Page 252

“Survival,” he mused. “Yeah, I think we can call it that.”

They laughed together, softly, and then he kissed her one more time.

She may regret this tomorrow. But tomorrow wasn’t here yet, and in that moment, as Roman held her, she decided it was worth it.

Whatever happened next, this was worth it.

Shay was in bed,about to drift off when she heard the door to the motel room open. It was Roman, slipping in quietly and turning the deadbolt. She watched his silhouette as he toed off his boots and slipped his shirt over his head.

He’d spent the past hour on the roof by himself. Watching the stars. And thinking, definitely—about what, Shay didn’t know. And she wasn’t sure she wanted to. He’d once accused her of being hot and cold, when reallyhewas the unpredictable one.

As he walked quietly across the dark room, she expected him to return to his own bed—the one closest to the door. Instead, he rounded hers. The covers whispered as he got underneath them—it was the first time she’d ever seen him willinglyrestrict himself,as he’d once said—and snuggled up behind her, wrapping a strong arm around her waist.

Shay laced her fingers with his. Sensing that he had something he wanted to say, she waited patiently for him to speak.

Finally, he said, his voice whisper-soft, “You were right.” His words grazed the shell of her ear and raised a shiver along the back of her neck. “That night, when you came and talked to me at my house…and you accused me of being threatened by my dad…” She heard him swallow. “You were right. He did threaten me. It’s why I’ve been running this whole time, why I’ve been…why I’ve been so afraid for you. It isn’t because I don’t want you, Shay—I do. Believe me, I do. But my dad he…he told me…” Roman inhaled sharply, his next words rushing out on an exhale. “Gods, I can’t even say it, that’s how bad it is.”

Shay let go of his hand—of his fingers that were suddenly so tense, she could hardly bend them—and rolled over to face him. “You don’t have to say it, Roman,” she said softly. Roman had a sound barrier up to keep their conversation from waking Paxton, but they still spoke in whispers. “It doesn’t matter what that horrible monster said?—”

“He said he’d have his men rape you,” Roman blurted. A prickle of dread shook down her spine. “He said they’d string you up and torture you, like they do me. He said they’d…” His throat bobbed. “Kill you. He said they’d kill you.”

Shay tried to swallow, but her throat was too tight. And those were tears she was seeing in Roman’s eyes—shining in the dark.

“I don’t want that to happen, Shay,” he whispered. His voice cracked as he added, “Any of it. I won’t be able to live with myself if they lay even one single finger on you?—”

Shay pressed her fingertips against Roman’s lips. Those perfect, kissable lips she had been biting and tasting an hour ago. Too long ago, already. She wanted to taste them again. “Stop,” she said gently.

Roman slipped his rough fingers around hers, kissed her fingertips and lowered her hand. He opened his mouth—to argue, she knew.

But she told him, “No buts. We’re in this together. Even if I were to run now, you and I both know that it’s too late. Your father will not stop. He will not rest until he finds you, he will not rest until he finds Paxton, and he will not rest until he finds me. Whether you like it or not, Roman, we are in this together. It started with us, and it will end with us, too. What we have to decide is whether it ends with us running or fighting.”

Roman’s swallow was audible. He scrubbed a hand down his face before confessing, “I don’t see a way out.”

“We’ll make one,” Shay said.

Someway, somehow, they were both making it out of this alive.

“Whatever lies ahead, I will face it with you,” she vowed, and meant it.

She would not abandon Roman. No matter the cost, she would not run, would not leave these two brothers on their own.

They may not be able to see a way out, at least not at this time…but they would damn well make one. Shay had never had the chance to experience a life of freedom with Anna. She had lost her sister, her closest friend in the whole world, and now that she had fallen for Roman and had grown to love his little brother, too, as if he were her own…she refused to lose them.

And so they would not run. When the time came, they would fight.

They would fight their parents, and they would not just break their chains. They wouldshatterthem.

Together.

86

Malakai Went and Got Us Lost, the Idiot

YVESWICH, STATE OF KER

“I triedto tell you half an hour ago,” Travis fumed, “you went the wrong fucking way!”

Hourshad passed since they’d left the hospital, and here they were, wasting yet more precious time coasting down the canals when they could be sleeping peacefully in warm beds. Bunch of bullshit, and it was all the fault of his least favorite person in the group.