Abel (Sabine Valley 1)

I stare at the bed. “Abel, you’re not a rapist. Leave her out of this.”

He laughs. The bastard fucking laughs. “I’m going to take a shower. You have five minutes to figure your shit out.” He stalks into the bathroom and shuts the door. A few seconds later, a shower starts.

I stagger to Harlow and take her hands. “You have to run.”

She stares up at me as if she’s never seen me before. We’ve been together five years, but she looks nearly the same as she did the first time I saw her across the street seven years ago. Pale skin, large, dark eyes, a body that just won’t quit. She’s taken to dyeing her hair a light red color that’s darker at the roots, and it just works for her. I’ve seen her laughing, crying, angry enough to commit murder.

I’ve never seen her look at me with disgust.

She yanks her hands out of mine. “You might be an oathbreaker, but I’m not.”

Her words sting. How could they not? “I’ll find a way out of this.”

“Eli, stop.” She drags her hands through her hair. “It’s over. You lost. There is no getting around this or finding some clever loophole or whatever it is that you’re trying to come up with in that impressive brain of yours. We lost. We are handfasted to Abel Paine. It would have been bad enough if it was just me, but you couldn’t leave well enough alone, could you? You had to offer the entire faction up to him on a silver platter.”

I stare. “That’s not what I did.”

“That’s exactly what you did. Or did you not hear the prize for winner over the sound of your own ego rushing in your ears?” She sounds so angry, angrier than I’ve ever heard her. “You fucked up, Eli. You’ve been fucking up. There is no coming back from this. We’re under Paine’s control now, and the only thing to do is make the best of it.”

“I can’t accept that.” There has to be a way. I just need to calm down and think—something nearly impossible with the way pain bellows through my body with each breath. The stiffness hasn’t set in yet, but it will before too long, and then it’ll be a small miracle if I can move at all.

Harlow turns away from me. “You don’t have a choice.”

I don’t know why she’s pissed at me. “All I did was try to protect you.”

“At the expense of the people who really need your protection.” She still doesn’t look at me. “Just…stop. Eli, just stop, okay? Abel isn’t bluffing. If you try to double-cross him, he’ll make you pay.”

By using her.

I slump down into the chair next to the bed. She’s right. I’ve fucked this all up. It doesn’t change the reason for my actions. “I’ve only ever wanted to keep you safe.”

“I know.” She sounds like it makes her sad.

I’ve never wanted to make Harlow sad. I only want the best for her, to keep her as protected as a person can be when they live in Sabine Valley. She’s the most important person in my life, and I’ve failed her. “I’m sorry.”

In the bathroom, the shower shuts off. I stare at the door. If I kill Abel—

“Don’t. Whatever you’re thinking, don’t. Even if you somehow incapacitate him, there are six Paine brothers outside this door. They will kill you, Eli. Even if he doesn’t, they will.” Her breath hitches. “Please stop fighting this. Please just think for a minute. You’re going to make everything worse.”

Just like I did in the amphitheater.

But I couldn’t sit there and watch him take my woman. I barely have any memory of following her down the stairs, of challenging him to another fight. The fight itself? Every single missed opportunity is tattooed across my mind. Even with all my training, I was no match for Abel.

I never was, even when we were kids.

I drag my hand over my face and wince when the move reopens a cut on my cheek. I’m a fucking mess. “I won’t make things worse for you tonight,” I say softly. The knowledge of what comes next clogs my throat and has rage creating an inferno inside me.

The door opens, and Abel appears, a towel wrapped around his waist. He looks… Fuck, he looks good. I hate that he looks good. Now that the blood is cleaned away, I can see the scattering of new scars across his torso, the sign of a life roughly lived.

Where’s he been for the last eight years?

My father’s men chased the Paine brothers for years after their father’s death. I know for a fact that the search continued until my father’s death five years ago. They never found a trace of anything. It was as if Abel and his brothers disappeared into thin air.