Free Enslaved by the Others by Jess Haines

told me he didn’t like what Fabian’s statement implied. For a second, I thought Fabian meant me, but then Max moved and removed all doubt.
    Max did not bother to acknowledge Fabian’s offer, but he did move closer to us, once again reaching for Sara. Whether it was done to deliberately provoke me or not, I didn’t have the self-control to keep from swiping at him, a growl rumbling in my throat.
    He backhanded me so hard, I think I might have blacked out for a minute.
    As soon as awareness trickled back, I reached for Sara, hoping to shield her before Max could lay a hand on her—but she wasn’t there. Blinking hard, I looked around, fighting the woozy unreality that made everything seem so hazy in my vision. The blobs of color a few feet away soon reformed into the figure of Sara, seated in one of the chairs, her head hanging and blond hair a shining curtain in front of her face. The zombies were holding her arms, keeping her pinned, while Max waited next to them and Gideon leaned against the far wall, pointedly looking away.
    “Shiarra, we’re going to try something new.” Max snapped his fingers, then pointed at a spot by his feet. “Come. Kneel here.”
    I spat a bit of blood in his general direction and gave him a one-fingered salute instead, keeping my ass planted right where I was. Gideon’s smirk made me feel better about my little act of defiance, even though I was sure I would pay for it later.
    Max didn’t appear too troubled by this. He reached out to Sara, one hand tangling in her hair and jerking her head up. She grimaced, obviously in pain, but didn’t make a sound. His other hand swiped down her cheek, leaving behind a thin line of red that soon trickled in a sheet of blood down her pale skin. Fabian’s look of boredom as he watched all this from against the wall next to Gideon somehow made it even worse.
    Eyes widening, I struggled to get to my feet, but Max must have struck me too hard. I couldn’t get my balance, earning more bruises as I stumbled and fell.
    “Kneel as I told you, or I’ll do the same to the other side of her face. You wouldn’t want that on your conscience, now, would you?”
    “You heartless fuck,” I said, tongue thick in my mouth, something sharp biting into my lip as I spoke. “Touch her again and I’ll kill you.”
    The threat might have held more weight if I’d been able to stand while I delivered it. His nail swiped in a matching line down the other side of Sara’s face, soon followed by silent tears, her pleading gaze driving a spike of dread deep into my chest. I had to stop this.
    Desperation got me to my feet, anger drove me forward, and fear for Sara had me throwing myself on Max in a frantic attempt to force him away from her. He grabbed my forearms and used my own momentum to send me hurtling past and sliding across the tile until my back thumped into the wall at the other end of the room.
    Slow, taking his time, he pulled one of Sara’s wrists from Tiny’s grip and yanked her arm up, ignoring her struggles as he watched me catch my breath and drag myself back to my feet.
    “Are you ready to obey?”
    I ignored Max’s question, my own voice warbling with uncertainty. “Sara?”
    Her reply was hushed, strained, laced with fury and pain. “Fuck him.”
    I didn’t need further invitation. Growling, I pushed off the wall and rushed him again, fingers hooked to claws to tear him off of her.
    He caught me by the throat as soon as I was close enough, ignoring the bite of my nails as I shredded his long-sleeved button-down and clawed the arm that held her. He shook me a little, but I wasn’t deterred in the least.
    That is, I wasn’t until he shoved me down to my knees, then yanked Sara’s arm so hard I heard something pop, dragging her wrist to his mouth. His pale gray eyes stared into mine, cold, empty as he bit her, ignoring every effort I made to pull her arm out of his grasp even as my vision blurred from lack of air from his fingers crushing my