Melody
Chapter sixty
My arms are loaded down with groceries as I near the condo’s doors.
I’ve been trying to work up the courage to finally answer Dylan, but it’s all still so fresh.
I’ve started packing my belongings to keep myself busy, but my mind always strays to the multitude of missed calls and messages from everyone who’s worried about me.
The wedding is off, and no one even knows yet.
My phone rings, and I curse as I drop half my groceries on the ground. I use my free hand to yank the device out of my pocket and soften the moment I see Kodi’s name scroll across the screen.
Since I’ve had some space and time to think, I want her companionship more than ever. I need to talk about this with someone who has a clear head and can hear me out.
I answer. “Hello—”
“Bitch!” She bellows. “You don’t show up for rehearsals and then send out your invites in a group message?! Now, everyone is rushing to get shit ready for tomorrow!”
I scowl down at my plastic bags. “What? Kodi, I never sent any invitations.”
Is she on something?
“Yes, you did,” she corrects pointedly. “I’m staring right at it.”
My head rears as I unlock the door. “What? That’s impossible…”
“How is that impossible?” She counters. “I thought the wedding wasn’t for another week. But tomorrow?”
I push the door open, my lips moving without sound as I try to rationalize this.
Did I set up a timed message?
No, I couldn’t have. The handwritten invites are sitting in the trash along with every other resource I’ve used for the wedding. I canceled the caterers yesterday and denied the cake delivery. Everything has been on hold.
I finally look up, stopping dead in my tracks as the air is sucked from my lungs. Everything around me goes motionless, time standing still as my heart plummets.
“Kodi,” I whisper, my lips trembling. “I have to go.”
“Wait—” I hang up on her.
“How nice of you to join us,” Kaden smirks across the room.
Beside him, Dylan is tied to a chair with a makeshift gag shoved between his lips.
His whole body sags forward, his chest heaving as he tries to breathe past the pain.
His eyes are almost swollen shut with bright purple bruises rimming them, and old blood is caked in streaks from his nose.
He looks like he’s been beaten within an inch of his life.
“Kaden,” I say carefully, my eyes flickering between the two men. “What’s going on?”
My brother spreads his hands wide, a gun held tightly in his right. “You’re just in time for our game.”
Game?
Has he lost his mind?
I swallow past my fear. “Untie him.”
Kaden tilts his head, his eyes squinting. “I don’t think I will, little sister.”
Dylan’s head rises at the sound of my voice. What I can see past his swollen sockets is pure apology and terror. He gurgles past the gag, his voice muffled and stunted.
It makes my spine chill as I try to calm the situation by softening my tone. “Whatever this is, you don’t have to do it.”
“Oh, but I do,” Kaden says with sick amusement as he grabs Dylan’s cheeks and shakes his head harshly. “We talked about our little game the whole way here. Dyl is ecstatic to play.”
Certifiable.
He’s fucking insane!
“What game?” I whisper, my tears clouding my eyes as I bite back a sob. I don’t even want to know, but Kaden isn’t in the headspace to be negotiated with.
He releases Dylan, who groans with pain, the sound wheezing from him. Kaden takes a step to his left, holding up the revolver as he smiles with empty eyes. “Just a little Russian Roulette. Nothing too crazy.”
My heart slams as my hands shake. “What?”
Kaden pops the cylinder before producing a single bullet from his pocket. He shoves it into the gun before spinning the cylinder and snapping it back into place. He doesn’t say a word as he holds the barrel to Dylan’s temple, his smile never faltering.
Dylan croaks a sound, closing his eyes as the gun presses sharply into him. His shoulders shake as a dark, wet spot begins to spread across his lap.
“Oh, that’s embarrassing,” Kaden winces.
“Stop,” I beg, my voice raw. Nothing around me exists anymore as I remain solely focused on the horror in front of me.
Kaden’s eyes snap to me as he squeezes the trigger, and I stop breathing. An empty click fills the room as my stepbrother’s brows rise in surprise. “Beginner’s luck, Dyl.”
My knees wobble, and I almost crumble to the floor. But it isn’t over.
Kaden turns the gun on himself, the barrel pressing into his temple as he squeezes the trigger again. Another empty click, and my hand clutches at my chest.
“Stop, Kaden!” I shout, my face soaked with my tears. “Please! Stop!”
He chuckles, the sound dull and lacking light. “We’ve still got four rounds to go. Don’t we, Dyl?”
Dylan cries harder, his whole face pinching as it continues to swell. He can’t even see past his puffy eyelids anymore.
I wave my hands frantically, catching Kaden’s attention. “What do I-I have to do to stop this?”
He tilts his head, his gaze narrowing dangerously. “You know what to do.”
