“But what if Zye—”
Gray cuts me off with a single shake of his head and his voice drops low but calm.
“He won’t, baby. He’s never going to touch you again. You’re safe now. You’re free.”
A deep breath rips from me, shaky and unsteady. My shoulders sag, just slightly as he kisses my forehead like a promise and moves toward the back of the van, his arm around me.
“Come on. Let’s get you inside. I’ll drive you to the motel near the airport so you can change. Your flight’s in two hours.”
He opens the back door, and I hesitate, just for a second before glance down the street, the one I came running from. The one that’s held me prisoner my entire life.
Then I finally climb inside.
Gray gives me a smile before he shuts the door behind me and locks it, but the final click lands like a hammer to my skull.
My blood roars in my ears as I sink to the floor, curling in on myself, knees to chest with arms wrapped tight. The van begins to move, but I can barely hold myself together.
Something inside me screams this isn’t over, but I try to push it away, knowing it’s probably the trauma taunting me. I can trust Gray. We’ve come this far.
It feels like we’ve been driving for hours, the walls of the van closing in tighter with every mile, metal groaning and creaking with the rain now hammering overhead. My back aches from sitting hunched too long, and just when I think I can’t take another second, the van finally rolls to a stop.
I brace myself, slowly rising to my feet, and when I hear the latch click, something twists in my gut. Not fear exactly, but dread flowering cold and sudden, like my body knows something my mind hasn’t caught up to yet.
Then the back doors swing open, the cold rush of air and rain hitting me like a slap, and there’s Gray. Smiling, like everything’s okay.
That easy, familiar grin he always wears, and for a flicker of a second, I let myself believe it. My shoulders start to loosen, and my foot even lifts like I’m about to step forward, but then he moves to the side, and everything inside me seizes.
Because now, in the space where Gray stood, there’s Zye.
Standing still in the downpour, dragging his belt from the loops of his pants, his eyes are locked onto mine as if he’s already killed me in his mind. There’s something vicious behind his quiet, something that pulses darker than rage. It’s fucking terrifying.
I freeze in place, my mind screaming at me to run, but my feet don’t move.
“Gray…” I breathe, but it’s useless—his name slips from my lips like I’m trying to pull safety from a ghost, and tears instantly start to burn down my cheeks.
I don’t need him to answer. I already know he’s set me up.
Zye takes a step forward, the belt slapping softly against his thigh, the rain pouring off him as if it’s trying to wash the violence away but failing.
“You thought you could just leave without my say so? You fucking thought you could escape me?” he says, low and razor-sharp, and just like that, the trap I didn’t even know I’d walked into snaps shut.
As soon as he steps forward, I turn, trying to escape, but the metal wall stops me. The sharp crack of his belt buckle across my thighs sends a shock of searing pain through my body. I scream, my legs giving way beneath me, and I stumble forward, slamming into the van’s metal side.
I feel it dip as he gets inside, the weight of his presence pressing in. My breath comes in short, fast puffs, and I turn, still leaning against the cold wall for support. My hands shoot out, shaking violently as I try to keep him away, my body trembling from fear and desperation.
“I’m sorry… I won’t…” I sob, my voice breaking, but the words feel hollow, meaningless, as his shadow looms closer.
Without warning, his big hand comes up and smacks across my face so hard, my body twists and I crash onto the floor with a loud thud. My mind spins, ears ringing, blood filling my mouth, but Zye’s not finished. He grabs a fistful of my hair, ripping me up onto my knees, and I cry out.
When I open my watery eyes, I see Gray still standing there, watching, unfazed and unwilling to help.
I reach out for him, arms stretched in despair, but he shows no emotion.
“Gray, please!” I beg, blood dripping from my mouth, but it dies in my throat as soon as I spot Elias and Lake round the corner, stepping into the van.
“Hey, sis,” Lake says, like he’s enjoying every second of this.
Without warning, my leg is yanked violently from beneath me, and I’m knocked onto my back, my head cracking against the surface. I groan just before my arms are pinned above me. Lake taking one, Elias the other.