Silas
“What?”
The word came out sharper than I’d meant it to, and I was suddenly glad she couldn’t see the expression on my face. She thinks I’m the one responsible for that!?
I had no idea some of those things had even happened.
I replayed the memory of her on her bed with a lighter in her hand. Then, my memory shifted to the video of her sleeping in her room while a stranger stood above her. Lastly, I thought about her whole file that was now stored on my phone.
I looked over to find her staring at me like she was waiting for some type of confession.
Her face was swollen from the tears that were still falling, and her chest was rising too fast. I would bet money she was close to having a panic attack, especially with her wrists bound in the zip ties that I put there.
Fuck. I hadn’t even noticed the amount of blood that was along her arms.
She must be terrified.
I opened my mouth to respond, to tell her I was innocent, and that I hadn’t done any of those things.
But I realized that without proof or any type of answers, it would just be empty words coming from the man who dragged her out of her home.
I needed more time, Knox was so close to figuring this all out.
The way she looked at me, I knew that I had to give her something, or I'd risk losing her forever. If I told her the truth right now, I’d only make things worse. I needed to be able to offer her something. I thought back to our last conversation, and the answer became crystal clear in my mind.
Control.
Trailing my gaze along the blood that streaked her arms, I noticed that she was visibly shaking.
I could see she was trying to hide it, but it was clear that the adrenaline in her body had completely taken over.
With a defeated sigh, she turned away from me in resignation.
I watched as more silent tears fell down her face.
She really thinks I’m going to hurt her.
The realization settled heavy in my chest, and I was ready to do whatever I could to salvage her trust. Instead of answering her questions and creating more problems, I reached into my pocket and pulled out my knife.
The movement caught her attention, and her shoulders went rigid as she sobbed again but louder—a sound I immediately hated.
I lifted my arm, and she squeezed her eyes shut and braced.
Trying to avoid touching any exposed parts of her skin, I sliced through the zip ties that bound her wrists together.
The plastic snapped, and her hands jerked apart.
She looked up at them and then at me, like she didn’t quite believe she was free.
“I’d like you to stay with me, to trust me when I say I’m trying to keep you safe,” I said evenly.
She let out a hollow laugh and turned toward the door.
Her hand instantly reached for the handle as her fingers wrapped around it, but just as she went to push it open, she paused.
A small sound left her mouth as she turned back to me, eyes glassy.
“Smart move, Silas. You almost got me—acting like I have a choice when I really don’t.
” Her voice cracked. “I have no car and no phone. What am I supposed to do? Walk back?”
I smiled under the mask, though she couldn’t see it. The tone in her voice meant she still had fire, she was still here with me. No, baby, I’m not acting. You have full control right now.
To show exactly how wrong she was, I lifted my hip and took out my phone. Disabling the lock screen completely, I opened the keypad and held it out to her. “Use this however you’d like.”
Her eyes narrowed in suspicion, and I watched as a million different thoughts swirled in her head.
I could see each one as it passed—suspicion, curiosity, apprehension.
Eventually, she moved her hand forward and snatched the phone from me.
I mentally kicked myself as she typed in three specific numbers.
As I imagined her pressing the call button, I started naming the felonies they were going to take me down for. Home invasion. Assault—
But then she pulled her finger away, deleting those numbers before entering new ones. As it started to ring, she turned on the speaker.
Well, at least it wasn't the cops… yet.
A small click ended the ringing, and a voice spilled into the space between us, a voice I never expected her to willingly choose—my brother.
“What’s up, dickhead?” I rolled my eyes at his greeting, expecting nothing less from Kyrin.
She, however, did not find his personality funny in this moment. “It’s Ember. I need to ask you a question.” Her voice was solid, there was no hint of emotion. I found that interesting, considering tears were still fresh on her face.
Kyrin’s reply was short, like it should be with that type of question. “How do you have Silas’s phone?”
In an effort to help the situation and make things go smoother for her, I stepped in. “Just answer whatever questions she has for you. Everything is fine.”
He must’ve had some sort of guess at what was going on because his response came with light laughter. “Okay, fine. Shoot.”
Ember was looking straight at me, like she could see me through the mask. “Do I need to worry about your brother hurting me?”
Kyrin's laughter was stronger this time, like he definitely knew what was going on.
“Ember, over the last few days, I have watched that man spiral.
Not only have you completely overtaken his mind, but he also threatened to kill a lot of people if you didn't stay safe in my bar. You have become his whole world in a very short period of time. I think I should actually be worried about you hurting him.”
She didn’t say anything else to him, just accepted the answer and dismissed the call.
Next, she opened my messages and sent two separate ones before handing it back to me.
Her body relaxed slightly as she folded her arms and looked out the window, the motion smearing blood all over the front of her shirt.
“If you do end up killing me, just know they were notified of where to find the body.”
They. I assumed that meant she sent texts to her roommates.
I nodded once in understanding before getting out and moving around the car to her side. She watched me carefully, as if still expecting me to attack her. Instead, I pulled the door open and offered her my hand.
She stepped out and ignored it, glaring at me from the side of her eye.
I should have realized that every moment I’d been with her, I’d basically been fueling that fire.
I couldn’t help the way my dick twitched in excitement as I motioned for her to lead the way inside.
As she passed me, her shoulder deliberately hit mine, and another smile grew on my face.
That's my girl.
We entered through the back door where I grabbed a clean white mask from the extra stock and held it out. “Put this on.”
She snatched it from my hand but obeyed, we pushed through the crowds and went straight to my office. Once inside, I pulled out the first-aid kit and stepped toward her. “Let me see your wrists.”
She didn’t move. Instead, she walked past me, ripping the kit from my hands and sat down in my chair. “I can do it myself,” she said flatly.
I watched without protest as she unwrapped the gauze, cleaned the cuts, and placed the bandages down.
For now, I needed to be okay with the fact she didn’t want me to help.
In order to heal this wound between us, I needed to just exist near her for a little while.
I leaned against my desk instead, watching her.
Slowly, a reminder of everything I knew clawed at my insides.
Someone else was in her room.
Someone else had touched her.
And now I knew for a fact, I wasn't the only monster hidden in the dark.
“I’m gonna send a text, but if you need my phone again, I’ll keep it open for you.”
Ember waved her hand at me like she really couldn’t care less. “At this point, I’ve already accepted that you could call for backup at any time. Just don’t let it be the same guy as before—he didn't exactly play fair.”
Yeah, Greyson didn't do fair. As an act of good faith, I decided to feed into the conversation by offering her a small piece of me. “That was my brother, and I’m very aware of his tactics.”
Slowly, her head raised, and she looked over at me. “There's three Sons of Solstice?”
Bait taken, which means there’s still a small part of her that cares.
I nodded as I pulled my phone out. “His name is Greyson, and he went through some rough things as a kid. Let’s just say it altered his brain a little bit. Sorry about that. He promised to behave, and I chose to give him the benefit of the doubt.”
Tilting her head to the side, she made a sound that was almost half of a scoff. “Sorry?! That's it? I don't think one apology makes up for everything you’ve done.”
I bit my tongue as I looked down.
Everything I’ve done? No, everything he’s done.
I typed a message to Knox that was straight to the point. I needed him to understand how dire this was, and I needed a timeline. I couldn’t keep her here very long, but I’d be damned if she left alone.
Once the message sent, I gave my full attention back to Ember. When I looked up from my phone, she was done tending to her wounds and was waiting for my reply. She wasn’t only leading this conversation, but she was actually talking to me—something I would be taking full advantage of.