Chapter 8 Break Her

— 8 —

brEAK HER

Oz

SHE WAS A bright pink bloom in the beige desert. Amidst a sea of women all dressed in the same orange jumpsuit, she stood out like the fuchsia flowers that grow atop beavertail cacti in the most barren parts of Lawless Land.

They all saw us coming down the highway, but this one—this adorable little pink-haired praline—was the only one who stopped to watch me.

She saw me.

I saw her.

And she easily became my target.

She clings to me as I turn onto the freeway and hit the throttle. It's too damn hot for bodies to be this close, but I can't say that I mind the feel of her wrapped around me. There's a natural vibration to her chaotic energy, an electric buzz I felt the moment I laid eyes on her.

I want to claim her for myself, the darkness within already throbbing with the pulse of a quickly forming obsession. This adorable creature could become a dangerous compulsion that, perhaps, I should've left behind.

But I couldn't leave her behind.

I couldn't let the Reborn have her.

I wouldn't let that man break her.

If any man is gonna break her, it'll be me.

Though the pleasure of her company will be shared among the Vultures.

Salem made space for four more in Eden, and requested we provide the women to fill those spaces. So, as part of our agreement, that's what we'll provide. It's what we promised, and I'm nothing if not a man of my word.

They get what they need.

We get what we need.

That's how it all works.

And as long as I keep my word and hand this one over, along with the other three with my boys in the truck, it doesn't matter that I cherry-picked the professor to suit my own interest.

She stood out like a sore thumb with her delicious cotton candy hair. At first, I thought that's why the Reborn singled her out, simply because there was something visibly unique to call her out on. The Reborn prey on lawless women in that way all the time, but it seemed they knew exactly who she was the moment they spotted her.

They'd called her Siren , and that has me fucking curious.

I'm just as curious to know how they knew her. I occasionally receive updates about the world beyond the walls, but that's a privilege I've earned from the connections I made while building my community. It's beyond me how the Reborn would know her, though clearly it had something to do with that man she hated so viciously.

Brutality is their favorite trait.

They only want the most vicious and violent criminals as intensely as they wanted her. And she displayed it so boldly. She was absolutely feral trying to get to that man in black.

Vicious, violent, soft, and pretty.

Feral little princess.

Sweet, bleeding baby girl.

Goddamn…

I felt something for her. I felt the way she fights, the way she takes what she wants and refuses to answer to anyone but herself. But if she wants to survive in this barren wasteland, she'll learn to answer to me. I'm the only man with the resources to keep her safe.

Though I may not be able to keep her safe from me .