Black Thorns (Thorns Duet #2) by Rina Kent

Our simultaneous breathing echoes through the air. Mine is harsh and fractured. His is deep and unsteady, probably due to the amount of pain he must be in.

He really needs to get some help and at this rate, Ren doesn’t seem like he has that in his plans.

I carefully press against his hand that’s on his wound. No blood has come out for some time, but it doesn’t hurt to prevent it.

“That was foolish.” Ren’s voice pierces through the dark silence. “Not only will you remain without food, but you’ll also stay in the darkness for…let’s see… Hmm. Hours? Days? Who knows? The sky is the limit. Sorry, I mean, the ceiling of the cell is.”

My throat closes. Sebastian probably can’t survive hours in this condition, let alone days. Besides, the lack of food won’t only weaken us, it’ll also be lethal.

“I’ll do it,” I blurt. “I’ll remove my bra.”

“No,” Sebastian growls deep in his throat. The sound is equally aggressive and pained.

Considering how possessive he can be, I’m well aware of how much he hates the idea of me being nude in front of other people. I hate it, too, but if it will keep us safe, I don’t care.

A low tsking sound comes from Ren. “Your chance has passed. You lost, and per the rules, you’ll pay. You might be able to survive for a few days, Naomi. Quarterback, though…”

The static of the speaker disappears and I jolt up. “No… Come back! You said there are many rounds. We can play the next… Come back! Ren!”

“It’s useless.” Sebastian releases a long breath that I feel with the long rise and broken fall of his chest. “He’s gone.”

“No. He could be there somewhere. He must be watching us.”

“I don’t think so. The cameras stopped blinking.”

I look around, and sure enough, the red dots have disappeared. Even though that should be a relief, it actually isn’t.

They really left us in the dark now.

Maybe we’ll be here until we die.

Maybe no one will find our corpses.

“Help!” I scream at the top of my lungs, my voice turning hysterical as the worst-case scenarios flash in my head. “Someone help us! We’re trapped!”

“Don’t waste your energy, Nao.”

“Maybe someone will hear us… Maybe they’ll get us out of here.”

“You don’t really believe that.”

I don’t. But I choose to hold on to the illusion that there’s something more to the hand we’ve been dealt.

“Let me try to get to the door,” I suggest. Maybe I’ll be able to open it.”

“You saw the door. It’s metal.”

“Then do you suggest we do nothing? You’ve been shot!”

“I know. But the best thing we can do under the circumstances is to save our energy. We only have so much water left and once that’s gone, it’ll only get worse.”

I sniffle, then wipe my tears with the back of my hand. I hate being weak, which is why I don’t cry in public or show anyone just how soft I am inside.

But that’s not the reason I want to stop crying. It’s because of what Sebastian said earlier—when he mentioned that seeing me in pain hurts more than his wound.

Besides, crying won’t help us solve this situation.

If Sebastian wasn’t injured, he could probably break down the door or something. But right now, he’s weaker than me.

His godlike body is heavy on the ground and sweat covers his skin, even though it’s cold in here.

“I just don’t understand why they’re doing this. They’re my father’s people. They shouldn’t want to hurt me. Unless…”

“Unless what?”

“Do you think he’s taking revenge against my mom? She said she gave him fake DNA tests so he wouldn’t know I’m his daughter. Maybe he took that to heart and is now doing this to torment her.”

“Why would he hurt you to torment her?”

“Because I’m all she has. She left her family and old friends in Japan and has only had me since she came here.”

At the thought of my mom, fresh tears spring to my eyes. I’m supposed to be spending more time with her now that she’s in the late stages of cancer. We’re supposed to be planning our trip to Japan and spending mother-daughter time together.

“Are you crying, baby?”

“She must be so worried.” My voice breaks. “We rarely spend nights apart, even with her busy schedule. I never went on school trips or anything of the sort, because she was always obsessed with my safety. I think I know why now. She said my father is a dangerous man and I didn’t believe her. Look where that got me.”

“You…didn’t know.”

“Maybe this is my punishment for being so engrossed in finding my father while neglecting my existing parent. She has cancer, you know. It’s late-stage and there’s nothing they can do. She only has a few weeks left at best, and I can’t even spend that time with her.”

“You will.” His voice gains a softer edge. “We’ll get out of here.”

“What if we don’t? What if they forget about us and we die and end up on missing person reports? What if they find our remains a few years from now and we’re unrecognizable and then they make a true crime show about us?”