FAZER LOGINRILEY°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:・I hoped Kai was rotting in hell.Wherever that psycho was, I hoped he was suffering. Two full days had passed since I jumped out that window and Mr. James dragged me back. Two days of being tied to this goddamn chair again with my right ankle still swollen and throbbing, my shoulder aching from being yanked around, and the cabin smelling like blood, sweat, and whatever cheap antiseptic Mr. James had used on his stab wound.No cops.Not a single siren. Not even a single fucking knock on the door.It was just me and the gnawing realization that Kai—the unhinged, knife-wielding psycho—hadn’t called the cops.The asshole hadn’t done a single normal fucking thing.The crazy bastard had just disappeared and left me here to rot in here. I hoped whatever hole he crawled into, it collapsed on him. I hoped he was bleeding out somewhere slow and painful. I hoped he was suffering the way I was suffering—tied up, starving, thirsty, and completely fucking alone except for the man
“Shouldn’t I be?” I shot back, still not turning around.Noah chuckled softly, the sound vibrating through the quiet kitchen. It wasn’t mocking exactly, but it carried that familiar edge of dark amusement he always had when I pushed back. I don’t think I’ll ever understand his sense of humor.“I’m taking him to the hospital,” he said, stepping away. “Get him some real treatment. I sure as hell can't afford a corpse in the guest room.”He didn’t wait for a reply as he walked out, the sound of his footsteps fading down the hallway toward the guest room.I stayed where I was, staring at the slightly overcooked eggs in the pan. Noah wasn’t the type to care, and after the way he’d been cursing about Kai all night, I was pretty sure “real treatment” was just code for dumping him somewhere far enough that he wouldn’t be our problem anymore. Maybe a hospital. Maybe not. Either way, I didn’t care enough to call him on it.Because the truth was… the thought of Kai not being here anymore brough
Back in my room, I shut the door and turned the lock, which felt impossibly loud in the quiet house. I crossed my room on shaky legs and slid under the covers even though I knew there was zero chance I’d actually sleep. The sheets were still warm from earlier, but pulling them to my chin couldn't shield me from the fear still settling in my chest as I stared up at the ceiling.My mind wouldn’t stop spinning.I thought Noah and I were actually close. Sure, I knew there was still some distance between us, but I figured we’d gotten close enough for him to tell me certain things—especially stuff that directly involved me.It was disappointing that he hid something like that from me.I curled onto my side and wrapped the hoodie tighter, catching a faint scent still on the fabric. Closing my eyes, I tried to slow my breathing, but every tiny creak from the house made my heart leap out of my chest.Sleep never came, but I didn't expect it to. After what just happened, I’d have to be crazy to
A panicked scream tore out of me, so loud that it shattered the silence of the house. I scrambled backward until my back hit the headboard, my hands clutching the sheets like they could somehow shield me. The bedroom door flew open a second later. Noah burst in, barefoot and shirtless, eyes wild and a gun already in his hand like he’d grabbed it on pure instinct. His gaze swept the room once, then landed on the figure kneeling beside my bed. “What the fuck!” he barked. Then he saw Kai. His face twisted into something between disbelief and pure fury. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” he growled. In two strides he was across the room, grabbed Kai by the back of his shirt and hauled him up like he weighed nothing, dragging him away from my bed. Kai stumbled, still half-conscious and bleeding through his bandages, but Noah didn’t care. He shoved him toward the door with enough force that Kai nearly fell. “Why the fuck didn’t you lock your door?” Noah snapped at me over his sh
Noah kicked open the door to one of the rarely used guest rooms downstairs and laid Kai down on the bed with a grunt. The mattress creaked under the weight, and fresh blood immediately started soaking into the sheets. I didn’t wait for instructions and immediately turned and ran back outside, my shoes slipping slightly on the blood-smeared floor. In haste, I sprinted to the car, yanking open the back door and grabbing the plastic bags I’d thrown in earlier. My hands were still shaking, but I managed to pull out the first aid supplies I’d bought on impulse at the convenience store. Then rushed back inside, the bags crinkling in my grip, and froze in the doorway of the guest room.Noah was already working.He’d torn open what was left of the old first aid kit and was pressing gauze against a deep gash on Kai’s side, his movements quick and practiced even as he cursed under his breath. Blood was everywhere — on his hands, on his shirt, on the bed. Kai’s breathing was shallow and uneven
His face was swollen and bruised, one eye already turning purple, blood trickling from a split lip and a gash across his forehead. His clothes were ripped in places, and there were dark stains spreading across his shirt that I didn’t want to look at too closely. He looked like he’d been beaten within an inch of his life.“Kai?” I whispered, my hands hovering over him, not sure where to touch without hurting him more. “Oh my God… what— what happened to you?”He groaned, his eyes fluttering open just a sliver. Even in the setting sun I could see the pain etched across his face.“Saraphina…” he rasped, his voice barely more than a whisper. “Please help…”I scrambled back to the car, yanked open the passenger door, and grabbed my phone from the cup holder with shaking hands. My thumb hovered over the emergency number for half a second before I stopped.I couldn’t call the police.Involving the cops would only make things worse — for him, for me, for everyone. Noah would be pissed. Hell, h







