Page 65 of Vicious Deception

“No, you need food.”

Gently, Elliot places a hand on his shoulder. “Rhett. He needsyou.”

“I need both of you,” I snap. “So get out of your goddamn heads and get over here. I didn’t think I’d ever see either of you again. I don’t care about a fucking sandwich.”

That seems to snap both of them out of whatever’s gotten into them. Rhett drops the bread he just pulled from a bag, and Elliot finally looks me in the eye.

“Now,”I grit out.

I don’t wait for them to move toward me. I’ve waited long enough, dammit, and every second I’m not in their embrace is more painful than the last. So I grab them both, kissing Elliot and then Rhett, before pulling them as close as I can.

Elliot releases a long, shuddering breath as his arms come around me and Rhett. I feel his lips pressed to the top of my head, and I close my eyes as Rhett makes a pained sound.

We don’t say anything. No amount of telling each other that we were scared, that we missed each other, that we thought we’d die, will amount to the way the tightness in my chest eases at being held by them.

Their bodies are familiar against mine, and I let myself relax. Holloway is locked up. We’re all safe. The revenge we’ve been fighting for is finally at our fingertips, and this time, we’re not letting it slip away.

“I’m so sorry,” Elliot whispers after a few minutes. “For everything. And Ol, I should’ve stayed awake. I should’ve left. I’m so, so sorry.”

Just like that, it feels like someone is squeezing my lungs and forcing the air out of them.

“It’s okay,” I mutter. “It wasn’t your fault.”

“What happened?” Rhett asks cautiously, like he’s scared to know the answer. “The morning the two of you weren’t in your windows, where were you?”

Goddammit.I was hoping they’d drop it.

“Not now,” I whisper.

“No. What happened?” Rhett’s arms tighten around me, but the comfort that normally comes with his embrace is gone. “You were in pain earlier in the van. What did he do to you?”

It’s too much. Too restrictive. The pain, the way Ludo smiled at my screams, Elliot’s pleading—it all forces its way to the front of my mind.

“I snuck into his room,” Elliot starts. “I wasn’t supposed to fall asleep, but—”

“Stop.” I shove them both away from me. “Just stop. I . . . I can’t.”

My brain has blocked out a lot of the torture, but I still remember enough.

I wish I didn’t.

“Ol.” Elliot reaches for me, but I swat his hand away and back up frantically.

“I don’t want to talk about it.” My voice is too loud, my tone too harsh. “I said not now.”

“Okay.” Elliot lowers his arm. “We don’t have to. I’m sorry.”

Rhett’s features are hardened, and he hasn’t taken his eyes off me. Of course he has questions, but I justcan’t.I never want to think about it again—including right now.

“Where’s Wren?” I turn toward the doorway, feeling unsteady on my feet. My hands are shaking.

“You need to eat,” Rhett says, but he doesn’t move to stop me as I head toward the living room.

The TV is going, but no one is paying attention to it. Andrew is plopped in a chair, Sparrow and Finn are sitting on the couch, and Aubrey is holding Wren and stroking her back.

Benny is leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, although when he sees me, he straightens. “Can I see Rhett now?” he asks.

“He’s busy,” I say, stumbling into Wren’s arms. “He’ll be in here in a couple minutes.”