Screaming in the Silence Read Online Free PDF Page A

green eyes blazed with anger and his mouth twisted into a snarl. Ray landed hard on my stomach but quickly rolled to the side as Kaden's body came down on him. I backed up quickly, freeing my legs from beneath the squabble of limbs. Two hands pulled me up. Kaden delivered his first punch to Ray's face. Ray fought desperately to block him but Kaden was quick and landed another blow to the side of Ray's jaw.
    Suddenly, Kaden stood up and backed away. Ray lay on his back and was holding his side, laughing. Kaden panted, out of breath.
    "You better watch yourself, Kaden. We're in this together, all equal shares, remember? That includes her."
    "Go find some girl in town to fuck, Ray. You can't have her." Kaden pointed to me as he spoke and then turned his full attention to the man holding me. "The same goes for you, Marshal, although I doubt you have it in you."
    Marshal dropped his hands from my arms and walked toward the stairs.
    "Who are you to tell me what I can and cannot have?" Ray asked as he stood up and brushed himself off. He zipped his fly and buttoned the top of his jeans.
    "I'm the one who just kicked your ass." He rolled his shoulders forward and stood up straight. "Don't touch her again."
    "Come on, man. It's not worth it," Marshal pleaded with his brother.
    Ray shot Kaden one last warning glare before he nodded and pushed past him to follow his brother up the stairs. Kaden watched them leave before looking at me. His face showed little emotion and his eyes were like glass.
    "Are you all right?"
    Fuck you,
I signed, completely outraged he would bother asking such a question.
    "Did he hurt you?" Kaden didn't seem to take offense.
    Yes.
My sides ached and my face felt swollen but what was he going to do about it?
    He nodded and walked slowly toward me, pulling at the bottom of his shirt. I stepped back as he neared, not wanting anything or anyone to come within an arm's length of me. But Kaden held up his hand in surrender, the other bringing the tail of his shirt up to his ribs. I eyed him cautiously and he paused before stripping off his shirt. I took a few more steps back, shaking my head, signing for him not to come any closer.
    "I'm not going to hurt you, Raleigh. I won't even touch you."
    I was backed up against the wall with no place to go. Kaden slowly closed the space between us. My breath came out short and weak, I didn't have any fight left in me, so, with tears in my eyes, I gave up. He lifted his balled shirt and brought it to my cheek. I was scared he was going to gag me with it, blindfold me perhaps, but he didn't. Carefully and softly, he wiped away Ray's blood from my face and neck.
    I looked down once I realized what he had started doing and felt the tiniest twinge of guilt for not trusting him. But why should I? He wasn't my friend or necessarily even on my side. I was being used by this man. But maybe even if I couldn't trust him, I might be able to trust his motives. Did that even make any sense?
    Staring at Kaden's naked chest did little to help my confusion. His large muscles flexed as he worked to clean my face. His smooth skin was pulled over defined abdominals and a faint trail of hair progressed from his lower stomach only to disappear beneath his belt. His other hand leaned against the wall to support his weight, trapping me between his body and the cinderblocks.
    I longed to be comforted. I wanted him to touch me, to tell me everything was going to be alright, to take me in his arms and keep me there until all the pain went away. I could feel his body warmth and it tempted me to reach out and run my hands over his skin, pull him close and hold on tight. But I didn't move. Kaden would never comfort me. I was nothing but a dollar sign to him.
    He finally finished cleaning my face and I raised my head to look at him. He studied his work carefully, his eyes roaming my face but never meeting my gaze, his lips staying firmly pressed together, and his eyebrows furrowed in concentration. He pulled