Fall (Roam Series, Book Two)
Page 21
“Roam!” West shouted from behind me. I held my palm flat, not turning to him.
“I’ve had enough of this, West… all of this. I won’t watch him hurt her.”
Troy wrenched me against him, his eyes darkening with insanity. “It’s not you that ends this, it’s your child. Your bastard.”
“If you hurt her, I will die. Either by the hands of your guards, or by my own hands. Either way, I’m gone. How badly do you want me? My obedience? Is it worth the life of a harmless infant?” My persuasive words gave him pause. With all of my strength, I lifted my fingers to his face, lightly tracing his cheekbone. “How badly do you want me?”
His eyes, mirrored pools of ice, heated with the licentious intrigue of my words. “You would stay, here, without the child?”
“Give her to West. Let them live. I will rule with you.”
“You will be seventeen… for as long as I let you live.” He mouthed the idea as it occurred to him, and I almost lost my composure as his tongue touched his lips.
“When you’ve had enough, it’s as simple as… snapping my neck.”
“And hunting your daughter.”
I stiffened. “I know West will protect her.”
The gauntlet was laid before him; I’d chosen exactly the right sadistic words to win him over.
He stared at me for what seemed like an eternity before a slow, deliberate smile spread over his face. “Very well. Escort them all back to the gate. Give the child to her father.”
“Roam!” Morgan screamed, but Logan grabbed her, holding her before the guards could touch her. I watched Laurel walk to West, breaking into tears as she handed Eva over to him. Violet threw herself into her mother’s arms.
Darkness, worse than drowning, slowed the world around me. West turned to me, clutching Eva to his chest, pain emanating from his eyes. “Roam…,”
He looked down at Eva in his arms, as if considering the unthinkable.
“Go, please… protect her, save her… I love you,” I dropped to my knees, Troy finally releasing me.
“I love you… I will come back for you,” his voice broke over Eva’s cries as the guards shoved him toward the door.
Troy looked down at me, callous, still smiling.
“Wait…,” Logan turned to the guards, resisting as they herded them through the doorway. “I’ll stay… I’ll follow you. I’ll do whatever you ask- except hurt her.”
Troy listened, stopping as if considering. Finally, he pointed at Logan. “My brother stays. He will join me again.”
A guard shoved him forward, and West anticipated Violet’s move, handing Eva to Morgan. He grabbed Violet before she could run for Logan.
Violet cried, deafening, her eyes red and sodden with tears. “You will die for this!” She bawled at Troy.
“Go!” Logan shouted to Violet. “Just go.”
When they were gone, I sat on the cold stone altar, staring at the ground. Logan stood, facing me, flanked by armed soldiers.
Troy squatted, his breath hot against my ear. “I thought having my brother here would comfort you. This is a… peace offering. I will have your total obedience.”
Logan’s jaw twitched, watching Troy whisper in my ear.
When I didn’t answer, he slid his arms under my knees, lifting me against him.
My mind turned inward, seeking anything but the reality of what was happening. Imaginary spiders crept over my skin, my heart dividing within my chest. The moment Troy’s hands touched my body, I twisted away, shocked.
Moments passed before I realized that the resonating, horrified scream in the room was my own. Beating against his chest with my fists, I dragged my fingernails down his face.
Logan became a feral version of himself, seething, fighting the army that held him. “Roam… No! Let her go! Roam!”
A guard whipped him across the back of the head with a gun, and he dropped to his knees.
Troy kicked the doors open with his booted foot, carrying me away as I screamed.
ROAM SERIES
ROAM
FALL
RISE
RUSH
RULE
REIGN