Chapter 39
THEO
Blood spreads across the floor pooling around my bare feet.
“Bailey!” I cry out, heart seizing in my chest. The choking sounds have died off, and he’s still squeezing my hand.
I’m pretty sure whatever happened didn’t happen to him.
Not being able to fucking see him, though, is going to give me a heart attack.
There’s nothing between him and Shane right now, and the fact that Bailey hasn’t spoken in a while shoves my anxiety into overdrive.
“Now you’re going to do something for me, little mouse.
” Shane's voice grates like nails on a chalkboard, and goosebumps break out along my arms. Bailey sobs behind me, and I squeeze my eyes shut. All I can do is hold on to him tightly. Bailey jostles against my back. Then suddenly, the warmth of him is being pulled away from me, and I shiver at the sudden chill on my bare skin. His hand clings to mine until my hold on him slips. There’s some scuffing of feet and muttered curses, and then both brothers stand before me.
Shane has his arms wrapped around Bailey’s chest, holding him in place as he struggles to get free.
“I was never enough for you, was I?” Shane snarls in Bailey’s ear. “You kept running back to Theo. Why? I protected you from yourself, loved you when no one else would.”
“Our families will notice we’re missing and call the police. You can’t go anywhere with him; they’ll find you.”
Shane glares at me. “I know that,” he snaps.
“Like I said, there’s nothing to go home to.
The police are already looking for me, but I’m not going anywhere until my little mouse gets his final punishment.
” I suck in a breath as Bailey is thrown forward.
He crashes to his knees while Shane casually walks around him and stands behind me.
I flinch when I feel cold steel biting at my ribs.
My breathing picks up pace—it feels like the knife digs deeper with every ragged breath.
Bailey’s eyes widen, and his mouth opens and closes a couple of times before he manages to choke out, “No!” Scrambling to his feet, he cries, “Shane, don’t.”
“Huh, so you can talk when you want to. How convenient.” Shane chuckles in my ear.
The ropes feel tighter. I can barely breathe.
The reality of my situation hits me: I have a psychopath at my back, and I’m tied to a post with no way of getting free.
I look around frantically, trying to find something—anything.
The barn door is still ajar. Bailey can run.
He should run, but he’s just standing there.
Before I can open my mouth, Shane starts up again.
“Grab that knife and come over here. I’m not doing this one for you, little mouse.”
“No,” Bailey whispers, hands balled into tight fists at his sides. “You have r-ruined everything, Shane. Is it not enough? W-what the fuck is wrong with you that you won’t just stop!”
“You don’t know the half of it,” Shane snarls. “When you left me, I couldn’t sleep knowing you weren’t in the next room. Couldn’t eat, not knowing where you were. I couldn’t play my little games with you anymore, and it made me feel as if I were crawling out of my skin.”
“Good,” Bailey spits out, but Shane carries on.
“So I found replacements.” I hear the smile in his voice, and it’s as though icy fingers stroke down my spine, making my whole body tense up.
“Replacements for what?” Bailey asks, slowly making his way towards the knife that skidded across the floor when Dean fell.
“You. None of them quite compared, though. Hurting you felt like I was hurting a part of myself. Punishing you helped me to control some of my … urges. For a while, at least,” Shane says almost wistfully while holding the knife at my ribs steady.
“I found boys and men who looked similar to us, but it never had the same effect. I felt nothing for them. They would scream and beg for their lives, but I felt little joy in hurting them. None of them were quite so well trained as you, little mouse, to stay so beautifully silent during your punishments.”
Bailey nudges the knife with his foot, never taking his eyes off Shane’s hand at my ribs. “What did you do to them?” he asks with a slight wobble in his voice.
“The only thing that gave me any semblance of joy was watching as the light went out in their eyes. Those final moments when their bodies convulsed and they couldn’t scream or call for help. They were finally silent.”
“Bailey, go. Please, just go. The door’s open!” I beg as tears fill my eyes.
“Shut up,” Shane hisses in my ear. “Pick up the fucking knife and come here,” he snaps at Bailey. “You’re finishing this.”
Shane’s knife digs deeper, and I suck in a breath from the pain of it, watching as Bailey bends down to pick up the other knife. He walks towards us, getting as close to me as he can. If he reached forwards, he could touch me, untie me, push Shane away.
“Good. Now, shove the knife into him and say goodbye.” Shane lowers his voice with the command.
“No.”
“What do you mean, no?”
“If the police are already after you, then what’s the point of all this?” I interrupt.
“I’m not risking losing him again. If I get locked up, then he’s coming with me. You are not getting in the way anymore. He needs to end this.”
Bailey lunges past me towards Shane. The knife that was at my ribs is suddenly gone.
Just as I breathe out in relief, there’s a searing pain on the outside of my thigh.
As quickly as it comes, it’s gone again.
It takes a moment to realise what happened as my body starts shaking.
I feel blood running down my leg, and my stomach twists.
I look to the side and see Shane and Bailey standing off with one another.
Both have a knife in their hand, but only Shane’s is dripping with blood.
“Bay,” I try to call out, but it comes out as a whisper.
I’m suddenly so tired. He turns to look at me, brows creased.
His eyes flick down to my leg, then go wide as his mouth falls open.
It looks like he’s saying my name, but I can’t hear him.
The ringing in my ears is deafening. My vision swims, and I’m plunged into darkness.