that, I stared at Wilder’s face and found myself hoping he survived, wanting to look into his eyes, to see if they were the same shade as his brother’s. I wanted to hear his voice, to see how deep it was, to see if it made me feel that the connection, this boundlessness I felt we had, would be stronger.
There was a soft knock on the bedroom door, and it opened a second later. Kimber peeked her head around the corner and gave me a timid smile.
“Can I come in?”
I didn’t respond, because I knew it wouldn’t have mattered what I said. She’d come in here regardless.
And she did.
She pushed the door open and a second later stepped in with Amelia trailing behind her. Amelia held a tray and walked over to me, while Kimber went to Wilder. Someone had come in every five minutes to check on him, but the men had all but ignored me, as if they either forgot I was here or didn’t give a shit that they kept a woman hostage.
Amelia sat on the floor a few feet from me and set the tray down, pushing it forward slightly, a small smile on her face. “You have to be hungry.”
I didn’t respond. I didn’t know what to say.
The tray held a couple bottles of water beside a plate that had a sandwich, a bag of chips, and a slice of watermelon. Beside that was a small slice of chocolate cake.
“I made the cake this afternoon.”
I glanced up at her, hearing the pride in her voice. I don’t know why I found it comforting. Maybe because it was so… normal.
“How are you doing?”
I was so tired I didn’t have the strength to fight. I shrugged. “I’m doing shitty, about the same as I feel.”
She gave me a sympathetic smile. “I know. I’m sorry about... all of this.”
I rested my head back against the wall. “It’s not your fault.”
She exhaled wearily. “It’s not like I’m helping you walk out of here though.”
She had a point, but again, I was too damn tired to fight her on this.
“What’s your name?”
I thought about not answering, lying, but what difference did it really make? “Zoey,” I finally admitted.
“You from around here?”
“Yes and no.” The look she gave me would have made me laugh if the situation had been different. “I’m what you’d call a free spirit… a nomad. I don’t really hang around for very long.”
She nodded like she knew what I meant.
“You look young.”
“So do you,” I replied. She grinned. “I’m twenty-five and too old to be jumping around like I do, but staying stationary and being sedentary was never my ‘thing,’ I guess.”
We were silent for long moments, but it was the good kind of silence, the kind I needed right now.
“I’m really sorry you’re stuck in this fucked-up situation.”
Me too. “Yeah, it’s pretty fucked up.”
I could hear how genuine she sounded, and I didn’t know why that tugged at my heart.
“But I want you to know you have choices. I know it doesn’t seem like it right now, but Frankie is only acting like this because he’s desperate, because his twin over there is fighting for his life and he doesn’t know what do to.” She exhaled. “No one knows what’s going to happen, and it’s making these normally hardened men even more unbearable.” The way she said the last part told me she felt the same way.
I could have stayed silent, just let those words hang between us, but I found myself sitting up a little bit, and I had no idea why. “I don’t know anything about being close to someone, not even where family’s concerned.” I watched Wilder, stared at the way his chest rose and fell. “I don’t know that kind of connection, the need to make sure somebody survives at all costs,” I whispered. “I may not have ever experienced it, but I can understand it.” I looked at her then. “I can understand it, but it doesn’t make what they’ve done right.”
She shook her head. “No, it really doesn’t.”
Right now, I didn’t want to sympathize with anybody in this room. Those men were… intense, in a psycho way.
“Hell, Dom kidnapped me from work and kept me here,” she confessed.
I stared into Amelia’s eyes. I wasn’t surprised by her revelation.
“And Cullen is Kimber’s… whatever you’d call the two of them. Her, the lion tamer.” Amelia and Kimber smiled, but then Amelia’s expression sobered. “If the Preacher boys can fall in love and