Chapter 169
Dropping back down, I reach for the nearest crate, dragging it beneath the window. The rough scraping sound seems deafening in the tense silence, and I freeze, heart pounding, as I listen for any reaction.
“Did you hear that?” Rhett’s voice booms, dangerously close.
My heart hammers against my ribs, the frantic beat pulsing in my ears as I scramble onto the crate, fingers scrabbling at the rusted window latch. It’s stuck, refusing to budge, the metal crusted over with age and neglect.
Come on, come on, I plead internally, panic rising like a tidal wave in my throat.
“She’s over here!” Bianca’s triumphant shout pierces the silence, and dread washes over me.
With a final wrench, the latch gives way, screeching as it grudgingly opens. I push the window outward, cool night air rushing in to caress my face, carrying with it the scent of salt and freedom. I grip the window frame and start to haul myself up, one leg out, body twisting as I try to wriggle through.
“Oh no, you don’t!” Rhett snarls.
A vice–like grip clamps down around my ankle, yanking me back so hard I nearly slip from the frame. His hand feels like iron, digging into my skin, dragging me away from the brink of escape. Desperation claws at me, and I thrash, kicking out blindly with my free leg.
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“Let go of me!” I scream, my voice ragged with fear and fury.
My foot connects with something solid–his chest or his jaw, I don’t know–and Rhett grunts in pain, his grip loosening but not letting go. Then I feel another set of nails rake against my skin, sharp and vicious, digging into my ankle. Bianca. She claws at me with frantic, wild movements, her nails tearing into flesh, a sharp, searing pain that makes me gasp. With a brutal tug, they pull me back through the window.
I scream, the sound raw and desperate, filling the warehouse with a piercing wail of terror. I don’t know if anyone can hear me, but it’s all I have left as they wrestle me to the ground. I hit the floor hard, the impact jarring my bones, and for a split second, stars dance before my eyes. Rhett looms over me, his face twisted with rage, eyes wild as he reaches for me.
“No!” I lash out, kicking and clawing, every movement fueled by desperation. My foot slams into his knee, and he stumbles back for a moment, but he’s back on me in an instant, his hand wrapping around my throat, pinning me down. His other hand grabs my hair, yanking my head back so sharply that pain shoots through my scalp.
“Big mistake,” he snarls, his voice thick with malice. Then, before I can react, his mouth is on my neck, teeth sinking deep into my flesh, tearing through skin and muscle. The pain is blinding, sharp and searing, like fire spreading from his bite. I feel it immediately–the invasive snap of a bond, brutal and violating, forcing its way into my mind, searing through my soul.
I scream, the sound mingling with his roar as the bond snaps into place, a vicious, possessive force that binds me to him against my will. I thrash, my hands flailing, claws raking across
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his face, catching flesh. Rhett jerks back, his teeth ripping out of my neck, leaving a trail of blood and searing agony that threatens to consume me but I fight against the blackness coming for me knowing if I pass out I will be done for.
He staggers, one hand flying to his face, where blood streams down from a deep gouge. His eyes flash with rage as he stumbles back, cursing, his face twisted in pain. Bianca’s scream pierces the air, high–pitched and panicked as she sees the damage I’ve done, the mess of blood running down Rhett‘ s cheek, his eye swollen and bleeding.
I force myself to roll over, every inch of me screaming in pain, and begin to crawl away, my vision blurring. The bond claws at my mind, insidious and dark, like chains tightening around my thoughts, dragging me back toward him even as I try to escape. But I fight it, digging my nails into the concrete floor, pulling myself forward, inch by agonizing inch.
