Heartless (Steel Demons MC #6) - Crystal Ash Page 0,89
stop!” I cried, clawing desperately at his arm and fist. “Wake up!”
He pulled my head back by my hair, his grip callous and the angle of my neck so painful I thought it might break. Then he shoved me down as he released me, my forehead and nose slamming on the floor with pain that rattled my skull. Wetness coated my face, getting into my mouth and clogging my sinuses as I coughed and struggled to breath.
The weight of his grip came down on my head again and I fought desperately to scramble away across the floor, but he pulled me back, hair yanking painfully from my scalp.
“No, no, please! Help!”
Shadow pulled my head to the side, forcefully turning my whole body over onto my back. I let out a choked cry at the sight of him above me, pain stabbing through my head and whole body from his abuse. My heart felt just as abused, tearing, pulling, and screaming over this heartless man I didn’t recognize.
The same eyes that watched me so carefully for any discomfort now radiated pure hatred. The same hands that pleased me so thoroughly were now instruments in hurting me as much as possible. Nothing hurt as much knowing the same person was capable of two such extremes.
“How does it feel?” he asked cruelly, lifting my head once again to let it thump back on the floor. “To be trapped and bleeding? To feel small and helpless?”
“Shadow, please…” I wheezed, coughing on the blood that trickled into my mouth from my nose, only to feel his other hand clasp around my throat.
“I’ve always wanted to do this,” he continued, fingers pressing into my flesh. “To make you suffer as I have.”
“HELLLP!” I screeched at the top of my lungs, knowing I wouldn’t have a voice for much longer. “Somebody help me!”
“Mari!”
I heard thumping at the door, and saw the wood buckle as its hinges groaned to keep it in place.
“Reaper!” I called. “Help me! Hel—”
My cry choked off as Shadow’s hand tightened, black dots swarming my vision as I struggled to breathe. Trapped in his nightmare, he didn’t pay any attention to the door or how I pleaded and fought for my life. I kicked my legs out and clawed at his hand, but my strength was nothing compared to his.
Still I lashed out at him, fighting with everything I had left, even as my limbs grew heavier, his cruel scowl above me fading to blackness. Sensation started to leave my body, leaving me to sink into the worst heartbreak I’d ever felt. This loving, gentle man was literally killing me because of the abuse he had endured.
I’m so sorry, Shadow…
I knew the sleeping pills were only a band-aid solution to the nightmares. He pushed back when I broached the idea of getting more help, but I should have insisted. Maybe then we would have a normal night together, waking each other up with soft words, more kisses and exploring touches.
As the darkness began to swallow me up, I only wished that I hadn’t been too late to save him.
Twenty-Four
REAPER
“Wake up.”
“Huh?”
I blinked slowly to see Daren standing at the foot of the bed.
“Wake up, Rory. She needs you.”
“Why, what’s—”
Something cracked over the side of my face like a hand slapping me, and then I really did wake up.
“What the fuck?” I grumbled, rubbing my eyes.
Hades growled at my bedside, teeth glinting white in the dark room.
“What’s gotten into you?” I peered at him.
A thumping sound came from somewhere in the house, making me pause and listen. It was only our third night in the new house, and Vance’s builders insulated it like a fortress. I still couldn’t tell exactly where noises were coming from.
I heard another thump, and then a scream. A woman’s scream.
“Fuck, Mari!”
I shot out of bed, Hades already running down the hallway. Wearing nothing but my boxers, I somehow found the coordination in my panicked state to race down the stairs to Shadow’s room. I jiggled the knob. Locked, of course. I jammed my shoulder hard into the door and it didn’t budge. Fucking Vance just had to make every door in the house from solid oak.
“Shadow!” I yelled through the wood, slamming my fist against it. “Open the door!”
“No, no, please! Help!”
Mari’s fear-stricken cry from inside spurred me into desperate, frantic action. My mind was blank except for the burning need to get her out. I tried my shoulder again, then a kick to the door, to no avail.