Can’t breathe.

I screamed, though the wail didn’t come from me. A wild animal thrashed inside my being, screeching its pain.

Someone hefted me up and sent a hard smack to my cheek. “Snap out of it!”

Gulping air, I returned Brock’s wide-eyed stare.

“You’re gonna sit on that bed and calm the fuck down. Do you understand me?”

I nodded, mouth trembling, and stumbled toward the bed. My legs gave out, and I plopped onto the cot’s thin mattress, ass flaming from the welts. Rather than fight the burn, I embraced it, wrapped myself in its blessed relief.

Brock pivoted, running a hand over his shaved head, and he and Vinnie left. The door shut with a quiet click, as if it didn’t want to ignite the screaming again.

I rocked back and forth on the bed, nails clawing my skin. I couldn’t wash away the blood. I was bathing in it, reliving it. Those fucking tears needed to burst from my eyes and drench my face. I needed to cry, but I was a brimming cactus in the middle of a desert, and nothing could extract my despair.

Someone inserted a key into the lock, and I jumped. I could have lost minutes or hours—I had no way of knowing. Lucas stood in the doorway holding the handle of a lantern. He set it on the floor before picking up a bucket he’d left outside the entrance. The door slammed behind him, and a soft glow filled the space. So did the malevolent shadow of his form. He came toward me with purposeful steps.

“Now you know what I’m capable of,” he said, bending to set the bucket on the floor. “I have no problem killing Mason. You have the power to keep him alive.”

“You want to fuck me,” I said, voice as dead as I felt on the inside.

“I can do that anytime I want. You’re helpless here, Alex, and you can’t stop me.”

“What do you want then?” I lowered my gaze and imagined blood all over the shiny black surfaces of his shoes.

“I want you to want me to fuck you.”

“That will never happen.”

“Are you sure about that?” He placed a hand on my chest, between my breasts, and gently pushed until I flopped to my back. Grabbing my legs, he slid them onto the bed before bending and spreading my knees. I closed my eyes and found that place I hadn’t ventured to in a while—the place where I’d sought refuge when Zach had pushed me beyond my breaking point in that cabin.