Claimed (For Her 3)

He doesn’t look as put together as he usually does. His hair is perfectly styled, and his cocky arrogance is still as thick as ever, even though he doesn’t look like he’s slept in a few days. His polo shirt is wrinkled, and his jeans have seen better days. It makes me wonder if he’s been hiding out in this cabin for some time, knowing everything was closing in on him.

“Bad guy?” Summer asks.

I can hear the defeat in her voice. I glance over at her. She looks like she’s doing a little better than I am, but if I’ve learned anything in the past twenty-four hours, it’s that our situation can change in a matter of seconds.

“Yeah, bad guy,” I mumble.

Stein hates me more than Spencer, but at least I don’t think he wants to rape me. His eyes roam over my sister, and I pray I didn’t see them linger. What is it with assholes?

My whole body aches, but nothing feels worse than my wrist, not even my head. I use my shoulder to wipe some of the blood from my forehead. When I raise my arm, I see part of my blouse is ripped, exposing my light blue bra.

Stein pulls his eyes from my sister and looks past us, shaking his head. He’s spotted the wreckage behind us down the road, and I wonder if Stein is going to go down there and check on them. I fear how mad he’ll be when he sees Michael is missing half his body. I don’t know how close the two of them were.

Suddenly an explosion rocks the ground, and I turn to look. With my glasses long gone, I can’t make much out besides smoke and fire. A small smirk plays on my lips, knowing Spencer was down there. That’s one less person I have to worry about. I feel no pity for either man. In fact, I think their deaths were over too fast. Maybe all of this has jaded me, because more than anything I would have loved what my Jordan would have done to them. I’m sad for him that he won’t get that chance.

“Fucking hell!” Stein yells, and some of that cockiness fades. “Asses in the cabin right now before I kill you both.” I glance back and see he’s got a gun in his hand. Although the way he’s holding it doesn’t seem natural. I’ve watched Jordan clean his guns before and he handled them like they were an extension of his arm.

Neither I nor Summer fight it. We slowly do as he tells us, knowing there’s no use. My body still feels the blows of when we didn’t do as we were told earlier. I’m sure Summer is nearly as bad as I am. I’m not pressing my luck. I’m going to play along and not fight unless I see an opening. I’m not wasting any of the energy I have left.

We slowly make our way up the stairs, with Summer helping me when I feel dizzy. When we get to the top, Stein pushes us, wanting us to move faster. “Move your fucking asses. We don’t have all day.”

Summer opens the door, and once again Stein pushes both our backs, but my body doesn’t care. I bump into Summer, and she catches me from falling. I hear Stein chuckle behind me.

“I think I’m going to pass out,” I whisper. The room starts to spin, and black spots cloud my vision. I can’t remember the last time I had a drink of water.

I try to look around the room as Summer holds on to me. It looks like we’re in the living room. Glancing around, I see the ceiling, the walls, and the floor are all made of wood. The first spot of color I notice is a blue sofa. I want to sit down before my legs give out beneath me.

“Keep her awake,” Stein barks, and I flinch, thinking a blow is going to come. When nothing happens, I sigh in relief. I think anything more traumatic right now and I’d pass out.

Summer moves me toward the sofa and sits me down. A moan of relief leaves my lips.

“I just want to sleep,” I tell her. Just for a little bit. That’s all I need. To close my eyes for a moment. Maybe my mind will drift to another memory. I can soak it in and have a moment of sweetness.

“Jay, no,” she barks at me. I can hear the panic in her voice.

Jerking my eyes back open, I see the room is fuzzy. “Stop yelling. It hurts my head.” I reach up and wince when I make contact with my forehead. Pulling back, I look at the blood on my fingertips.

“Look at me.”

I roll my head to the side and do my best to focus on her.