Page 99 of Their Stolen Obsession

I was over their childish bullshit.

“Whatever.” I shook my head.

I left the middle of Sin and Saint’s disagreement. I’d let them solve their own problems. The dog bowls needed more water after Scotty finished the last one.I gathered the water dishes and headed for the gate of the chain-link fence.

Sin grabbed my shoulder. “Not so fast. I’m coming with you.”

“Me too,” Saint added.

I jerked away and glared at both of them. “The dogs need more water. They don’t have time for your petty disagreements.”

“We put our guns away.” Sin held up his hands, not a gun in sight. “See?”

Saint nodded in agreement.

“Fine.” I huffed and pointed at them. “Behave or I’ll shoot you both myself.”

“Promise?” Sin teased.

Instead of answering, I rolled my eyes at Sin. I brushed past him while Saint slapped his shoulder and Sin cursed at his best friend. I kept moving, following a path leading me to the back of the building and right where I needed to be until I saw a green water hose.

I stopped. Unable to move a muscle as I stared at the nozzle and I wanted to go back to the dogs. All of a sudden, I felt safer stuck behind a fence with a bunch of animals I thought I feared most in this world.

“I’ll fill up the dishes.” Sin grabbed the bowlsfrom my arms.

“Liv? Are you coming?” Saint called out as he turned on the water and untangled the hose.

I hugged myself. “I think I’ll wait here.”

Sin had taken off his leather jacket, revealing a white T-shirt underneath. He aimed the nozzle at a bowl and the water pressure was too much. A spray splashed all over his shirt. Sin was soaking wet.

Sin cursed. He went shirtless with his tattooed chest bare and his blue jeans hanging on his hips. His abs resembled an actor’s—perfectly chiseled, with water trickling down. Jesus. He was sexy.

“Nah. Come on over here,” Sin said, but I didn’t move, and he glanced at Saint. “Hold a dish, would ya?”

Before Saint even got to a dog bowl, Sin fired water at him. Beads of water dripped down his face, and he shot his friend an unimpressed scowl. Saint’s white shirt clung to him while Sin had a good chuckle.

“You fire a hose like you piss with a goddamn hard on.” Saint stalked up to Sin and reached for the nozzle. “Gimme that thing.”

Sin sidestepped away from Saint. “Gimme gimme never gets. Use your fucking manners, my friend.”

“Sin. Quit being a dick and fill up the damn bowls.” Saint unbuttoned his shirt and took it off. “We should get back to the mutts.”

“Well, I’m soaked, you’re all wet, but someone is missing out on all the fun.” Sin aimed the hose at me and fired a long shot.

The wet spray took me by surprise and trickled down on me like a cool rainy mist, but it was the nozzle that frightened me.

“No, please! Stop it!” I screamed in terror.

Saint ran for me and yelled, “Sin! Knock it off!”

Immediately, Sin stopped the water from hitting me, and he dropped the nozzle. He ran for me, but Saint made it to me first, where I had huddled down on the ground. What was a playful, harmless water fight had brought me straight back to captivity. Right back to the moment where those bastards blasted water at me, laughing and staring at my naked body.

I held onto Saint as if my life depended on him, and I was afraid to let him go. Petrified that if I did, he’d disappear, and I’d be right back in that awful place. I didn’t want to go back, and I couldn’t let the darkness inside of me take me away.

I whispered, “Don’t let me go, please, don’t let me go.”

“I won’t, darling. I won’t ever let you go again.” Saint stroked my hair.