“Stay away from me. I don’t know what you did to me, but I know you did something. I saw all that blood and the dirt. You…you buried me.”
“Baby, listen.”
“Baby!?” I shriek and start to get up, realizing that there are cuffs around my ankles and there is a chain connected to the footboard attached. I yank on the chain. “Let me go. Right now. Let me go and I swear to you I won’t tell anyone.”
“I did this for you.” Diego strokes my jaw, and I smack his hand, turning away from him. “I needed it to be real. For it to look real and for there to be evidence.”
“Evidence?”
“Your DNA.”
“My DNA. Are you insane?”
“Only about you.”
“Please, Diego. Whatever shit you got yourself into I’m about to come into a large sum of money. I’ll pay. Whatever you want.”
“All I want is you, Sybil. You can’t see it now. I know you don’t understand. It’s just the moment I first saw you I knew we were meant to be together. I know you feel it too, Princessa.”
My stomach flutters at his words. He’s not wrong. He’s so not wrong but that doesn’t make this right. This is fucked up. Seriously messed the hell up. His rough hand comes to my cheek and he leans into me. His breath washes over my lips. Then he kisses me, and I let him. His tongue slips between the part of my lips, and I give myself this one bit of good. One bit of good before he finishes the job. Diego is going to kill me. This much I know. He has no choice now. I know who he is.
Winnie’s words…her warning plays in my head.
“Violence. Death. Blood. Betrayal.”
I open my eyes and stare at Diego’s blue eyes wanting to drown.
“You don’t believe me, baby, but you’ll see. It’s all for you.”
“You mean for you. There’s something you get out of this. What is it?”
“You need food, Sybil.”
Diego kisses my forehead and leaves me alone.
My arms move to cross my midsection. I glance down and see that I’m wearing a t-shirt of his and nothing else. I feel so confused. I want to hate him. Everything inside me screams to hate him except for this sliver of my heart. That piece of me that is clinging to hope. Clinging to Diego and the promise of his words.
The door opens again, and Diego enters the room again, switching the light on, and I realize I’m still in his bed at the cabin. An hour from home. He’s carrying a tray filled with fruit, cheese, and crackers. “Food, for my Princessa.” He smirks at me and sits on the bed again.
He holds a strawberry to my mouth, and I knock it away.
“It’s not poisoned.” He chuckles and pops a juicy morsel of pineapple into his mouth. My own mouth practically waters as my stomach lets out a growl.
“Painkillers for your…”
“My botched manicure,” I finish for him.
“Yeah that.” He looks away, and I want to call him a coward but my hand hurts. I know I shouldn’t trust him right now, but I mainly want the pain to go away. I take the two oblong blue pills and wash them down with the glass of water he offers me.
“I need to go to the bathroom.”
“Okay after that you’ll eat.” He places the tray of fruit on the nightstand. “Don’t try anything stupid. We’re in the middle of nowhere, and I doubt you could even get my Harley started.”
I scowl but sigh in relief internally when he releases my ankles from the shackles. I go to stand only he pulls my ankles into his lap and massages them. It feels good even if he’s a monster, and I don’t dare tell him as much. I’m back to wanting to hate him and planning my escape.
He’s watching me. His eyes guarded yet intense. “Be a good girl, Sybil.” Diego smirks and drops my feet giving me permission to leave the room.
My legs are weak, though I won’t dare ask him for help or how long I was under. I know he drugged me several times. I don’t know if I should be upset or grateful that I was knocked out when he took my finger. I stare at the bandage and decide that for that I am thankful. I want to peek but am afraid I will throw up if I do. I’m not ready to see the damage yet.
I make my way into the bathroom slow and steady. It’s not overly large but it’s clean and modern. If I had to guess I’d say it’s recently been renovated. Everything is too new and well-kept for an old hunting cabin. There’s a shower and separate tub. That tub looks appealing and tempting. I’d love a good long deep soak right about now. My body is aching. I close the door behind me aware Diego is on the other side waiting for me to try something. I will make a move I’m not sure what that move will be yet. He was right. I do need to eat. I will need to build my strength so for now I will play his game. I’ll be his good girl and when the opportunity arises, I’ll make my escape.
