Chapter 25
Chapter Twenty-Five
SILAS
She moved silently, heading to the passenger’s door.
Her steps were hesitant, measured, like she was bracing for something, an explosion, a punishment…
or worse, me. I reached around her, opening it before she quietly slid inside, her head down, her long hair falling like a curtain between us.
She said nothing. Not a single word. Just slipped into the seat, small and uncertain, leaving me to close the door behind her.
Carter was long gone by the time I turned back.
The man was smart enough to know what to do and smarter still to keep his mouth shut.
People like him didn’t ask questions, they just disappeared when you paid them too.
The call had been money well spent. My father’s regular donations to a select section of the Police Department had more than earned back… especially when it came to her .
My sister.
I turned back toward the car, my hands gripping the edge of the door as I glanced through the glass at her.
She was so small, her body pressed hard against the passenger-side door, as though trying to put as much distance as possible between us.
Her knees were drawn up slightly, her arms wrapped around them like a shield.
Even in the confined space, she looked lost—out of place.
Tiny. Breakable.
I climbed in, the door slamming shut louder than I intended, making her flinch.
Her reaction was quick, almost instinctual, and it stabbed at something deep inside me—something I didn’t want to acknowledge.
I gritted my teeth, gripping the steering wheel tighter than I should, the leather creaking beneath my fingers.
Silence stretched out between us, suffocating and heavy, until it felt like the weight of it was pressing down on my chest. I reached forward and stabbed the button, bringing the car’s engine to life with a growl.
Still, I could feel her there beside me, her presence like a tangible thing, but she didn’t move, didn’t speak.
The air was thick with unspoken words as I shoved the Audi into gear and backed out, into the street, then drove forward.
She thought she could run. Thought she could get away.
She was wrong.
I punched the accelerator, throwing her back in her seat. Her shoulders stiffened as she gripped the edge of her seat. Still, she didn’t look at me once.
“You know this was pointless, right?” My voice cut through the air, cold and sharp. So fucking sharp it could slice right through her. But I didn’t turn my head as I spoke, keeping my eyes on the road ahead. “Running. Hiding. Did you honestly think I wouldn’t find you?”
Her head turned just slightly, her profile barely visible in the dim light of the dashboard, every movement of her body calling me like a goddamn drug.
“You’re quiet now?” My tone almost mocking. “Where’s all that fight you had earlier?”
Her shoulders tensed, but she didn’t respond. Her fingers tightened against the fabric of her pants, the small movement enough to betray the storm brewing beneath her calm exterior.
That fire in her was still there. I could feel it, simmering just below the surface. She wasn’t broken, not entirely. But she would be.
“You’re just damn lucky it was Carter who found you. Anyone else…” I glanced her way, forcing the words through clenched teeth. “Anyone else wouldn’t have called me. They could’ve…they could’ve done whatever the fuck they wanted with you.”
Her breath hitched, the faintest sound escaping her lips. She wasn’t as unaffected as she wanted me to believe. I pressed harder, leaning back in the seat with one hand on the wheel. “You don’t even realise how dangerous this little stunt of yours was, do you? How close you came to?—”
“Stop,” she whispered, her voice shaking.
I turned to her, studied every reaction until her gaze finally met mine, wide and glassy with something shimmering in them I couldn’t quite place. Fear. Anger. Resolution. Please, for the love of God, let it be resolution. Because then she’d be…then she’d be mine.
That same sick need howled like a beast inside me. The same shrieks of torment which unleashed in me the moment I found out she was gone. My pulse raced, the sound pulsing from my temples like thunder in my head. I almost lost her.
Fuck , I almost lost her.
I focused on the road ahead, making our way back to the familiar streets and finally turned into our street. Her gaze shifted to our house before she swallowed hard. The car hit the driveway hard before I tapped the brakes, rolling to a stop at the front of the garage.
Shadows moved around me. Most of the armed men we had keeping an eye on the perimeter had been assigned elsewhere, leaving one or two behind. One of them headed my way as I climbed out.
“Sir, anything you need us to do tonight?”
I shook my head, my focus on the woman in my car. “Not tonight. You can leave.”
