"Shut up." His expression darkens. "I've had enough of you now. Why don't you wait there until I decide your time is over? It won't be fucking long because you're getting on my last goddamn nerve."
With those words, he slams the door, and I listen to the bolts and locks sliding into place.
I scramble to pull the knife out. I cut myself several times in the process, but I manage to rip through the zip ties on my wrists, nonetheless. I'm free.
But as I look at June's unmoving, unconscious body, I start to wonder whether it's too late already... She may not be showing any cuts or scrapes, but Parker could've done something else to her. Something worse.
My resolve strengthens.
My brother's a dead man fucking walking.38June"June!" A voice cuts through the darkness, and the familiar tone is too much to handle. I close my eyes tightly, telling myself this can't be. It's Parker, and he's come to haunt the rest of my dreams forever. Yet something tells me this can't be right. Because the hands that touch me hesitantly are too soft, too strong, and too merciful. My eyes finally flutter open as he lifts me like I weigh nothing, cradling me in his arms.
I look into Kade’s eyes, his gaze burning with hatred for his twin brother and love for me. I whimper, finally realizing my dream has come true. He found me, and he came here to save me. It's all going to be okay. My husband cradles me in his arms, and a growl escapes his lips as I moan in pain and delirium, still too lost in the darkness to really understand what exactly is going on.
Then his lips crash against mine, demanding but gentle. I let the kiss convince me it will all be all right. I let it take me to bright, colorful places, away from this place, which reeks of death. His love is pure love, but it holds a promise of revenge. And if I were Parker, I would be deathly afraid in this very moment, knowing what awaits him when he returns.
Kade sets me down gently, his arms supporting me so I don't topple over. A foolish smile comes over my face, and I exclaim, finally getting my voice and reason back. "Kade!"
"Junebug," he groans deeply. "You're okay. Thank fuck you're okay. What did that bastard do to you?"
His hands roam my body, and I moan when he reaches the tender point in my ribs where Parker kicked me. Kade’s hands form fists, and his lips twist in a grimace as he realizes I've been hurt. But before we have time to do anything else, we hear some noise upstairs, and my eyes widen with fear as they connect with Kade’s. He presses a finger to his lips before quickly untying my bonds and motioning for me to get back on the mattress while he hides in the many shadows of the dark basement. Hesitantly, I do as I'm told though my heart is beating in my chest like it's on the verge of bursting. I lie back on the mattress, my gaze focused on the staircase where Parker's boots just appeared.
He's whistling. The sick fuck is whistling.
He finally comes downstairs and freezes in his tracks when he spots me. His eyes flutter to my wrists where the rope is missing, and an expression of pure rage transforms his face into something terribly ugly. Snarling, he comes for me, and I cover my face with my hands in a futile attempt to protect myself. But before he can grab me, Kade jumps from the shadows and takes Parker by the throat. An enraged snarl escapes Parker's lips as I jump up from the mattress, and as the two twins battle it out, I make a run for it.
I stumble out of the house, and as soon as my feet hit the grass outside, the sun shining in my eyes blinds me. Blocking the light with my hands, I call for help as loud as I can, screaming my head off. But all that meets me is the crashing of waves on the beach and the solitary chirp of a bird nearby who looks at me curiously from a branch on a tree next to me.
I start running around aimlessly, my eyes looking for someone or something that could help me, but I come up empty every single time. There's no one here, the island deserted. I have no idea how Kade got here, but it is obvious he was alone. I remember the electricity going out then, realizing Parker had something to do with it. We're cut off from the mainland now, at least for another day until the yacht comes to pick Kade and me up.
But by then, we could both be dead.