Axel thrashes harder in the chair, trying to scream through the gag. The sound is muffled but desperate.
I stumble back, my hand slipping from Koa’s. “What the fuck is this?”
Koa doesn’t answer.
The world tilts. I look at him—really look at him—searching for an explanation, for anything that makes sense. “Koa?”
He doesn’t look at me. His jaw is clenched so tight I can see the muscle jumping. His eyes are fixed on some point past my shoulder.
The older man laughs, the sound echoing off the walls.
“Koa,” he drawls, satisfaction dripping from every syllable, “thanks for bringing her in. Let the show begin.”
Two men walk out of the shadows—huge, muscled, with dead eyes. They step forward and that’s when reality crashes down.
I spin on Koa, disbelief tearing through my chest like shrapnel. “What the fuck is this?”
He finally meets my eyes and for just a second I see the pain, regret, something that looks like self-hatred so deep it’s drowning him. Then it’s gone, replaced by that blank mask.
The men grab my arms.
“No!” I fight. Hard. Elbows flying, feet kicking, teeth bared. I’m not going down easy. I land a solid hit to one guy’s throat, and he curses, his grip loosening. But the other one wraps his arms around me from behind, lifting me off my feet.
“Koa!” I scream his name, still fighting. “What the fuck!”
He doesn’t move.
They drag me toward a chair beside Axel. I’m still fighting, still screaming, adrenaline making me stronger than I should be. But they overpower me, shoving me down into the seat so hard my teeth clack together.
“Sit her down,” the older man orders, circling us like a predator.
One of them holds my shoulders while the other ties my wrists to the chair arms. The rope scratches, burns, too tight. I can already feel my fingers starting to tingle.
Axel is making desperate sounds through his gag, tears streaming down his face.
The older man steps closer, his eyes glassy and unfocused. “Well, well, Lexi Kane. The last piece of the puzzle.”
My voice comes out sharp, broken. “Puzzle for what?”
He grins, and his teeth are yellow, his breath rank when he leans in close. “Oh, did Koa not tell you? Go on, son. Enlighten her.”
The word hits me like a physical blow. “Son?”
Koa’s voice is low, quiet, each word seemingly dragged out of him. “Step-son.”
The world stops.
Step-son?
This man—this monster who’s been stalking me, who has my brother tied up, who’s high off his ass and clearly dangerous—is Koa’s stepfather.
Which means—
Which means Koa brought me here. Knew what was waiting. He fucked me, made me shower, and used Axel as my bait. He planned this the entire time.
The betrayal is so complete, so devastating, that for a moment I can’t breathe.
Someone moves behind me. I feel them gathering my hair, pulling it back. Then something rough and foul-tasting is shoved into my mouth—a gag that makes me want to retch.
