Letting My Brother's Best Friend Take My V-Card

PART 4-CHAPTER 178 JESS

Bryan paced back and forth in front of me, his boots thudding softly against the cabin floor. The gun in his hand swung with every agitated step, his fingers tight around the handle. His movements were restless like he didn't quite know what to do with himself, but his eyes- those cold, dead eyes-flickered with something raw. He was muttering; almost to himself, like he was lost in a world, I couldn't reach.

"I'm a good guy," he said, his voice cracking slightly as he stared at the floor, then up at the ceiling, before

his gaze darted toward me. "I always was. I would've taken care of you, Jess. You know that, right? You could've had a good life with me. We could've been happy. We still can be."

I forced myself to stay still, my body stiff in the chair as his words washed over me. I'could feel the ropes biting into my wrists, but I had to stay calm. Slowly, carefully, I flexed my fingers, trying to work the knots loose without drawing his attention. Each tiny movement sent a

arms.

Bryan kept pacing, his voice rising and falling as he rambled. "We could stay here, in this cabin. It's peaceful, right? No one would bother us. We could have a family, Jess. You and me. We could raise our kids here. They'd be safe. Protected."

My stomach twisted at the words. The idea of being trapped here, with him, forever-it was suffocating.

PART 4 CHAPTER 178.

my focus on the ropes, on the small hope that if I just kept working at them, I could free myself. I bit down on the inside of my cheek, trying

be. You and me, together. I'd keep you safe. No one else can. No one

rope tugged a little too sharply before I could stop

me, crouching down, his face inches from mine. His breath was hot and sour, and the wild look in his eyes sent a jolt of

his head as if scolding a child. "Those need to stay. You can't go

the gun press against the side of my chest, just beneath my ribs. The metal was icy against my skin, even through my shirt. My heart slammed against my chest, and I held my breath, every muscle in my body screaming

to decide to stay with me, Jess, I have to make sure you don't go anywhere. I have to

welling in my eyes, but I blinked them away. I wasn't going to

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4 CHAPTER 178

the madness that had taken over whatever humanity he might have had left. He wiped at his face with his free hand, but the tears

and I saw the desperation in his face, the way he teetered on the edge of something dark and irreversible. The tears were streaming freely down his face now, his body trembling with each breath. He looked like he was falling apart right in fro My pulse roared in my ears as I shut my eyes, trying to block out the terror, trying to pretend for just one second that this

feel the heat of it warming my skin, but the, cold of the gun pressed against me was all I could

This was it.