Depravity

Chapter 28 Skylar

SKYLAR

Asharp and punishing pain yanks me out of my sleep.

A hand is clamped over my mouth. Another one is squeezing my hip.

The scent of leather and blood clings to this man who’s hurting me.

His breath on my shoulder isn’t warm.

It’s a threat.

It’s my death sentence.

This isn’t Knox. Can’t be.

Though I’m too shocked to open my eyes, I know who it is.

Jett.

He’s here to ruin Knox, to destroy him through me.

Oh God.

I can’t die like this.

Not now, just when I found my soulmate. The love of my life.

Scream, my mind begs. Scream.

The slightest sound, even with his hand on my mouth, could wake Knox up.

But my throat won’t cooperate. My mouth won’t open.

He’s going to kidnap me, then rape me. He’s going to kill me.

I’m going to die in Jett’s house if I don’t alert Knox that I’m being taken.

Do something. Anything.

Jett’s hands dig deeper into me as he picks me up and lifts me off the ground, carrying me into the basement’s shadows. Far away from Knox.

Oh, thank fuck, my eyes listen to me. They finally blink open.

This late, there’s only light coming from the flickering light bulb, and that’s it. Fuck. We’ve been asleep for hours.

Exposed. Vulnerable.

Way too complacent.

Desperation crushes me when I see that, just as I thought, he’s completely unaware of what’s happening here.

Knox, my savior, my haven. He has one arm slung over his eyes. His chest rises and falls in a steady rhythm.

So close and yet so far away.

Hot tears sting the corners of my eyes when I notice he’s wearing a pair of jeans that weren’t on him when I fell asleep.

My gentle monster. He must’ve wanted me to breathe easier, to hold me close after I finally collapsed with his cock in my mouth.

That’s why he moved me off him, pulled his jeans back on to avoid temptation, and folded me into his arms while I was asleep.

So why hasn’t he released my wrists? They won’t budge when I test my binds lightly, so as not to alert Jett that I’m up.

Whether Knox forgot or wanted me to wake up like this for whatever reason, it doesn’t matter. I’m trapped by his rope as much as I’m trapped by Jett’s grip.

Frustration shoots up my spine, locking my jaw tighter.

Dammit. Fuck, fuck, fuck.

Why can’t I scream? What is this nightmare?

My lungs fill, but the air won’t come out. It’s like my voice dies before it reaches my throat.

My toes hover over the concrete. Hip bruised by Jett’s merciless fingers.

The panic that’s clogging my throat doubles in size the farther I’m being pulled away.

Knox’s soft snore makes the terror cut deeper.

I need my vocal cords to work!

Time distorts, stretches. Seconds feel like hours.

It’ll feel even longer when Jett violates, tortures, or kills me slowly. While I lie there, my throat strangled by fear, my brain pleading for Knox to help me.

If he could just wake up…

Raising my voice, screaming even if it’s into Jett’s palm, it’s the only way to slice into Knox’s dreams.

My lips part and…

Again, no sound comes out.

Don’t give up! Move. Fight. Do something!

I blink helplessly at Knox, crying. Hoping. Wishing.

Jett doesn’t care about my tears. In fact, he thrives on them, smirking as he slams my back on the basement floor.

My body turns against me, crushing my bound hands beneath it. Finally, I gasp, but this bastard silences it. Jett returns to covering my mouth, most of my nostrils, suffocating me.

Stunned, I watch him straddle me. His legs bracket my closed ones.

Maybe he doesn’t mean to rape me.

Or maybe he does, and that idiot has been too eager to climb on top of me to remember to spread my thighs.

In that case, I still have a fighting chance. Hopefully, Knox wakes up before Jett realizes his mistake.

Oh, fuck. It’s not a maybe anymore.

It’s a when.

Danger and hate burn in Jett’s narrowed green eyes while his free hand fumbles with the button of his jeans.

Knox has to wake up. Now.

I don’t want to know what happens if he doesn’t. I don’t.

I don’t!

Where is my voice? Why can’t I scream?

I give it everything this time.

I try so hard.

And fail.

Knox, Knox, Knox!

The sound of Jett’s zipper has my eyes snapping even wider.

Cold sweat races down my temples.

My heart, I think it’s quitting on me.

“My brother’s a terrible liar,” Jett whispers, jerking his cock free. “He didn’t fool me for a second. I knew he’d never kill you. I knew he wouldn’t sew your mouth shut.”

My thighs clamp together as his damp, disgusting tip presses against my pussy.

Please, don’t spread my legs. Please.

“Open up. Let me touch that snatch.” His brows sink low when I shake my head, his lips twisting into a snarl. “You don’t get it, do you? I’ll fuck you whether you like it or not. No use fighting me.”

If I could speak, I’d tell him I’d die before I let him have me. That he’s a fucking joke. But his hand is on my mouth, and my locked throat stops me.

Temporarily giving up on putting his dick inside me, Jett shoves his fingers between my pussy lips. I squeeze my thighs as tight as I can.