I flush and wash my hands. A knock sounds at the door and Diego opens it slowly and enters the room holding an unopened toothbrush.
“As long as you behave, Princessa, you can have free roam of the cabin.”
“Don’t call me that.”
Diego grins and rubs a hand through his unruly hair that curls around his ears.
My mind flashes to the feel of that hair brushing over my thighs when he fucked me. My body betrays me, heat flaming across my skin where I loved feeling him the most.
“Soon you’ll love it. Even beg me for it.”
“That’s highly unlikely.”
He gives me an expression that says bullshit. Sadly, he isn’t wrong. The sex was amazing. It’s only everything that came after that ruined it. “I put the food on the coffee table, and I brought you some books to read. No TV out here I’m afraid. No phone. It’s just you, me, and Mother Nature.”
Lucky me.
Diego is attracted to me. Maybe I can seduce him. Fuck him so hard he will pass out so I can make my escape. I don’t have any other ideas momentarily. My head is still swimmy feeling. And I’m a bit dizzy from the pain that has been radiating from my wound. I can’t think clearly. I hope those pills kick in soon.
Chapter 12
—Diego
Sybil saddles past me, her hip rubs against me and I grab her upper arm. “I need you to trust me. There’s shit going down that you won’t like but it’s necessary.”
“Says the man who drugged me, cuffed me, buried me alive, and did this.” She holds up her hand, and I don’t turn away. I know what I did. I did what I had to. I own that. It kills me, but I fucking own it.
“I did what had to be done. I’d do it again,” I grit in her ear then let her go even though what I really want to do is take her back to bed and fuck that stubbornness out of her. I watch her strut wearing my favorite charcoal colored Guns ‘N Roses tee. The cotton fabric hangs to her midthighs teasing at revealing the curves of her ass with every step she takes. My Princessa knows exactly what she’s doing and it’s working.
I’ll play her game and I’ll fuckin’ win too.
She pads across the cabin to the couch, plopping that fine bare ass on the cushions and drawing her knees up to her chest as she grabs some slices of fruit. Her gaze meets mine, pinning me in place as she sucks a strawberry into her mouth, juice dripping down her chin, moaning like she’s having an orgasm in her mouth. “So good.” Sybil smirks then stuffs two fingers in her mouth and sucks them. I can see a hint of her sweet pussy through her legs. That sweet pussy I want another taste of. Once wasn’t enough.
She takes another strawberry between her fingers and pops it in her mouth. More juice runs down her chin, and I’m tempted to lick it off my damn self.
Fuck me. For being a virgin until I took her cherry, she’s a naughty girl. I shove off from the wall by the bathroom and move to the kitchen to clean up from cutting the fruit. Sybil continues her performance while I do my best to ignore her. This morning there was a press release reporting her missing under suspicious circumstances. It’s only a matter of time before the dots connect to Jesus. The stupid fuck who thought Sybil would ever touch him.
Her evil stepmother played t
he concerned parent role well enough to win an award, but I could see through those glacial eyes. That bitch is cold as ice. She received the finger this morning. Wrath handled it personally. In a week she’ll turn over the photos and Jesus will be arrested. I’ll be sitting back with my girl watching it all go down then the real fun will begin, and that bitch Consuela will get hers. Wrath too.
“So, what’s the plan?”
I blink and turn my attention to Sybil.
“In due time, baby.”
She rolls her eyes. “Stop calling me baby or whatever other pet name you want to call me. My name is Sybil,” she hisses at me.
“I’ll call you whatever I damn well please and, sweetness, you’ll enjoy it. The plan is you sit your ass in this cabin for as long as shit takes.”
