The Brothers and I

Chapter 22

Fear. I thought I understood it.

After all, I had lived and breathed it my whole life. As a little girl, it had been my constant companion, forever shadowing my waking moments. In my teenage years, it took on the role of the invisible enemy that I constantly warred with. As an adult, it was the fear that came in dealing with an unfair and unjust world. And after today's events, I thought I had finally learnt and experienced every type and facet of fear that plagued mankind.

Unfortunately, that couldn't be further from the truth.

As I stood here and watched the scene unfolding in front of me, I experienced a new kind of fear – The fear for the safety of someone you love. And by far, I would say, that it is the worst kind. Propelled and fuelled by it, I hit the glass with my palms once again, the metal on my handcuff painfully constricting my wrists as it issued a loud clang around the little room.

"Thomas! I'm in here!"

I observed as he continued to look at the men and not acknowledge me or my presence. What the hell? I was quite certain that he had glanced in my direction that one time and I also knew that he would never intentionally choose to not respond. So, ignoring the pain in my wrists and jaw, I shouted louder and struck the glass once again. "Thomas!...... Thomas!"

It took another three tries before the moment of truth tore through me with a vengeance. Feeling physically sick at the realisation that only I could see and hear them, had me clutching my gut with worry. Why were they doing this? Was this the reason I was instructed to not look away? Were they going to hurt him and make me watch? My heart stopped for a moment as the sadistic reality began to sink in. No! No! This can't be real! This cannot be happening!

I watched in panic as the four men began to circle around Thomas, only giving me brief glimpses at his face that was set in an expression of pure anger. I shivered, never having witnessed him in such an extreme state before. His eyes were glowing the brightest gold, as it continually flicked between the men who were surrounding him like sharks drawn to blood at a feeding site.

My eyes travelled to the men, as each of them came into focus when they passed by the spot that was directly in my line of vision. My breathing picked up and my heart thudded as one of them came into view.

He appeared to be the same height as Thomas, a bit broader around the shoulders but still quite lean. His movements were lithe as a wild cat, predatory and calculating. My eyes travelled over his form while my body heated up with a strange sense of excitement, wanting and needing him to devour me with that same predatory glint in his eye. What the fuck!

Gorgeous and cocky, he looked like the typical bad boy that unsuspecting women would easily fall for. The sleeves of his white shirt were rolled up, revealing an elaborate tattoo on his left arm that started from the back of his hand and disappeared under the sleeve of his shirt. The left side of his neck that was visible, also had a tattoo which I assumed was the continuation of the full arm sleeve that he had going on.

Short strands of jet-black hair fell carelessly over his forehead and eyes. A small gasp escaped me when I noticed the colour of his eyes before he moved out of focus. They were icy blue, similar to the Adonis-like man that had initially turned around.

And as the next one came into view, I genuinely blinked twice, questioning the probability of whether I had died at some point and gone to heaven. With short light-brown hair and striking hazel eyes, he looked like an archangel. That is of course, if angels had a habit of roaming around in expensive designer suits and missing a few details like the halo, the wings and the flaming sword!

He was definitely taller and broader than Thomas and the tattoo guy. The aura that he emanated was powerful and fierce but with an undeniable touch of gentleness that made you want to trust him with your life. I shivered as I began to feel the same magnetic pull towards him.