Chapter 10: Torn Between Monsters
Amara
My stomach twists as I lie back on the cot, its thin mattress pressing into my spine. The air feels heavier tonight—thick with dread, heavy with truth. Everything is unraveling faster than I can catch it.
I should have never gotten involved. I should have walked away that day, kept my head down, stayed invisible. But no—I had to care. I had to open my heart to the wrong man. Now I’m trapped, caught in a nightmare where death wears two faces.
If Liam ever finds out I’ve been marked—owned—by Killian, he’ll kill me. And if Killian gets to me first? He’ll do worse. He’ll make me beg for mercy I’ll never receive. Either way, my fate is sealed.
My chest tightens as my mind drags me backward, back to the night everything changed.
Then
I was just trying to survive—just another night at the bar, slinging drinks and dodging hands. My shift was half over when he walked in—Killian Graves.
He moved like sin dressed in silk, his power filling the room before he even spoke. Brown hair slicked back, dark eyes that swallowed light whole, and that smile—sharp enough to cut.
“Well, hello there, beautiful,” his deep voice rolled out, smooth and commanding.
I turned from the table I’d been serving, beers in hand. My heart stuttered when I met his gaze.
God, he was gorgeous—tall, broad shoulders dusted in tattoos, a presence that made the air hum. The kind of man you shouldn’t want, but crave anyway.
“Hello,” I said, forcing a smile. “What can I get you?”
“Are you on the menu?”
I laughed before I could stop myself. “Not with pickup lines like that.”
He placed a hand over his heart, feigning injury. “Oh, girl, you’re killing me.”
“Not yet,” I teased.
His grin deepened. “Careful, sweetheart. I might have to take you up on that threat.”
I rolled my eyes, doing my best to ignore the way his voice curled through me. Gorgeous or not, he was a customer—and the kind that could tear a girl apart without lifting a finger.
“What can I get you?” I repeated.
“Whiskey. Unless that’s off the menu too.”
“That,” I said, smiling despite myself, “I can do.”
I pull my knees to my chest now, the memory still fresh enough to sting. That’s how it all began—innocent banter with a devil in disguise. I didn’t know then that the man with the smirk would become my captor, my obsession, my undoing.
I press my forehead to my knees, breathing slow. The images won’t fade. The sound of his laugh, the heat of his hands, the way his temper could shift like a storm. Love turned to fear. Desire turned to pain.
And now, even here, behind concrete and steel, I can’t escape him.
Does he know?
Does he know I’m here—locked away in a prison run by Liam Draeger? Surely they know each other. Surely they keep tabs on their rivals. They’ve spent years carving this city into territories soaked in blood and power.
If they find out I’m caught between them…
God, what will they do?
I stare at the ceiling, tracing cracks like escape routes. I’ve always been a fighter—always found a way out. But this time, I can’t see the exit. There’s no window to crawl through, no lie to spin, no place to run.
Maybe the judge knew. Maybe when he sentenced me here, he was already digging my grave. His loyalty must lie with one of them—Liam or Killian. Either way, it feels like betrayal.
I think of Phoebe—my best friend, my sister in every way that counts. We had plans. A way out. A future that didn’t end in blood. She’d talked about leaving the country, buying land so remote no one could find us. A place where my name, my past, would disappear.
But I know better. Killian would find me. He always does.
I hug my arms tight around myself. “Don’t give up,” I whisper into the dark.
I’ve said those words a thousand times, but tonight they feel fragile, like glass ready to shatter. I close my eyes and repeat them anyway.
“Don’t give up. You’ve survived worse. You’ll survive this too.”
But even as I say it, the question lingers in the back of my mind, cold and cruel:
What happens when survival means choosing between two monsters?