FAZER LOGINđč~LITTLE BIRD~đčThe dim lighting makes it hard to take in the space around me, but Iâm suddenly brought up short by a built-in monitoring station. Rows of glowing screens display live feeds of the exact basement unit where I was just held. I see Lex on one of the screens. Heâs counting down patiently.I look up at the square opening in the ceiling where light spills down into the room. Then I realize this place is also a basement. The shock almost paralyzes me. What kind of sick fuck has two built-in basements? I don't delay. I climb the stairway leading to the ceiling and find myself in a living room. I sprint toward the front door and yank it open. The cool night air rushes over my naked skin, though the burning adrenaline inside me makes the chill barely register.âWhat the fuckâŠâIâm surrounded by a dense canopy of towering trees in the middle of fucking nowhere. I knew we were in the woods, but I didn't know it was this isolated. My heart caves.What if Lex changes his mind and
âYou don't mean that.ââI do,â I say flatly.Her eyes are fixed on mine as if sheâs searching for a concealed truth, one Iâll never admit out loud. I want you to stay, my beautiful, stubborn Little Bird. Youâve made a fucking habit of getting beneath my skin, even when I gave you every reason to hate me.It's pathetic, really. I've spent years making sure no one gets close enough to matter. I've built walls around myself, buried everything that could make me vulnerable, and somehow this woman has managed to crawl beneath all of it.I never thought anyone else could have this much power over me. And she doesn't even know it. She's become an addiction I can't seem to break. I fucking hate it. Because everyone I've ever let this close eventually dies.âI don't believe you,â she says, tears pricking at the corners of her eyes.Isn't this what she's always wanted? To leave me? To leave this godforsaken basement? She should be leaping for joy. Yet here she is, looking at me as though I've j
âIâve heard enough bullshit tonight, Sir. There's a limit to how much shit I can take in one night.âHe walks closer. I turn around to face him. His hand is stretched out, holding out his phone. I raise a brow. He pushes the device further, urging me to take it. I do. I hit play on the video displayed on the screen.Itâs a woman walking along a crowded pavement, her head slightly bowed as she checks something in her hand. She is wearing sunglasses and has short blonde hair. Her clothes look expensive and stylish. Her face is turned slightly away from the camera.Anyone else might dismiss her as a stranger. I canât. I know the shape of her face like the back of my hand. I know the way she held her head when she walked. Even with the sunglasses, the different hair, and different taste in fashion, I know it's her. I replay the video over and over again and pause right when she turns her face slightly toward the lens. I stare at her until my vision blurs. My grip on the phone tightens. T
Julian is the most sadistic bastard in our bloodline. And trust me, thatâs saying something, considering the monsters Iâm related to. But my older brother takes the crown.I should fuck Claire?âYou're kidding, right?â I ask.âNo,â he states plainly. âFuck her in front of her husband. It sounds fun. I want to hear her scream and I want him to watch while another man ruins what belongs to him.ââIâm not doing it.âJulian doesn't take his eyes from me. âIf you're over Megan, as you claim..â He pauses, savoring the sudden tension in the room, his chest swelling with sick pleasure at the thought of pushing my buttons. â...you won't mind tearing into this bitch.â He plants his shoe squarely onto Claireâs neck, crushing her into the carpet until a suffocating whimper tears from her throat. âProve to me youâre over Megan. Prove it by fucking this whore.âHow much longer can I refrain from doing the unspeakable to my own brother? How much longer?A cold flare of anger flashes behind my eyes,
â ïž~THE MONSTER~â ïžâYou sure took your time, brother,â Julian says, taking a slow sip. âI was starting to think you'd forgotten who signs your cheques ever since you returned to the fold.âI don't answer right away. I let Julian think heâs won this round. He doesn't show it, but heâs super competitive and hates to lose. âWhy did you call me here? I suppose there was a new assignment.ââCan't we hang out as brothers? Iâm your big brother. I just wanted to show you the fun you're missing all the while you're cooped up in that cabin of yours.There is an actual life outside that cabin. Everything isn't about missions and assignments.â His eyes meet mine. He smiles. âSometimes, I just want to spend time with my little brother.âOnly a fool would believe him. If he were genuine about really spending some time with me, he would not have picked this place. Julian knows how much I hate this place.Itâs one of our fatherâs legacy holdingsâa wretched hive where rich pigs trade cash for sins they
Why did I have to be stubborn and run away? Instincts. That's what it was. It was pure survival instincts. I don't regret trying. But seeing Lexâs towering silhouette approach like an impending doom makes me reconsider my entire existence. Okay. I regret it. I regret running away.âGet away from me!âScreaming doesn't help. He takes each step slowly, making me shrink, sending fear straight into my pounding heart. I turn back around, slamming my fist hard against the door as if someone will magically open it from the outside. Before I can draw another breath to scream, Lexâs massive hand lunges forward. His fingers wrap around the back of my neck so tightly. He doesn't pull me down by my hair; he drags me backward until my naked body collides with his own. He holds me against him in a bear hug and carries me down the stairs. No matter how I try, I'm unable to wriggle free from his grasp. âYou really thought you were fast enough, didn't you?â he whispers against my ear, his chest bru







