Total pages in book: 112
Estimated words: 105709 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 352(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105709 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 352(@300wpm)
All the air leaves him in a sharp hiss, his head falling back against the door as his Adam's apple works against whatever he's swallowing down. His eyes fix on the ceiling tiles above us, that dangerous stillness settling over his features—the kind that makes my skin crawl.
“Did someone touch you who shouldn't have?” The words slip out quiet and measured, too controlled. His gaze stays locked overhead. “Answer me, Melissa, and don't lie to me.”
“Not just someone,” I whisper as tears drop onto my thigh, each one burning like acid. “Four.” The word catches, strangled somewhere between my throat and chest.
Hella pushes off the wall, closing the distance between us.
Millie sobs. I know why. I've never told anyone outside of her and my mother. I'd worn the shame in private, tucked away where no one could see.
His grip finds my chin, turning my face to meet his stare. “I'm fucking sorry, baby.” His lips graze mine, soft in a way that hurts more than it heals. “But I need those names,” he says low, right against my mouth.
He eases back just enough to lock eyes, that hard edge in his gaze pulling the air from my lungs. “I'm not playing. Give me those names. No one touches what's mine and keeps breathing.”
Panic pulls me to my feet. “No!” The word bursts from my mouth like a bullet. “No, Hella. It's done. It was a long time ago now.”
Millie's voice drops to a barely audible murmur. “That was only half of it” What the fuck is she doing! “And it's not that long ago.”
My gaze snaps downward, eyes narrowing to slits as I stare daggers at her. “Millie, shut up.”
“No.” She pushes herself up from the floor, knees trembling as she rises. “You've carried this too long.” Her fist swipes across her cheeks, smearing tears and mascara. “I kept lighting candles, kept kneeling at that altar, kept begging—” Her voice cracks. “But heaven stayed silent while they walked free.”
She turns toward Hella, her shoulders squaring. “Maybe he sent you instead.”
“Millie!” The word cracks like a whip.
I don't think she actually realizes the violence that lives within this man. She's probably assuming he's the typical guy who finds something out about his girl being touched and threatens to kill the people who did it—but when Hella says those words, they already taste like blood.
He releases me before dropping down to my sister.
“Tell me,” he whispers, voice soft.
My muscles coil tight as the weight of what I've unleashed settles. I sink back onto the trusted toilet seat, my palm cutting through the air between us. “Wait. If she does this, Hella, you don't get those names. Or else I walk away right now. I need someone in control.” My eyes lock with his. “Show me you have it.”
His jaw clenches until the tendons stand out like cables, but he gives Millie a single nod. “Continue.”
“She got pregnant,” Millie continues, her voice barely above a whisper. “They—we don't know which one—impregnated her that night. One day she had gone to the drug store to buy a test when she bumped into their ringleader. He saw her test and walked out. She thought nothing of it.”
Her hands tremble as she continues. “Cutting a long story short, they all cornered her and beat her within an inch of her life. She was on life support for two weeks.”
Tears streak down Millie's face as she continues. “Anyway, pressing charges against them wasn't an option. Melissa refused to have her name dragged through the media, and mum simply couldn't afford the legal battle. Dad's death left us with nothing to survive on. The risk was too big.”
Hella's fist explodes into the wall, plaster cracking around the dark crater where his knuckles disappear.
I flinch, my body jerking backward.
She opens her mouth, but I step forward, back into her.
His chest rises and falls in sharp, violent rhythms, each breath scraping through his throat like broken glass.
“Out,” I growl. “I'll talk to you when I'm sober.”
As soon as she’s out, my palm finds the rigid muscles between his shoulder. “Hux?” The word barely passes my lips.
He turns around and slumps against the wall, his gaze cutting straight through me like I'm not even there.
His throat works, swallowing hard. “I'm gonna lose control eventually, Melissa. The fucked up thing is that I knew. Deep fucking down, I watched you. Saw how you reacted. And yet I just—”he blinks, shaking his head. “Fuck, I'm not good for you either. I can't even calm my shit down enough to console you because how do I do that?” He searches my eyes, desperate. “Tell me how I do that. How do I fix this while still being gentle enough for you?”
I slide my hands up his chest and lock them behind his neck. “Calm down inside me. Show me that they no longer exist.”