The image pans back and forth over my body as my heart begins to pound. I watch Sean’s hand reach out again. He touches my shoulder lightly with his fingertip and then moves lower, circling one of my nipples. It hardens as he touches it, and a wave of nausea hits me hard.
“Should I just fuck you right now? Have you wake up with my cock buried inside of you? Would you cry? I’d fucking love it if you cried.”
I can taste bile in my throat, and I have to swallow hard.
“Deklan won’t like the idea of sharing. Someday, though—someday he’s going to screw up. He’ll beg for my forgiveness and offer you up to me. Then I’m going to make him watch.”
I cover my mouth with my hand as my stomach turns. I swallow again and again just to keep from throwing up. My head starts to pound along with my heart as I stare at the screen.
He’s touching me. He’s touching me. He’s touching me.
“What the everloving fuck is that?”
I startle, nearly scream, and swivel in the chair to see Deklan standing over my shoulder, staring at the screen with wide eyes and his hands balled into fists. He turns his glare at me, but as soon as he sees my face, he closes his eyes. He turns his head away for a moment, gritting his teeth and flexing his arms.
He takes in a long breath before he looks at me softly. He reaches out and brushes a tear from my cheek.
“Show it to me,” Deklan says quietly.
“What?”
“Go back.” Deklan turns the chair so I’m facing the computer again and then places his hand on my shoulder, rubbing gently. “Go back to the beginning. I want to see it all.”
I swallow hard before I drag the cursor over the screen to bring the video back to the beginning. It starts up again, and the nausea comes back. I can’t watch, so I look down at the keyboard instead. I can still hear Sean’s words though, and they echo in my head even after the video ends.
Deklan turns the chair until I’m facing him again. He drops to one knee and takes my face in his hands.
“You said you had a dream. You said you woke up and thought someone was there, but you thought it was just a dream.”
“I thought it was.”
“He…he was there, in our apartment.” I’m not sure if he’s asking a question or not. Deklan closes his eyes and shifts his head away. “You never knew?”
“I didn’t know.” Tears continue to fall down my cheeks, and Deklan wipes them away with his thumb. “How could I have known?”
Deklan closes his eyes and grits his teeth again.
“Teagan was right,” he whispers. “I have been blind to all this. I’ve been blind to him. Other than Brian, he is the only other person who knows about the new place. He has a key, too.”
Deklan takes out his phone. His hand is shaking as he punches in a number.
“Brian?” he says. “Gather everyone together—Teagan and Mac, too. Everyone but Sean. I’ll meet you in an hour.”
Deklan shoves the phone back in his pocket, rubs his eyes with his hand, and then turns to me. He leans over and takes my face in his ha
nds and speaks his words slowly.
“This ends now.”
Chapter 36
At the warehouse, everyone has gathered. Teagan sits on top of the desk, configuring her new phone. Brian and Mac sit next to one another at a folding card table, mumbling too quietly for me to catch their words. They go quiet as Deklan and I take our seats across from them. Lucas is the last one to arrive. When he takes a seat at the table, they all look at Deklan.
“We have a problem,” he says.
“We’ve had one for a while now,” Teagan replies. “I’m glad to see you’re finally willing to recognize it.”
“Well, I had a bit of an eye-opener.” Deklan watches me closely as he tells everyone about the video I found on Sean’s laptop.