No use. He’s overpowering me easily, his dirty finger pressing to my clit.

Terror and nausea assault me, my stomach convulsing as he rubs me, his hips grinding, his penis sliding over my leg.

I weep in silence. Bile rises in my throat, and I force it back down.

I won’t choke on my own puke before Knox wakes up.

Knox, please. Please, before it’s too late.

Please!

“Open the fuck up already.”

More bile climbs up my throat when I realize he might be doing this on purpose. He might want my legs to stay closed so that when he rapes me, it’ll hurt. That my tissues will tear and I’ll bleed.

Fuck him. He can stroke my clit for days, for weeks. I’ll never let him in. I’ll die fighting him.

“Y’know what? I wouldn’t mind fucking your corpse.” His face drops closer, his vile eyes leering. “That’s what I’ll do, right after I kill my brother.”

He what?!

Jett’s threat strikes me like lightning, burning through me so fast, waking me up.

Finally.

My mind could somehow tolerate Jett’s violation. His assault.

Hearing him threatening Knox’s life?

Hell.

Fucking.

No.

Hate as bright as my love for Knox roars through me.

I’m about to let out a scream into Jett’s palm when I see him.

Whether I’ve summoned Knox by sheer will or Jett’s whispering woke him up, he’s here.

My hero.

A shadow rising at our side.

Knox’s commanding presence, the heat of his love, the warmth of his protection—it’s all there, enveloping me.

He’s going to save me, and I’m going to help. I fix my eyes on Jett to keep him occupied while Knox closes in.

“You’re a fighter, aren’t ya?” Jett’s thumb is the filthiest thing that’s ever touched me. “Yeah, you are. I’ve fucked your kind before. But guess what?”

Broad shoulders. Rippling muscles.

Knox’s face is pure rage, so feral it scares even me. It comforts me just as much.

“I’m the worst of them—fuck!” Jett’s being ripped off me. His body’s dangling in the air, dick swinging, eyes wild as Knox holds him up by the back of the neck.

Air rushes back into me. I choke on it, coughing.

But Knox doesn’t see it. He’s so focused on avenging me, his attention set on Jett as he marches him toward the hooks one silent, menacing step at a time.

“Hide-boy!” Jett barks right before Knox switches hands, grabbing Jett’s throat so they’re staring each other down. He coughs, and the sound is choked. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”

Saving me.

Tears of relief roll down my cheeks. And though my chest heaves, head spinning, I get myself together, twisting my body until I’m in a sitting position. My abs burn from the effort, but I won’t stay here, in this spot where I was almost raped.

The concrete scrapes my ass as I scoot back, not caring that I’m opening my wounds. The pain hardly registers.

Bigger and better things are unfolding right before my eyes.

“Put me down,” Jett’s hollering has turned into choked whispers.

Kicking Knox doesn’t help Jett either.

Knox is more powerful. Angrier too.

“Do you hear, Hide-boy? Do you?”

“Oh, he hears you all right.” My throat is raw, and my pussy bears the memory of this asshole’s fingers, but I’m not defeated. With Knox on my side, I’ll never be. “He’s just done listening to you, fucker.”

“Knox.” Red cheeks. Bulging eyes. Jett’s suffering, and by the severe set of Knox’s jaw, he hasn’t seen anything yet. “Brother.”

“Ex-brother.” Knox lifts Jett even higher.

“Blood is thicker than anything, remember?” The pathetic excuse of a man flails his legs, desperately trying to wrap them around Knox. His hands work too, tapping helplessly against Knox’s shoulders. “All we have is each other.”

The cuts on Knox’s body aren’t half as angry as he is. They don’t shine as bright.

“That’s where you’re wrong.” I watch Knox with awe as he shakes Jett, proving his loyalty to me. “You know why, Jett?”

“Why?”

“Blood isn’t thicker than shit. Blood’s just blood.” Though his voice is low, there’s no mistaking how furious he is. “But my woman and I, there’s no separating us. Ever.”

The room rattles. The earth quakes beneath me. Each word hits hard, sinking straight into my heart.

And my pussy, though Jett had his filthy finger on it, finally feels clean in Knox’s presence. Hot. Wanting.

“I knew it.” Jett barks a choked laugh. “Two days and Hide-boy is in love. Papa wouldn’t believe it, but I could tell something was up with you. You’re fucking insane.”

“Two days, two years, makes no difference whatsoever. She’s mine. Always has been. Always will be.” Knox’s teeth flash, a rugged growl escaping him. “You, on the other hand, mean nothing to me. Even less now that you’ve touched what’s mine.”

“Don’t you dare use that tone with me.” Jett’s pale, his voice stripped of earlier conviction. “I’m your big brother.”

Knox doesn’t dignify the asshole with an answer. He raises him another inch.

The corner of my mouth quirks to the side. Jett has no idea how close he is to his death.

I do. And I don’t want to miss a second of it. Grinning, I drag my ass toward the two.