“Are you going to kill me? Cut other pieces of me off to keep as trophies or…” she trails off staring at the mantle. She gulps. I didn’t think it was possible for her to turn any paler, but her skin is ashen like snow. “Is that what I think it is?” She points to the jar holding the pig heart.
I chuckle. I forgot to throw it out. Wrath told me to do whatever I wanted with it. “It’s your heart.”
Her mouth opens and she has this adorably blank expression on her face. “My heart?”
“Yeah. I cut out right out of your chest,” I tease her, sensing it’s way too soon for that but unable to help myself from doing it.
She cradles her wounded hand, and I feel like shit for it but there was no other way. I could have taken a toe, but a pinky finger seemed ideal. Then Sybil does something completely unexpected and lifts the tee up over her breasts and studies her chest. “Cut out my heart, huh?” Her lips twitch and tug upward. She wants to laugh, but I can see her fighting the urge.
My gaze drops back to her perfect tits. Rolling the shirt back down her torso doesn’t deter my thoughts from how good her skin tasted in my mouth. It only makes me want her that much more.
“Right.” Picking up a book she ignores me and flips the front cover open.
“You finished?” I grab the food off the table.
She nods and I shove up to put it away for later.
When I turn back around from the fridge, she’s laying on her stomach, holding the book close to her face resting on her elbows. Her legs are bent upward, crossed at the ankles and my tee is bunched up at the small of her back, and I can’t look away from her bare ass.
I need to check my messages. I told her no phone only that was a lie.
My cell phone keeps vibrating in my back pocket making me wonder what’s going down. I could go into the bathroom and do it or drug her even, but I don’t want to put anymore shit in her system and make her fuckin’ addicted. I don’t want to leave her alone either. I can’t trust her not to do something stupid like try to escape when it’s pouring the rain outside.
I catch sight of my old man’s radio on a shelf in the kitchen. When I was a kid and we’d come up here on weekends it was always playing. Mom would hum around the kitchen and my dad would twirl her around and slap her on the butt when he thought I wasn’t paying attention. Shit was good back then.
That was back before Wrath and his betrayal. I know he took my father out. He went on a run and it turned bad. Guy turned on him and shot him dead. Pointblank. One bullet between the eyes. Wrath set him up. I know it. The rest of the club does too, but he has his hooks so deep in them all, no one is willing to take the bastard on. Only I am and I will. Death would be too easy for him. I have something worse than death in mind for that fucker.
I plug the radio into an outlet in the kitchen unable to stand the silence. I can’t believe it still works after all this time. I fiddle around with the tuner until I pick up a station. I don’t have any clue what type of music they play. It’s nothing but commercials. Everyone streams their music and shit now. Sybil seems interested in the novel she’s reading and is ignoring me completely.
The weather report plays, and I know I won’t be travelling anytime soon. We’re experiencing torrential rain and even though I’m a seasoned rider I’m not taking the risk. Not on these roads. I grab a beer from the fridge and wait for an opportunity to slip outside to check my phone. Sybil rolls to her back and shuts the book dropping it back to the table. I take a hard pull from the bottle and observe her as she shuffles around getting comfortable. She reminds me of a sleepy kitten, yawning while stretching her arms and legs out. Painkillers are taking effect.
By the time I finish my beer, her eyes have closed, and her breathing has evened out. I toss my bottle in the trash and drape the quilt on the back of the couch over her. I hang back for a minute or two to make sure she’s really sleeping then I step out onto the porch.
Taty – Call me. It’s important.
Need to speak to you.
It’s your Mother. She’s in the hospital.
Fucking hell. I wonder how she tried to do it this time. I love my mother, but I can’t deal with her shit right now on top of Sybil and keeping her safe. Her relapsing is the last thing I need right now. I know that I sound like a selfish prick, but I’ve been dealing with this since I was fourteen years old. Same shit different day with her. Shit is poison. It eats away at me. I don’t fear death. I fear being bat shit crazy like my mother. I pull a joint and lighter out of my back pocket needing to clear my head.
