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She was as fucked up as I was, and that idea hit me like a freight train.

You can’t torture those who’ve already been tortured.

Her words run around in my head. It made sense she was tortured, the scars on her body told me that. But who? The pieces of what Jace told me, that there were twelve left. Who are they?

“Did you get what you needed?” Jace asks, peeking in through the bathroom door.

Shrugging, I lean against the counter.

“I’m not sure I know what that means.” Jace steps through, leaning against the wall.

“I couldn’t do it,” I whisper.

Jace frowns, glancing into my room before looking back at me. “She…Ryker, she has new marks on her skin. Cuts and whip marks, I’m confused.”

Giving him my best, “no shit,” look, I shake my head. “Not like the others.”

“What happened? You look…” Jace trails off. I know what he’s talking about; part of my black heart beats for her. And causing her pain now hurts me and I never thought I would feel that way towards someone. I’m thirty-six; finding a girl was never in my mindset.

Not until her.

“You can’t torture those who’ve already been tortured,” I repeat the words out loud.

“What?”

“That’s what she said to me after I…I fucked her, and that’s what she said after.” Shaking my head, I look up at the ceiling.

“She’ll get there, eventually. We’ll just have to work on trust building, I guess.” Jace straightens up. “I’m going to go to bed. I don’t want her to think we’ve disappeared.”

I nod my head and Jace glances at the door and back at me.

“Maybe you should join us,” Jace mutters, walking out the door before I can say anything.

I shake my head. I won’t. I can’t sleep next to her knowing that the feelings inside me are developing. I can’t drag her into my own mess.

Stripping off my clothes, I step into the ice-cold shower. My scarred skin aches as the water runs over me. Embracing the pain, I shower, trying to wash her scent off me. Blake clings to my senses worse than a fucking dog. Scrubbing my skin, I finish my shower, wrapping the towel around my waist.

Leaving the bathroom, I pull on a pair of boxers, eyeing my empty bed. I’m moving towards the bedroom door before I can process what I’m doing. Walking across the living room and entering Jace’s room.

Closing it behind me, I tiptoe over to the side of the bed, climbing in behind Blake. Who sure enough, has her arm wrapped around Jace’s wide waist.

I hear Jace chuckle into the dark as I move my arm around Blake’s waist, my hand brushing against Jace’s naked side.

“Shut up,” I mutter. Burying my nose into Blake’s hair, I inhale her vanilla and a hint of sweat scent. Blake shoves her foot between my legs, telling me she was no longer mad at me. Or I hoped that’s what she was saying.

It wasn’t long before I drifted off to sleep.

My uterus woke me up, cramps twisting my insides, and I clench my jaw as another one passes through me. I hate being a female for this reason. My periods were never normal and one month it was worse while the next would be like a walk in the park.

I shiver under the blankets. Stretching my arm out I still feel Jace in front of me. And scooting back some, I feel Ryker against my back. I’m stuck, but the feeling of my stomach turning has me up and stumbling over Jace to the bathroom.

“Fuck!” One of them curses. Slamming the door, I throw myself over the toilet, emptying the contents in my stomach. Tears gather in my eyes and my throat burns. I don’t have the energy to look over when the door opens.

“Shit,” Jace mutters at the same time Ryker mutters, “Fuck.”

I hear them moving around, but bile rises in my throat that I can’t hold back. My forehead rests against the seat. I know it’s disgusting, but I don’t have the energy to pick my head up or hold it for that matter.

“Come on, Sunshine,” Jace says beside me. I’m not sure what he’s talking about until he’s pulling my hair back, throwing it into a bun. Holding my cheeks, Jace uses a warm washcloth to wipe my mouth.