The terror from her waking nightmare still felt so real. The way the thunder had taken her under, back to the place that scared her more than actually being there. She hadn’t slept since Deedee found her. She was afraid to close her eyes. Afraid that she would wake up only to find herself back in hell. She couldn’t bear it.
As she sat on the rock wall wrapped in a wool blanket with a lantern beside her, her thoughts turned darker, back to her abduction. She was fighting a losing battle to forget her most horrid memory that was coming to life right before her eyes again.
The pain from each forceful thrust was so strong she could nearly taste it. She could feel each stab as it sliced through her skin over and over. It was so vivid she could almost feel the blood dripping down her limbs. When the scars started to itch, she dug her nails in so deep that she ripped her skin and peeled back her nail beds.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t the worst of it. What truly kept her anchored to the abyss was the violation, the pain, the brutality of it all. The rape. Please stop, she begged in her mind, maybe even said it out loud, but she couldn’t hear anything over the blood rushing through her ears. Every spray of water from the crash against the rocks felt like drops of ice on her skin, splintering her open for all to see.
“Kennedy?” A new voice was calling her but she couldn’t find her way out. Away from the suffering. She was trapped.
A gentle hand on her shoulder, a hand that was meant to be soothing had her jumping up and tripping over the blanket she had wrapped around her and tangled in between her legs. She could see the water rushing towards her and the scream that was lodged in her throat came out a soft exhale, accepting her fate of drowning in her nightmares.
·?•? ?•?·
“Stop fucking fidgeting, Linc,” Creed growled as they sped away from the rental place in Rome on their way back to Kennedy. He couldn’t believe things had turned so wrong. She’d been upset they had to leave but said she understood. However, from what her friend just said, it sounded like she’d had a flashback. She was so stuck in her head she couldn’t think straight. He was terrified of what they’d find when they got there.
“I think it’s time we stop giving her the time she needs, Linc. She has to know we’re going to own her completely. We need to get her through this so she can accept that.”
“I hear ya. She knows what we want, we just have to make her believe it.”
The farther he drove the quieter they got. The silence was nearly brutal, deafening. He was
at a loss for words. Neither of them had ever felt the need to own someone before, but Kennedy brought the feelings out in him. The need to possess, to worship every perfect flaw she had.
When they’d met her the attraction had been instant, electrically charged. She’d zapped her way right into his body. She was a part of him now and he wasn’t ready or willing to let her go yet. Until she explicitly told him to take a hike, he wasn’t going anywhere and he didn’t think his brother was either.
Being twins they’d always had a certain closeness, an unexplained connection. It wasn’t often they disagreed on things, which was a huge deciding factor when they realized how fulfilling sharing a woman was. How easy it was. The worries and fear they would normally have with a woman alone weren’t there. Or at least not as present. It gave them a sense of peace knowing she’d always be taken care of if something happened to the other.
As they got closer to Porto Venere Creed’s tension built higher; he could see a shift in Linc’s demeanor as well. It was almost as if they’d been preparing for battle rather than bringing their woman back from the edge.
When they finally arrived, he slowly pulled up to her villa. Ever watchful of their surroundings they both spotted her sitting on the rock wall she loved drawing on.
·?•? ?•?·
Fear slammed into Linc so hard he was breathless. Seeing Kennedy on that wall had shivers running up and down his spine. Afraid she was down so deep in the dark that she would harm herself had him panting to catch his breath. “You don’t think she’ll jump, do you?”
“No, she’s waiting,” Creed murmured as they exited the car.
They walked towards her. Seeing Deedee standing in the frame of the back door watching her friend, he nodded at her when she gave them a dirty look. Probably pissed they’d left.
As they got closer to her, he could feel her emotions running off her in waves— heartache, fear, the need to belong. Yeah, he knew how she felt because they’d been the ones to send her into this spiral of self-doubt.
Calling her name softly, she didn’t move or acknowledge their presence so he said it a little louder as they reached her before placing his hand on her shoulder. Scaring her so badly, she jumped and nearly tripped right into the water before they both reached out and grabbed her.
Heart hammering in his chest they all seemed to slam into each other at once, breathing heavily with her between them. Linc pressed his forehead to the side of hers closing his eyes and breathing her in.
Hearing her harsh breaths reassured him she was fine, only to start worrying that she was going to hyperventilate into a panic attack. “Slow it down, Sunshine,” he whispered hoping to soothe her.
When she started shaking, he wasn’t sure if it was fear or shock shooting through her system. “Let’s get her inside,” Creed said as he scooped her up in his arms cradling her small pale frame to his chest.
·?•? ?•?·
She didn’t want them touching her and that damn near killed Creed. She freaked out so much that she had almost fallen off the rocks that she felt so sure were going to be her death months ago. When they’d finally gotten her settled down enough that he didn’t fear she was going to go over the wall again, he looked in her eyes and they were dead.
The life was gone from them. She’d been more skittish than when they’d rescued her, and that had fear coursing through his veins. Now, she sat between him and Linc on her sofa with Deedee in the small chair beside them. No one was saying anything and the silence was like a coffin in a crypt.
He needed to know what was going through her mind. To know how to bring her back from the edge, and honestly, he didn’t think she was going to be as easy to reach as when they had gotten there.
Movement from Deedee had him following her around the room as she went in search of something, slamming cabinet doors and drawers as she went.