I take a hard drag and another as I stare at my phone. I power it off and tuck if back in my pocket. Sybil wouldn’t be able to unlock it if she got ahold of it but still, she might be able to get a good enough signal to use the emergency services dialer feature. I can’t take that chance. We both need to sit tight and wait.
Chapter 13
—Consuela
“Consuela, CNN is out front by the gate.”
“Of course.” I fake a sniffle and hold a tissue to my nose, rubbing it gently as to not rub off my makeup. “Invite them in. I’ll be down shortly. Show them to my private sitting room.”
“Will do.”
“Thank you, Heath. I appreciate you taking all of this on during such a hard time for me.”
He gives me a sad smile. “I’m glad Richard isn’t here for this. He’d be heartbroken.”
“Sybil was the apple of his eye.” I turn away mimicking the act of being on the verge of tears. Ding Dong the brat is gone. I smile once he exits the room and closes the door behind him. I need to prepare for the performance of a lifetime. I dab a tad more reddish-pink makeup on my nose to make it appear raw from how upset I’ve been. Giving myself a once over I push my girls up a smidge higher. I’m known for my beauty; I can’t be appearing anything other than my best for the camera. I squirt eye drops in my eyes and let them run down enough to show I’ve been crying. I am after all a devastated stepmother worried sick about her stepdaughter. I raised Sybil after Martina passed away and after the unfortunate incident with Richard. Heath was right this would break Richard’s heart, but I would have been there to pick up the pieces as I was there when he needed a mother for the brat in the first place.
Now they will all be together again. How special. Richard did love Sybil, but he loved her too much. I would catch him staring at her when she slept instead of coming to bed and lying next to me where he belonged. The way he doted on her was unhealthy. Disgusting really. A partner should come first. He married me however he was smitten with Martina’s mini me.
None of that matters any longer. Once they find her body, and the lawyers handle everything, everything will be mine as it should have been.
I descend down the stairway that overlooks the foyer.
Martina’s portrait used to hang along the wall watching over us all. I replaced it with one of my own. I wanted to relocate to a new home once we were married only Richard wouldn’t dare place the property on the market nor would he remove Sybil from the home she shared with her mother. I was always competing with her ghost. I pause outside of the sitting room I told Heath to show the reporter to. I smudge the makeup under my eyes a touch more and enter the room.
The silver haired man stands to greet me. I accept his hands and he air kisses both my cheeks. “Please, call me Consuela.”
“Of course.” He licks his thin lips and his sound guy gets a mic on me.
“I do wish we were meeting under better circumstances, Mr. Halford.”
“Call me Sam.” I nod and we get started. He asks me the basic questions. “When was the last time you saw or spoke with Sybil?”
“She was home a few weeks ago, but we always had brunch on Sundays to catch up at her favorite restaurant.”
“Is it true that they found blood and signs of a struggle at her apartment?”
“I can’t discuss that at this time.”
“Did a neighbor report hearing a scream late in the night?”
“I believe so. Yes.”
I answer what I can without jeopardizing the investigation.
“If Sybil were watching what now what would you say to her?”
“Stay strong, sweetheart. We are doing everything we can to bring you home.”
“You think she’s still alive?”
The camera closes up on my face. “A mother has to hold onto hope. Sybil’s a strong and resilient girl. She’s smart.” I sniff and dab at my eyes with my handkerchief.
“If you could send a message to her kidnapper what would you say to him or her…to them.”
“All I want is Sybil returned home. She’s all I have left in this cruel world. If it’s money I will spare no expense. Please let us know she’s okay and do the right thing. Let my girl come home.”
The moment he has all the shots he wants I pour myself a drink.
Part of me hopes she didn’t suffer too much in the end. The part of me that loved her once upon a time. I swirl my finger in the amber liquid and smile to myself. In due time I will have the house, the cars, the company.
It will all be mine.
Chapter 14
Snow White & The Biker Page 7