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I choke on a sob. I made Tom angry. I provoked him. The sobs are coming quicker now. I scream into the heavens, cursing anyone up there that’s brought this onto me and the people I love. The people that love me. Loving me is a curse in itself.

“You made me do this, my pet,” he states. His voice is poison seeping into everything, tainting even the happiest of things. He drags Cass behind the kitchen island and I scream. I can’t see him now. I can’t see if he’s breathing. Tom grabs a knife from the block on the kitchen top and stands above Cass’s body.

I move my gag just enough to scream.

“Tom, please stop!” I beg. “Please, I’ll do whatever you want, just please don’t!” I scream loud enough that one of my neighbors should hear.

“Well, maybe we have finally learnt that lesson after all. He’s dead anyway, my sweet, it was only to be sure, but if you want to take the blow for him…I’d be rude to refuse my fiancé.” He smirks and storms over to me with the knife in his hand.

My eyes widen, he stalks closer, pulling his arm back ready to stab. This is it. This is how I’m going to die.

KADE

Viper isn’t here yet. It is still early, an hour until the duty starts. I’m always early, it gives me time to catch up on paperwork. When I open the door to my office, there’s someone sitting in my chair. It’s facing the window, so I can’t make out who it is.

The chair spins around slowly, I see a strand of hair, hoping it’s Emilia but it’s golden with tinges of yellow like it’s been bleached. Bree. She sits in my office chair wearing nothing but her black underwear and black heels.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” I don’t have the time or the patience for this shit today. I need to start planning the retrieval, not dealing with an overly infatuated and slightly unhinged woman.

“I thought we could have some quality time before shift starts,” she says, spreading her legs apart. She’s trying to be enticing and flirty, but it just comes across as desperate. What the hell was I thinking, fucking her.

“Bree, I don’t know how many times I have to say this to you, I’m not interested. I don’t want you. Frankly I’d rather catch an STD than fuck you again. Now get dressed and leave my office. I’ll be writing you up. One more report and that will warrant a transfer to a different unit.” I’ve had enough; she needs to go, by whatever means necessary. Preferably before Emilia finds out about this and takes the matter into her own hands.

“But I thought now that the tramp was dealt with, you would want me back.” She cries. This just makes me realize how much I love Emilia. The very few occasions I’ve seen her cry; all I want to do is comfort her and hold her close. When Bree cries, I want to throw her out of the nearest window.

“Wait, what tramp? What are you talking about?” I ask. I can’t stand the sobbing, she’s gasping for air and can’t get a word out.

“Bree!” I growl, my patience is thinning to a dangerous level. She takes multiple deep breaths, slowing the tears.

“Tom… he asked me about Emilia, and I thought I could get rid of her so I told him she’s fucked everyone in the unit.” She eventually gets the words out, and now I really want to throw her out of the nearest window.

“I just want you Kade! You were always looking at her, never at me! I thought we had something!” she shouts, putting her jacket back on. I dart towards the door and storm through it. Cyrus is sitting by one of the report room benches and immediately stands when he sees me.

“We need to go to Emilia’s. Something’s wrong. She’s not here yet, and Bree decided to open her big mouth and tell Tom she’s fucking everyone in the unit,” I spit out in pure rage. Cyrus’s eyes widen, and glares at Bree behind me.

“I suggest you get out of here…now,” he orders and Bree scurries off, clutching her jacket closed.

Cara comes into view whilst I’m frantically searching for the keys to the SUV. She’s sprinting down the hallway. I knew she was a runner, but I didn’t realize how fast she actually is.

“I can’t find Cass, he’s not at his apartment, we were supposed to meet this morning and Em isn’t answering her phone—neither of them are,” she rambles. She’s panicked like if she doesn’t get the words out in one go, she won’t be able to get them out at all.

“Alright we’re going to Emilia’s apartment. We start there, let’s go… now,” I order.

I don’t trust myself to drive so I throw the keys at Cyrus, he’ll get us there fast. I can’t talk. The fury and rage are so constricting I can’t form words. Not helpful ones anyway. If he has hurt her, I will break my promise to her, it’ll be the first promise I have ever broken. He won’t live. I will make sure he suffers in every way she has over the years. I won’t stop until I hear him beg for his life.

“Kade…” Cyrus’s voice brings me out of the trance I’ve been in since getting in the car.

“Before we go in there, you need to know something…” He says almost stuttering. I don’t understand, what could be more important than what’s going on right now?

“Cyrus,” Cara warns, “not now.”

“He needs to know!” Cyrus shouts.

“Know what? What the fuck is going on?” I shout. Rarely do I ever shout at my friends, but I’m so close to losing my shit.

“The ring Tom gave her, it’s shocking her. He shocks her whenever he feels like it, and it shocks her whenever her heart rate goes over a certain level,” he blurts out.

It all makes sense. Every time she flinched or jolted suddenly. Every time I got close to her, she’d look like she was in pain. She was actually being tortured right in front of me. Every time I would touch her, thinking I was hurting her. The reality immediately sets in.