“Hello, little bird.”

I want to be strong. I try to be strong but at the sound of his voice, my legs give way and I end up on my ass on the ground. Curling my legs into my chest, I scuttle across the floor until my back hits the cabinets, then I bury my face against my knees and cover my head with my hands. “No, this can’t be happening, no, no, no.”

11

SEBASTIAN

She’s beautiful, more so than she was the last time I was close enough to touch her. Her body has matured over the last two and a half years and instead of a girl, she’s all woman. The soft curves I loved so much have gone and she’s almost painfully slim and toned. Her hair is shorter, but still a pretty color, and I have to fight the urge to reach out and tug a strand, to reel her back to me.

I watch as Hunter reveals himself and she tenses, her fingers clenching into fists. When Evan announces his arrival, her back goes ramrod straight and by the time Clay steps into the room, she’s shaking her head.

The moment Evan taunts her with the knowledge that we’re all here I see her breath hitch. I’ve waited over two years for this moment, over two years to get her away from her dad and back into my world. Not that she was ever really out of my reach. If I wanted to, I could have taken her at any point, but that’s not what I wanted, I wanted her to come back to me willingly. Only she didn’t, not when I chased her, not when I gave her space and not when I showed her I could ruin her and take away all the people who were important to her.

All except her dad, that is. Before she went to visit him, I’d thought of him as a nonentity, not a player in the game. I was wrong, and no matter how much I’ve tried to influence him in the last two and a half years, nothing has worked. As much as I hate to admit it, I admire the man and his unwavering loyalty to his daughter.

“Hello, little bird,” I call, stepping up behind her.

I expect her to look at me, then try to run, but instead, at the sound of my voice she drops to the floor, scuttles back until her spine is flush with the cabinet, curls into a ball and starts to rock as she chants “no, no, no,” over and over again.

The others look to me, but I’m as clueless as them. This was supposed to feel victorious. I won, she’s here, she’s mine again, and this time I won’t allow her another chance to escape. But seeing her on the floor, broken, this isn’t what I want.

As I stand there staring at her, Evan rushes to her, dropping to his knees beside her and reaching out to touch her. The moment his fingers touch her, she freaks out. Her agonized scream is gut wrenching and then she’s gasping for air, her head snapping up as her face goes flush and she grabs at her throat, a wheezing, wretched sound coming from her that’s barely human.