Chapter 3
ALEX
Icouldn’t breathe. A groan rumbled on my lips, and I tried swallowing, but my mouth felt hot and dry and rough as sandpaper.
I forced my eyes open, blinking against the pitch-black, and rolled to my side on the thin cot.
Sliding my feet to the concrete floor, I braced for the coolness under my heels, but it didn’t come.
The floor was neither hot nor cold—just different from how I remembered it before I’d drifted into a fitful sleep.
But something was definitely…off.
It was too hot in the cellar, the air too heavily weighted.
Too thick to breathe easily. I stumbled through the blackness to the sink, working my thick tongue against the roof of my mouth.
I was so damned parched that I could practically taste the refreshing liquid on my tongue.
My stomach cramped from lack of food, and water was the best I could do at the moment, so when I switched on the faucet and nothing happened, I almost cried.
I tried again and again, but the pipes refused to spit out what I thirsted for.
With a desperate groan, I slumped to the floor. Sweat trickled down my back, crawled between my breasts, and each breath sawed in and out with too much effort. I placed my palms on my warm cheeks as frustration burned by eyes.
Goddamn him.
Zach was trying to sweat me out. I had no way of telling time down here, but if I had to guess, I figured I’d slept the night away in restless fits, drifting in and out of consciousness. I was going on thirty-six hours without food, and now the heat made the environment suffocating.
How much longer would I be able to hold out?
And even if I did give in and tell him where the key was, it wouldn’t help me now. Not with Rafe gone and the key around his neck. Jax was the only person who had a spare.
Footsteps sounded above, and I tilted my head, listening as those heavy, purposeful stomps landed on the floor, bringing Zach across the room. Thirty seconds later, the lock on the cellar door clicked over, and he flipped on the light.
I blinked against the sudden brightness as he made his way down the stairs, bringing a hint of a breeze with him.
I bit my lip, swallowing a groan. What I wouldn’t give to wrap my feverish skin in that breeze.
My eyes adjusted to the light, and I found Zach loitering on the other side of the bars, a smug grin tugging at his lips.
“Good morning,” he said, confirming my guess at the time. “You look a little dehydrated.”
“I’m fine,” I ground through gritted teeth. A blatant lie—one he undoubtedly saw through—but I wasn’t about to let him win this game. I’d hang onto my pride for as long as I could.
Rafe would come back soon. He had to. If not him, then Jax would return.
Just fucking hold on, Alex.
With a snicker, Zach wrapped his fingers around the bars. “Did you know the cellar has its own thermostat?”
Refusing to engage, I bit my tongue to stay quiet.
He let out a snicker. “You really think you’re gonna win this standoff?”
I glared at him. “What do you want?”
“Oh, that’s a loaded question, baby.”
“I already told you. I don’t know where the fucking key is.”
“Even if I did believe you, there are plenty of other ways to pass the time.” His sharp, hazel gaze lowered to my lips. “Until I get my hands on that key, I’ll settle for a good mouth-fuck.”
My stomach revolted at the thought. “Never!”
“You think you’re hungry and thirsty now?” My stomach chose that moment to impart an obnoxious growl, and Zach answered with a knowing smirk. “I’ll have you begging to suck my cock by this time tomorrow.”
“Don’t hold your breath.”
He let out an indulgent laugh that chilled my blood, and despite the sweltering heat coming through the vents, I shivered.
“You know what these past few months have taught me?” He paused a beat as if to wait for my answer. “Patience, Lex.”
“Good thing time is running out for you then.”
Another laugh, followed by the easy pace of his meandering footsteps. “Still holding out for a rescue, are you?”
“Jax will come back eventually.”
He faltered in front me again with only a few feet and inescapable bars separating us.
“I guess I should’ve told you this sooner.
” He let several seconds pass—just long enough to ratchet my heartbeat with dread.
“Jax sent a text to Rafe’s phone saying he’s staying clear of the island for the next few weeks.
” His voice flit through the air, eerily calm and triumphant.
“No one’s coming for you, so you might as well tell me where the goddamn key is. ”
“Go to hell.”
“It feels a bit like hell down here, doesn’t it?” His feet shuffled against the concrete. “Maybe you need some more time to consider your lack of options.”
The heavy thud of his shoes carried him up the stairs, and a few seconds later, the light shut off. The blackness seemed to spin around me, and my heart pounded behind my breastbone.
Because it was starting to sink in.
Help wasn’t coming. Not in enough time, anyway. He’d either breach the door to the prison, or I’d lose the last of my self respect in order to survive these bars. But there was only so much he could do to me from the other side of them. Wrapping my arms around my knees, I made a vow to be strong.
I would survive this. Rafe and I would both survive this.
Two people shouldn’t have to be so strong, shouldn’t have to fight so hard for happiness, but we would despite the distance between us and the impossible circumstances.
Despite the apparent curse hanging over our heads. I had faith we’d make it through.
I thought back to the hours we’d spent together on our wedding night. The way he’d made love to me in our bed for the first time as husband and wife. The light of hope and love in his green eyes. The way he looked at me.
God, the way he looked at me would stay with me until I took my last breath. Those precious hours were the happiest of my life, and that made the memory of them now slice so much deeper.
“Rafe.” Holding my belly, I choked out his name on a sob that tried to break free. “I need you. Find a way to come back to me.”