Heaviness settles in my stomach as bile rises. This was his plan all along. His sick scheme to get me back…
“This is taking too long,” Kaden shrugs. “Why don’t I speed up your decision?”
He points the gun at Dylan. Before I can shout and beg for him to stop, he pulls the trigger, and it’s another blank.
I’m yelling now, my voice scratching as I try to end this, but my stepbrother isn’t listening.
He aims the gun at his temple before pulling the trigger again, and it’s another blank.
“Two more,” he croons wickedly as he shoves the point into Dylan’s temple so hard it rocks his head to the side, and he groans brokenly. “Fuck, I really hope this is it. I would love to paint your brains across this nice floor.”
“KADEN, STOP!” I scream, my hands cupping my ears.
It clicks.
Another blank.
Kaden’s eyes widen as his lips twitch and he whips around to me. “One more left, Melody.” He slowly raises the barrel to his temple, his finger flexing on the trigger.
My heart is going to explode as I fist my hair. “STOP!”
He pauses.
“Or would you prefer if Dylan got this one?” He hovers the gun over to the man bound to the chair. “Make your choice, little sister. Me or Dylan.”
I don’t want anyone to fucking die!
I can’t fucking breathe!
I’m going to pass out.
I’m going to vomit—
Kaden quickly flicks the gun to his temple, his finger squeezing.
My whole world shatters.
“STOP! You! I choose you!” I sob, crumbling to the floor as my hands catch me. I’m shaking so hard that I can’t tell if the thunder in my ears is my pulse or the sound of everything breaking.
My words hang in the air between us, ragged, desperate, and heavy.
“I choose you,” I choke again. “I choose you…”
The gun clatters to the floor, the metallic sound making my teeth grind as my eyes squint. It’s weaponized, bouncing around my skull as it stabs at me repeatedly.
This whole time…
This was his plan…
I was a pawn.
Kaden rests his head back against his shoulders, basking in his spoils as his eyes close in bliss. “Fuck! I love the sound of that. I choose you.”
My face screws up as I choke.
“Damn, this feels amazing,” Kaden gloats as he stalks towards me. I shuffle back quickly, falling to my ass as he holds out a hand to me. “The ring, baby.”
The ring?
I blink as I pull my engagement ring out of my pocket and hand it over with trembling fingers.
Kaden holds it up between his thumb and finger, examining it as he closes in on Dylan. With one sharp flick, the diamond bounces off Dylan’s brow, making him flinch as it clatters to the ground.
My stepbrother crouches down, fisting Dylan’s knotted hair and yanking his head back before slapping him roughly. “Wake up, Dyl. I need you to witness what I’m about to do to your fiancé.”
My blood rushes as Kaden releases him and looms over me. My eyes round as the darkness slants across him like a tender touch. He lives in it, controlling the nightmares with his will.
He reaches down so quickly that I can’t fight as he fists my hair and drags me forward until I’m on my knees and my palms hit the floor. I’m staring at the polished marble, my breath shallow and ragged as Kaden drops to his knees behind me.
His hands are on me, aggressive and rough as he shreds my clothes from my body like an animal. My ass and thighs are bare to the cold air, sending a chill across my skin as I gasp.
Hot.
I feel hot.
Inside of me. Like there’s an ache building.
I shouldn’t be turned on right now. Not while my ex-fiancé is tied to a chair and about to be subjected to watching Kaden wreck me.
It’s so fucked up.
It’s vile.
Kaden spits onto my folds from behind, and I feel his saliva drip down me as he nudges his cock against my throbbing clit. I bite the inside of my cheek to keep my moans contained as he manhandles me.
He presses a hand between my shoulder blades before shoving me down to the floor as my ass stays in his lap.
My heated cheek presses into the coldness beneath me as he binds my arms behind me and uses a hand to lock my wrists together.
I’m completely at his mercy like this, unable to move an inch as he notches himself at my entrance.
“Get a good fucking look at her, Dyl,” Kaden snarls loudly. “I’m about to ruin your sweet fiancé.”
He slams forward, taking my breath as my lips fall apart and a choked sound is squeezed from me. I’m stretching to accommodate him, the dull burning turning to an overwhelming sensation of being too full.
I can feel him in my fucking throat.
Kaden’s head rolls back as he groans. “This is like coming home. Look at how well she takes me, Dylan.”
His hips draw back before he slams into me again, causing my cheek to slide across the floor as he sets a brutal pace, sucking the air from my lungs with every rough thrust. My sounds, unbidden and ripped from me, are muffled to my ears as I only focus on the centered pleasure.
It’s mind-numbing with every slap of his hips against mine, and I can only take it.