Ryan (Mallick Brothers 2)

There was really only one other person they could mean.

Bry.

Oh, God, Bry.

I swallowed past the bile rising in my throat, knowing exactly what was in our future. Bry would show up and then we would take turns watching the other get tortured in various, God-awful ways.

And in that moment, faced with my grim future, only one thought really came to mind.

Ryan.

Ryan and his perfect eyes, his kind smile, his reassuring words, his hands that could be both gentle and rough in delicious ways. Hands I would probably never get to feel again. Eyes that I would never look into. A smile that I wouldn't feel warmed by. Words I would never hear.

All that was left for me was pain and fear and ugliness.

And, despite myself, I wondered if he would even know what happened to me. He was a good man. He would figure out eventually that I was missing and not voluntarily and he would look for me. But would he ever find me? Would there be a body to be found? Would I just be pieces discarded all over?

With tears yet again stinging at my eyes as I looked down at my feet, I wondered one last crazy thing: would he miss me? It was crazy because it was irrational. Maybe he would miss me in a small way, in a 'we had an interesting time' way. But things were so new. We had only gotten a couple days together. We had only had sex twice. To a man like him, that probably wasn't even a big deal. While to me, it was everything. He was everything.

I guess it was lucky I got to have him for a bit though. It was less pathetic of a life story. Girl who grew up dragged around like luggage, easily dropped off when she wasn't needed or wanted, then built a decent life only to lose it all because of a mental illness and then be raped and brutally killed by drug dealers.

At least there was a tiny little romance in there to cheer it up a bit.

Before the tragic end.

"So, you're the one who has been keeping an eye on my drugs for me for the past couple of years, huh? Ever dig into the stash?" he asked, making my head whip up.

I didn't know what came over me, but I couldn't keep the words in. "I'm not some lowlife drug addict."

"Oh, she speaks," Dom said, smiling wickedly. "Got that sweet kinda voice too. I like that. They scream better. Right, Al?" he asked, slapping a hand into his brother's arm.

"Wouldn't know," Al answered, looking at me.

"Yeah, this fuck. Such a goddamn choir boy."

"I'm pretty sure not raping women doesn't make him a choir boy. Just a decent human being."

Yeah, I couldn't keep that in either.

I apparently got a bit mouthy when I was about to be tortured and killed.

At least I wouldn't go out like a meek little mouse. I had spent enough of my life like that- scared of things that never happened, scared of stupid, invisible monsters. Faced with real-life ones, I wasn't going to cower and cry and let the fear win out.

"Oh, spitfire. Like that too. I see you like to put up a fight," he said, motioning toward his brother who, now that I got a good look at him, did look like he'd been through the wringer. He had nasty, still bleeding cuts from my nails up and down his forearms and two more down his cheek. There was a semi-circle bruise on the soft flesh between his thumb and forefinger where I had bit him momentary, but with every bit of force my jaw had.

I had no real response to Dom's comment so I kept my mouth shut, focusing on trying to remember to breathe and keep swallowing back the bile I felt creeping up my throat with each passing second.

There was a bit of a shuffle to the outside of the room and I felt myself tense as it moved closer. "Boss," someone called from outside the door. "He's here."

No.

No no no.

Why the hell would he come?

He had to have known it was a trap, that he couldn't save me.

I knew he loved me, but what good would it do to come and simply watch bad things happen to me? And then get hurt and likely killed himself?

"Send him in," Dom said and I could feel his eyes on my profile as I turned to face the door.

There was more shuffling then, like a nightmare I couldn't wake up from, in walked Bry.

His gaze didn't even drift around the room.

His eyes found my face and stayed there as he approached, reaching down to grab my hand and holding it so tight that I was genuinely worried about the bones possibly breaking.

"That's real sweet," Dom said, giving us a nasty sneer. "Ain't that sweet, Ray?" he asked.