Page 34

“Deep breaths, Aurora. In and out,” I bark out the command, glancing at her profile. Her chest heaves beneath the seat belt, a battle raging within her slender frame. I can almost see the tendrils of her dark past wrapping around her throat, squeezing the air out.

“Focus on me, darling,” I snarl, navigating the traffic with predatory ease. We’re a bullet slicing through the city, leaving shadows in our wake. My mind races, a storm of thoughts colliding with every turn of the wheel.

“Talk to me when you can. Anything,” I growl, my need to protect flaring up like a brushfire. The animal in me wants to track down whatever or whoever’s linked to that car and tear them apart.

“Can’t... not yet,” she chokes out, her knuckles white where they clutch the armrest.

“Alright, alright. No rush.” Words are cheap anyway. Actions are my currency, and I’m about to spend them all to keep her safe. My foot hammers the pedal harder, each mile putting distance between her and the trigger.

“Home,” she finally whispers as though the word itself is salvation. And maybe it is. For her. For us. Home is where Ican watch over her, where the darkness retreats, if only for a moment.

“Home,” I echo back, letting the word hang between us like a vow. Home is where we fight our demons, together, one nightmare at a time.

The driveway’s gravel crunches under the tyres like bones breaking. I’m out before the engine dies, moving with purpose. I yank open the door and reach for Aurora. My arms are like steel bands as I lift her against me. She is as light as a ghost in my hold.

“Got you,” I grunt out, carrying her past the threshold and into the dimly lit living room. The couch takes her from me, the leather harsh against the reality we’re wrapped in. I crouch before her, my hands on her knees, looking up into those dark eyes that have seen too damn much.

“Talk to me, Aurora. What did that car do to you?” My voice is a blade—sharp, ready to cut through the silence she’s trapped in.

Her lips part, and words tremble on the edge of a precipice. “It was… it was their car. The same model, same colour. Just seeing it, it’s like I’m back there, Felix.” Her voice is a haunted melody, notes of pain threaded through every syllable.

“Back where?” I push, though each word feels like I’m pressing bruises. But I need to know this so I can stand between her and whatever hell is clawing at her mind.

“At their house,” she whispers, and the air in the room gets heavier.

“Fuck.” It’s all I can say—a curse against the ghosts that torment her. My fist clenches, nails diggingcrescents into my palm. I want to smash something, to shatter the world that hurt her.

“Tell me everything, darling. Don’t leave out anything. I need to understand,” I demand, my tone brooking no argument. This isn’t just about comfort. It’s strategy and survival. Know your enemy, even if it’s a fucking memory.

“The screams… mine, echoing off the walls. The fear. I could taste it, metallic and bitter.” Her eyes are distant now, glazed with the film of the past. “And the belt… he’d take it off slowly, making me watch.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

Aurora Henry

Isit on the couch.

Felix crouches in front of me. As his dark eyes search my face, I can’t help but get lost in the past, reliving the tale of my kidnapping to him.

“Fuck, Felix…” I whisper, my voice trembling. “I was walking home from uni when this red Holden Monaro pulled up next to me. Three fuckers with masks jumped out and grabbed me, throwing me in the back like I was nothing. They blindfolded me and took me to this house…”

Felix’s grip tightens on my knees, his jaw clenched as he listens intently.

“Windows were painted black, so I couldn’t see shit. There were two other girls in there with me, one Asian woman and another girl, maybe twelve? Fuck, she was so young.” I choke back a sob before continuing, “They chained me to this metal gurney with a headrest and a drain. They… they tortured and raped me for three weeks straight.”

His eyes darken, and I see the rage bubbling beneath the surface. I push on, needing to share every brutal detail.

“One of them would tie me to a chair, making me watch as he took off his belt, using it to whip one of the other girls. I think they were Italian… they only spoke it to each other. Kept using the name Enzo a lot. They cut up my back pretty badly, put out cigarettes on my skin.” My voice breaks, and I force myself to continue, “One of ‘em even wrapped barbed wire around my arms and chair, then punched me in the face, causing the wire to pull tight on my skin.”

“Jesus Christ…” Felix growls, his anger barely contained.

“Managed to escape, though. They left me untied in a cage while they went out for something. I used a hairpin one of the other girls threw to me to open the lock, but just as I got it open, they came back. I couldn’t free the others.” My voice falters, guilt eating at me. “I ran and ran, finally getting a car to stop for me. They took me straight to the police station, and then I was taken to the hospital.”

Felix’s eyes are cold and calculating.

“My parents did their best to support me after that goddamn nightmare, but being around them just made it worse. They reminded me of what I’d lost and how fucking broken I was. Couldn’t stand being there anymore,” I tell Felix, my voice cracking. “So, I moved to the Gold Coast and got all these tattoos to cover the scars left behind.”

Felix nods, his dark eyes intense as he studies the ink on my body. He’s got this way of looking at me that makes me feel like nothing else exists as if I’m the only thing in the world that matters. It’s fucking terrifying and comforting at the same time.