Page 84 of Break the Ice
I check my hands and arms, but there’s nothing on them. Not a cut or paint.
My chest wrings a tad, twisting that peculiar sensation deeper.
Something feels off when I move the parcel to the vanity desk and start slicing through the tape. There are so many layers of it that it takes me a while to get through it. I open the flaps to find swathes of shredded newspapers.
“What in the…” I groan as I dig through it to the bubble wrapped bundle inside.
There’s a strange smell when I pierce the bubble wrap layer with the tip of the scissors. It’s loose, allowing me to run the blades with?—
“Oh my God.” I heave. The odor is putrid. Flies waft up into my face with the stench of rotting flesh. “What...? What…?”
I drop the scissors to catch my vomit. Only for the box to tumble to the floor.
Shock stifles my breath. My scream.
I’m frozen, staring at the mound of flesh. Milky eyes. Blue tongue.
Oh my God.
“Elijah… Elijah!”
Everything around me spins with the uncontrollable retches twisting my stomach. My pulse is hammering a million miles a second.
“What’s wron—fuck!” He pulls me back, thrusting me into a wall of muscle at my back.
“What the fuck?” Jayden barks, his arms wrapping around me. Tight and strong, lifting me up into his chest and taking me awaywhile Elijah follows, slamming the door to the bedroom shut. “Is that…?”
“A lamb’s head,” Elijah growls, his hands gripping my face so tight that the pain grounds me.
His chest presses into my side, pushing me deeper into Jayden’s hold. I’m wrapped in their warmth, encapsulated in their safety. It’s everything I need to stop me from drowning in fear.
“You’re okay, sweet girl.” I nod at Elijah’s words as he continues promising me that, “No one can touch you. No one will ever hurt you again.”
Jayden stiffens around me at his statements. When his arms curl tighter around me, sandwiching me airtight between him and Elijah, I know that the promises made are true. I’m the safest I’ve ever been with them. The safest I’ll ever be.
“Take her to your place,” Elijah tells Jayden. “I’m going to clean this up.”
“Let me help,” I say, only for Jayden to hold me hostage in his arms when I attempt to get down.
Meanwhile, Elijah gives me a stern, “No. You’re going to let Jayden take you to his apartment and you’re going to let him look after you. I got this.”
The hard clench of his jaw saysno argumentsas he yanks his phone from the pocket of his slacks and stabs at his screen. It’s barely reached his ear when he bites out a curse and dials again. He does this a few times before Jayden takes me away.
We’re both looking over his shoulder when Elijah storms back into my bedroom and a loud crash follows the echoing slam of the door.
“Jayden… I can’t… we can’t leave him…”
“Yeah, we can,” he says, continuing with his long strides towards his apartment when I try to get down again.
“No!” I push at his chest as we leave Elijah’s apartment, and the door closes behind us. “If you truly love him, you can’t abandon him right now...”
Jayden says nothing. He leaves me to stew in the aftermath of my remark. Still holding me as he opens his door awkwardly and takes me inside. My words have hit him where it hurts most.
His heart.
Where all his affection for Elijah is locked away. Except I see it, and I can’t ignore it.Wecan’t ignore it forever. At some point it needs to be acknowledged. Even if it’s just between us.
That point isn’t right now, though.
