Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
Zac
I’m so fucking angry.
I’m angry at myself for putting her in that situation. It’s my fault she’s injured. My fault she had to endure it, paying for my fucking mistakes whilst I was getting sucked off by Anna.
I’m angry at the State for treating us like shit, expecting us to obey without question.
I’m angry at the Germain bitch for acting like she’s fucking God with the right to crush lives at whim.
I’m angry at Emilia for making me feel this way—needing to care, to help her, the sight of her tearing my guts up.
I’m no hero, but she’s fragile, and seeing her like that in the bath, helpless, bruised, trembling; I couldn’t leave her to fend for herself.
I may not want to be married, but I’m not a damn monster.
She won’t tell me what they did to her, but I have a pretty good idea from rumours I’ve heard. From what Bridget once experienced. Kieran, too.
There’s no way Emilia can go to the store, not now. Every movement looks like absolute agony.
We’ll wait.
Go in a few days, when she’s strong enough.
For now, the two small bags of stolen supplies that I’ve taken from the Safe House will do.
I’ve only been gone for half an hour, my gut tugging, screaming at me to return, to make sure she eats, that she gets something warm down her, something to help her heal. Because that’s all I can do.
I prop one of the bags at my feet, shoving the key into the front door and twisting.
“Hi,” a small feminine voice says from behind me. She’s shorter than average, with tan skin and curly black hair, standing less than a foot away and smiling tentatively. “Is Emilia in?”
A scrawny guy appears beside her, raking his untrusting gaze over me. “Heid, she’ll be at work.” I don’t spare him a second glance; I couldn’t care less what he thinks. Instead, I just grunt in response, shoving the door open. Lifting the bag, I place one foot over the threshold.
“Zac!” Emilia exclaims, pushing herself up from the sofa.
The guy visibly stiffens. “Why’s she home?”
I turn sharply to them both. “Stay here,” I instruct. The guy opens his mouth to argue, but I don’t give a damn, my attention already back on Emilia. “Sit back down,” I snap at her.
“Where did you go? I told you, you can’t—”
“I sorted it,” I cut her off sharply. “We have food.” I hold up the bags, dumping them on the stairs with a heavy thud.
“There’s two people at the door for you.
But if you don’t want to see anyone, I can tell them to fuck off.
” Her eyes cloud, face paling like she’s reliving something terrible. “I’ll tell them to fuck off.”
“No! Zac!”
“Emilia, it’s us!” the girl calls from behind me.
Her face softens, colour spilling back into her cheeks. “Heidi?” Looking at me, her lips purse. “Let them in, Zac.” Reluctantly, I nod, grabbing the bags from the stairs and striding to the kitchen. The girl enters the house behind me.
“Mils!” she exclaims.
I drop the bags onto the counter. Emilia lets out a pained cry, and I spin on my heel just as she pushes the girl away, head angled towards the floor.
“What’s wrong?” Heidi asks. Emilia just shrugs, turning away from her friend and grabbing her book and my crumpled envelope from the seat beside her.
“I’m fine. Here, Heid, sit next to me.”
Heidi glances at the guy beside her, the two sharing a look before she takes a seat. Emilia’s eyes are on the floor, her shoulder lifted, shielding the scratches on her face as though that’ll hide them. The guy hesitates, then steps closer.
“Are you both okay?” Emilia asks quietly.
“Yeah,” Heidi says, her eyes flicking to me. I don’t look away, and she flushes, quickly returning her gaze to Emilia. “We just wanted to check on you.”
“I’m good. Sam, how’s work?”
“Mils—”
“Did you two know Kayla’s married to Jace Thomson? Rayden’s old roommate! Clearly, I did not pay enough attention at the ceremony,” Emilia blurts, forcing a laugh that doesn’t sound even remotely legitimate.
“Mils—”
“Bet she’s secretly bitter she didn’t get Rayden.” She continues, saying shit for the sake of fucking saying it.
“What’s wrong—”
“Although, she really does seem like she’s a changed person now—”
“Mils!” the guy snaps, cutting her off. She flinches, and I shift closer, uncomfortable with how they’re overwhelming her. “What the hell is wrong with you? And why are you going on about Kayla? When did you spend time with her?”
“Nothing’s wrong,” Emilia mutters. “She works in the fields.”
“Mils,” Heidi says softly, reaching out to place a gentle hand over Emilia’s. She leans in, peering at her face before her eyes widen. “Oh my god! Emilia!”
“It’s nothing,” Emilia retorts, finally lifting her head to give Heidi a smile. It’s fake, looks awful; more of a twisted grimace than anything else.
“Shit.” Scott’s eyes dart between Emilia and me. “Emilia, what happened?”
She slumps into the sofa, trying to make herself smaller. “Can we do this another time?” Emilia pleads.
“Did he touch you?” Scott snaps, glaring across the room at me and I smirk at the ludicrousness.
“No!” Emilia says quickly.
The smirk quickly falls as the weight of his words sinks into my bones. It’s… kind of true. I may not have touched her, but I’m the reason she’s hurt. And there’s not really a difference between the two…
“Who did this to you, then?” Scott snaps, reaching out, his hand coiling around her arm. A cry spills through her lips. I don’t remember moving, but the next second, his throat is in my hands, his back slammed hard against the front door.
Fucking idiot.
“Get your hands off her,” I snarl.
“Don’t touch me!” he snaps, attempting to swipe at me.
“She’s in pain, you fucking twat.”
He grunts, head smashing against the door as he struggles. I bite back a smirk. Game on, you weasel.
“Stop, Zac! Sam!” Emilia struggles to her feet.
Damn, his name is Sam. Shame I don’t give a shit.
Heidi’s wide-eyed, arm reaching for Emilia, whose gaze is locked on us, equally wide. It’s that look—pleading and desperate—that makes my hand drop from her friend’s neck. I step back, teeth gritted and fists clenched.
“Mils, if he—”
“Zac hasn’t hurt me,” Emilia insists, cutting him off.
Lies. “He’s actually… been helping me. This”—she gestures to the scratches on her face, and then vaguely over her entire body, before swallowing—“was the Enforcers.” Heidi exhales and Scott’s shoulders drop.
I lean back against the bannister, crossing my arms across my chest.
“Oh, Mils,” Heidi says softly, tears brimming in her eyes. Scott slides past me, kneeling beside the sofa as Heidi forces Emilia to sit. Scott shoots me a quick, disdainful glare. I don’t know who this prick thinks he is, acting like Emilia’s damn boyfriend.
The thought has my teeth clenching harder because… he could have been. I know nothing about her life before this, who she’s been with, the boyfriends, the drama.
I don’t want to.
I’m not part of this.
So I turn away, leaving them to fawn over Emilia, and head into the kitchen to unpack the bags of food, storing it all on top of the wall mounted cupboards, out of sight of any State officials. It should be safe for the couple of days they’ll last us.
I try my best to ignore their conversation in the living room. But when it comes to the reason why they took her, she shrugs it off, answering vaguely.
I’m the reason.
She has every reason to throw me under the bus. I deserve a punch to the face for this, even if Scotty boy would do a terrible job; hell, Heidi could probably do better.
Fuck, I’ll take both. And the one from Jordan that I’m going to receive when I tell him what’s happened.
And yet, she doesn’t drop me in it. She lies.