You Are Mine Little Sister (by Syra Tucker) novel Chapter 192

VOID

Two hours, eleven minutes.

That was how long it took her to open her eyes.

I'd been counting the seconds like a madman, each tick another knife twisting in my chest as I sat by her bed, watching those very eyes.

Every sound she'd made replayed on a loop inside my head; the raw terror in her voice, the way her body had thrashed against mine before it went limp. The look in her eyes right before she fell.

She'd seen a demon. And I knew it wasn't me. Not this time.

At the time, I'd been more focused on saving her and didn't have the time to start fishing out who the demon was. Oh, there'd be plenty of time for that; plenty of time to hunt them down and have fun with them.

I wanted their death to be slow and different. Wanted their penalty to be heavier than Blayne's; because what they took from me was something Blayne didn't. They took the happiness she'd been painstakingly trying to rebuild. The quiet trust she'd started to place in me. The 'yes' I was so damn close to hearing when I asked her to be mine.

They took too much. The urge to make them pay registered as a pure, sweet imperative.

I didn't move an inch as I watched her eyes try to take in the place. They shifted to me, then her brows furrowed and she shot up at once.

"Rali...."

"I need to leave." Her voice was glass; thin, trembling, ready to break.

"You not going anywhere, not in this state."

She was already getting off the bed. I remained in my seat, because I knew if I had to get close, I'd be slamming her on the bed.

Her hands were shaking. Her breathing was a mess. She was still half in the nightmare, half here.

She made it to the door before I finally moved. One step, one grab, one sharp yank, and she was back in my hold. It took every bit of restraint not to force her onto the bed.

She struggled against my grip. "Dominic—"

"You need to stay put for now. You can't leave."

"No! I have to!"

"Why?"

"They—" She stopped herself.

Her silence did nothing to help the fury already clawing its way up my throat.

My hand remained firm around hers. If Rali Hayes thought I was letting her run away from me, then she was far from reality.

"I can't be here." Her eyes dropped to the floor, tears spilling despite her trying to hold them back. "Please. They'll find me. They'll take me back."

Ignorance was its own kind of torture. If only she knew the demons I'd captured already and the ones I was willing to for her.

She wiped at her tears, her gaze hardening as she looked at me again. Brave little thing.

"Let me go, Dominic. I need to leave now."

I shrugged. "I'll need a good reason for that."

I was too angry at the whole situation. This was not supposed to happen. I was the only monster Rali was supposed to fear. Watching her act this way toward other men who had no business occupying her thoughts poured fury into me faster than I could breathe it out.

She glared at me long and hard, like she wanted to burn a hole straight through my skull.. I still didn't let her go. Couldn't.

Then, like a storm losing its rage, her stare slowly softened… and the tears returned, gathering at her lashes before slipping down like her courage was leaking out through them.

"I'm not who you think I am, Dominic."

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