looking for. The answer hit me at full force, and I knew then … that there was no hope for me or the girl I loved.
“That women are a weakness and a liability,” I murmured.
His lips twitched. “Precisely,” he confirmed. “And the fact that you’re standing here,begging me, proves my point.” He flicked his hand in a dismissive gesture. “Get out of my sight.” Annoyance rolled off his tongue, followed by a soft scoff. He didn’t understand. He wasn’t human enough to grasp the concept of emotions or principle.
Gritting my teeth, I stormed for the door, wrenching it open and slipped out into the hall. I wanted to kill him. I wanted to snuff the last bit of light from his eyes and loom over him when he realized thatI—his nephew—was the one to end him once and for all. My hands tore through my dark hair with aggression. I was stupid for thinking I could get through to him. Clay didn’t negotiate. He found loopholes that granted him access to the things he wanted. Maybe he never wanted Alice at all. Maybe it had always been Hazel, and he used Alice against me to get to her.
Nicholas rounded the corner, his dark eyes widening a fraction when they landed on me. He glanced over his shoulder momentarily, as if he were worried someone might be lurking nearby.
“I was just—” I began.
“I know what you were doing,” he stated. “It was stupid of you.”
My throat was tight. Had I been that obvious? I’d never been good at hiding my emotions, but I tried to when it came to her.
Nicholas blew out a sigh, nodding his head toward the elevator. Confusion tore through me, but I took the invitation and made my way toward it, with him following closely behind. Once I broached the large metal box, Nicholas grabbed me by my arm, whirling me around, and slammed me against the wall beside him. His dark amber eyes lit up with rage, his chest heaving with restrained anger.
“Are you fucking insane?” he snapped, keeping his tone low.
I wasn’t used to seeing Nicholas lash out. He was always calm and collected—the level-headed one of the group.
“I didn’t know what else to do,” I hissed, shoving him off of me.My eyes darted up to one of the cameras in the corner of the building, my throat bobbing with a nervous swallow.
“You don’t go to Clay.Ever.” He growled.
I got the sinking feeling that Nicholas knew something about my uncle that I didn’t. If anything, his reaction was proof enough that he wasn’t as loyal to Clay as I once thought.
“I wouldn’t have if I had another option.” I scoffed.
“Clay, Tristan, Mason, Vince, Rodney, and Cody are all in bed together. Probably even more that I don’t know about, but I do know for a fact that anything you say to any of them is relayed.”
I had a feeling that Mason, Tristan and Vince were in bed with Clay, but I wasn’t certain about the others. “I still wouldn’t have done anything different,” I admitted.
Nicholas shook his head in exasperation. “You’re going to be your own downfall,” he murmured. “Did you honestly think he’d cater to your desires? He’sneverlet a girl out of the compound.”
He wasn’t wrong, and I did know it was a long shot even asking. But I had to at least try. Hazel was here because of me. My thoughts were an endless loop of the same memories and same regrets. She couldn’t die like this. She had an entire life ahead of her. The only thing that offered me even the smallest reprieve was that she hadn’t cried yet—to my knowledge. As long as she stayed strong, even if she just pretended to, she might just make it in here. But even then, she’d just be sold or forced to do horrendous things. There was no winning for her.
“I know,” I replied, leaning against the wall behind me. “I was desperate.”
“Well don’t be. To Clay, desperation is a weakness. You’re only digging yourself a bigger hole. Hazel is screwed. You can’t fucking save her, so save yourself.”
He was right, but that knowledge did little for me. I couldn’t just stand by and watch her be tortured and hurt. But what else could I do?
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Nia’s screamsof agony tore through my subconscious, crippling me. Just like in reality, I was helpless to save her. She kept screaming the same things:
“My baby! They took my baby!”
“Help me!”
“Please … don’t.”
My stomach twisted with nausea, the guilt eating at the recesses of my mind. Dominic’s eyes were heartless and cold as he assaulted her, pinning me with that stormy, gray gaze of his as he took from her.
I jerked awake, my breaths coming out fast and ragged. A strangled sob forced its way free from my throat, agony consuming me whole. I couldn’t help her. I couldn’t helpanyone—not even myself. Dominic raped her because of me. But if I never said anything, Tristan would have done it, and I knew it would have been a hell of a lot worse.
A chill swept down my spine, eliciting a series of goosebumps. I tugged the comforter over my shoulders, trembling beneath the thinfabric. I was a pawn in a sinister game of Hunter versus Prey. There was no light at the end of the tunnel, only death and corruption.
