Damaged (Boys of Winter #2) - Sheridan Anne Page 0,5

would have a reason to come for me.

Fuck. Fuck. FUCK.

I glance around the small cell and dive for my stiletto heel. I’m not usually one to back down from a fight or even be fearful of one, but right now, I’m at a loss. I’m nearly naked in a cell that I can be easily cornered in, deep in an underground world that I don’t know my way around, with eight different families seeking my painful and timely death.

I’m a sitting duck. I might as well have a fucking target painted across my forehead and a big arrow in flashing lights telling all the creeps where to find me. If someone wanted me dead, today is their lucky day.

The person gets closer and I find myself holding my breath as I cower in the darkest corner of my cell. Facing the door, I do everything that I can to give myself an advantage, but if it’s Carver coming to get me, I’m fucked. I’ll never be able to take him down, nor do I want to.

Carver means something to me, he’s my safety blanket, the warm embrace at the end of the day. He might hate me, and I will do everything I can to make him pay for putting me in here, but I will never be able to hurt him. Carver is something special that I need to get out of my system.

A long shadow stretches over the room, distorted and changing with each step the stranger takes. My rising fear has me gripping onto the heel tighter. If this turns into a life-or-death situation, I can guarantee that I’ll be the one living to tell the story, no matter how brutal I have to be with this stiletto.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

The person grows closer.

My breath slows, my hand tightening on the heel in the dim light.

Thump. Thump.

My eyes widen as the shadow pulls across my face, the fear crippling me.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

The shadow shifts just one step closer and without sparing me another second to figure out my game plan, the stranger steps into view.

Cruz’s handsome face stares back at me, and the relief rocks through me so hard that I fall to my knees, the stiletto heel clambering across the cold concrete as I catch myself on my palms.

“Fuck, Winter, baby. Are you okay?” Cruz demands, panic lacing his tone as he races to the iron bars of the cell and grips them tightly, almost as though he’s about to attempt to pull them apart with his bare hands. He stares at me, his eyes piercing into my body. “Winter? Please, what’s wrong?”

I take slow, deep breaths, trying to calm my thundering heart before nodding and raising my head. I drop my ass to the cold concrete and fall back against the wall of my cell. “I thought you might have been Carver coming to finish the job.”

“Fuck,” he curses, rushing down to my end of the cell and reaching through the bars to take my hand. I latch onto it with everything I have, hating how desperate I must look. The guys have always seen me as a strong woman who doesn’t take shit from anyone, but right now, I feel like a fraud. “You’re safe down here, babe. I know you don’t feel it, but you are. There’s a fucking code on the door and the keys are locked away. No one can get to you down here.”

I raise my head and look him in the eyes, knowing his words are only there to appease me. “You got in,” I point out. “Carver’s not fucking stupid, nor are the other dickheads who’ve been after me. If you could get the code for the door, so can they. I appreciate you trying to make me feel better, but you and I both know that I’m fucked.”

Cruz lets out a sigh and drops his forehead to the bars before tugging on my hand and pulling me close enough that he can pull me into a tight hug. “I’m not going to leave you, Winter. You’ll be safe with me. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

I breathe him in, loving his words but hating that I can’t trust them. There’s not a single doubt in my mind that Cruz believes every word he’s telling me. He truly thinks he can keep me safe in this world, and that’s a huge part of why I love having him in my life. He’s always so optimistic. He’s my ray