One nod of the head was all it took. He turned around and disappeared. I waited for a moment until he was out of sight and then walked around to the passenger’s door. She looked up at me and the past and the present collided. I saw her on her knees…wanting it so fucking bad it hurt.
My hand trembled when I gripped the handle and opened the door, stepping to the side.
She didn’t move at first, her body shivering until she had no choice but to step out.
Her head hung as she walked past me, heading for the back door of the house.
With every step behind her that ravenous beast inside me howled in delight.
She pushed in the code for the back door, yanking it open before slipping inside.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
She stopped, then slowly turned. That movement alone triggering the animal inside me.
I lunged, grabbing her arm and dragging her with me as I headed for the den.
Her small frame struggled against my grip, fighting her pathetic fight, but she was no match for me.
One hard shove of the door and it slammed backwards, bouncing as I shoved her inside.
“Sit,” I ordered and pointed to the brown chesterfield sofa in the middle of the room.
She stumbled forward, giving me time to close the door behind us. There was that spark of defiance when she glared back at me, but I saw something else to—fear.
Good. She needed to be afraid.
“You think you can ever escape me?”
She didn’t answer, her gaze fixed on the floor. Her silence only fueled that thing inside.
“Look at me!”
Her head snapped up, her eyes locking on mine.
“I told you, Angel,” I held her stare, leaning down until my face was inches from hers. “You belong to us— to me.” I lashed out, grabbing a handful of her hair in my fist. “Now you’re going to learn what happens when you forget that.”
Her breath hitched, but she didn’t look away.
That stubbornness, that fire inside her eyes—it was maddening.
I pushed in and sat, forcing her body to slide backwards, before I grabbed her thigh and pulled her against me in one swift motion.
She had no other option than to be dragged onto my lap, her thighs straddling one of mine, her hands braced against my chest.
“Silas, don’t,” she fought, slamming her fists against me in a desperate need to escape.
Something inside me let her go.
My hold slipped and she scurried backwards, windmilling her arms before she caught her balance. Then turned and lunged for the door. This was what that animal inside me wanted. This was the trigger to act.
My entire body was wired tight. I lunged, driving myself forward and descended on her as she hit the door, grabbing her around the waist and lifted her feet from the floor.
“LET ME GO!” She howled, throwing her head backwards.
I jerked to the side, narrowly missing the blow and hauled her backwards, all but throwing her across the room toward the fireplace. She landed on her feet hard, then lunged once more, slamming right into my chest.
“You THINK you can escape ME?” I roared, sweeping my foot out to knock her off balance.
It worked, buckling her knees and taking her to the ground.
She landed on the soft, plush rug in front of the cold hearth and scurried forward.
But I was already dropping on top of her, grabbing her arms and jerking them high.
She buckled under my weight, pinned in place with my hands around her wrists above her head.
Jesus fucking Christ she felt good .
Her muffled cries were swallowed by the rug. I couldn’t hear them anyway over the roaring in my ears.
“Seems like you need a reminder of who exactly is in control here.”
The words rose instantly in my head. Words uttered by the sick sonovabitch London called The Teacher.
“Owned.” I growled against her ear. “That’s what you are right? You’re fucking owned by us…” I closed my eyes, my voice thick and husky. “You’re owned by me.”
The fight went out of her.
That alone did things to me I’d never felt before. I lowered my head, dragging in the frantic gasps of her breath and the scent of her skin.
“You ran,” agony roared inside me. “Do you have any idea what that did to me?”
I was unhinged. Frantic. Tearing along the streets, thinking she was going back to that asshole boyfriend. I ground my hips against her, letting her feel how fucking hard I was. Let her know just how much she affected me.
“You drive me fucking insane, do you get that?” I growled against her ear. “I fucking hate you and yet I…I still can’t let you go.”
There was battling in her now, only the hard rise and fall of her chest. Still, I couldn’t let her go. I was too far gone now, unable to stop this from happening even if I wanted to…and I didn’t want to.
“Owned.” I pulled backwards, looking down as she turned her head, her lips parted. Fuck I wanted to taste those lips, to bite and lick and consume.