“Paul?” I stood and tapped him on the shoulder. “Did. You. Know?”
“I did.” His attention focused on Forest, not me.
“And?”
“And Forest belongs to him. They have a debt to settle between them.”
“A debt?” I pointed at Forest. “You call that paying a debt?”
“I call it the beginning.”
“The beginning of what?”
“The beginning of the rest of his life.”
“And you’ll do what? Watch it happen? Join in on the fun? Participate in the gang bang? What exactly are you going to do?”
Paul’s lips thinned into a hard line.
“And if he kills Forest?”
“Mr. Snowden’s not ready to kill him.” Paul fixed his hard stare on me, leaving the rest of what he might have said unfinished.
But I understood. Snowden wasn’t ready to kill Forest…not yet. He had his pound of flesh to take first, and then he’d dispose of Forest. I would be included in that.
“I refuse to accept that.”
“I wouldn’t suggest that you do. Mr. Snowden enjoys a challenge. The moment you break is the moment he wins. Don’t underestimate how much pleasure that gives him.”
“I don’t even know what that means.”
He leaned closer. “It means take care of Forest and don’t let him fall.”
I didn’t know how to respond to that.
“Hand me a washcloth.”
There wasn’t one in the shower, which meant Paul had to get one. While he did that, I crouched beside Forest again. I took his hand in mine and held it to my cheek.
“We’re going to get through this. I promise.” I’d never broken a promise before and said a quiet prayer that this wouldn’t be the first time.
When Paul returned, he helped me clean Forest. He handed me the soap, and I washed Forest head to toe. When we finished, I did my best to dry Forest until Paul shooed me out of the way. He hoisted Forest back over his shoulder and took him to the bedroom. Paul placed Forest on the bed with far more care than I expected.
He works for Snowden.
This had to be a part of Snowden’s plan. Maybe like a good cop, bad cop scenario?
Before I could change out of my wet bra and panties, or think to turn the sheets down, Paul tucked Forest in. With his eye on me, he bent down, placed his lips over Forest’s forehead, and kissed him.
He retreated to the doorway and flipped out the light.
“He needs the arms of someone who loves him, someone soft to ease his pain. Tomorrow will be worse.”
“Worse than today?”
Paul didn’t answer.
I crawled into bed and wrapped my body around his, reverse spooning him. He drew his knees to his chest.
“I’m here.”
“Sara…” His groggy voice reached out to me, but that was it. Between one breath and the next, he fell fast asleep.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Forest
Sara's concern for me ate at my heart. I was barely keeping my shit together and had nothing left to give her.
I slept like the dead and woke with my entire body aching. There wasn't a single square inch that had avoided Snowden's violation. I'd passed out several times. I'd pushed through and past exhaustion more times than I could count. My endurance had been tested until I failed.
How I got back in bed was a mystery. I remembered nothing but woke naked and clean. No residue—blood or otherwise—remained.
How had she managed to get me clean?
Paul had to have helped. I cringed with what that implied.
A soft knock interrupted my thoughts.
"Awake?" Paul's imposing form filled the doorway. He wore a pair of black boxer briefs and nothing else.
My gaze roamed the expanse of his tight, toned body with more interest than wise. Unable to help myself, I ached to run my hands over the sculpted muscle of his body and explore the ridges of definition beneath his skin. There were other things, insane things I craved. Those I forced deep into the recesses of my mind.
"What's it to you?" I swallowed my attraction and searched for anger to fill in its place.
"I heard noises and came to check." The bastard seemed genuinely concerned. "I wanted to see if you needed anything."
"I gotta piss." Slowly, I extricated myself from the bed, careful not to wake Sara.
Paul didn't move until I drew closer. His musky scent flooded my senses along with that odd electric charge, which crackled between us. He shifted, turning his body minimally, which forced me to push past him.
It was a show of dominance and hell if I didn't respond with an aching hunger. His hand whipped out and grabbed my arm, holding me in place.
"What the fuck?" I tried to jerk free, but he drew close until our chests bumped together.
"Your girl is something special. Don't antagonize Mr. Snowden, or he will hurt her."
"Do you have any idea what I endured yesterday, not antagonizing him?"
I'd groveled and begged. I barely survived Snowden's psychopathic rampage. My body had been violated in more ways than I cared to remember as I acquiesced to his every demand.
"One slip on your part, and you know exactly what'll happen."
"And you care about her, why?"
"I'm not a monster, asshole. She doesn't deserve this; if you slip, and he goes after her, I'm going to kill you."
"You're going to kill me?"
"I'll make you wish you were dead."
"Why do you care?"
Wrapped in the sheets, Sara's soft, delicate features looked peaceful.
My angel.
"She cares about you. That makes her mine to protect." He placed his finger on my breastbone and pressed hard. "Don't fuck up."
I was going to fuck up. It was a foregone conclusion, but why did Paul care? What was going on between him and Sara? Not having the emotional capacity to broach that subject, I shifted to a more pressing question.
"Did you help her last night?"
"Help how?" He arched a brow.
"Clean me up."
"How do you know she didn't help me?" His smug expression pissed me off.
"Are you saying you would have?" I gave him a look and walked away. Stopping at the doorway to the bathroom, I pointed. "You're putting the door back up."
"No closed doors." Paul crossed his arms, defying me.
"Sara deserves privacy. If you need to watch me piss and take a crap, then go ahead. I won't close the door if that's what you need, but that goes back on." I pointed to the door again. "For her."
"You're not in charge."
"And here I thought you'd say something lame like I'm not the boss of you."
"You're not." The corners of his mouth ticked up. “No man is, and that’s how I like it. Once you get your head out of your ass, you’ll understand."
"You sound just like him. No wonder you and Snowden get along so well. As for you and me? I don't know who the fuck you think you are, but that kind of respect is earned. As long as I'm a prisoner? As long as Sara's life is at risk? You'll get nothing from me. Now, are you gonna watch me piss?"
"I have no interest in watching you take a leak."
"Then get out of my fucking way." I stomped into the bathroom and relieved myself.
When I finished washing up, Paul had the door. "You want to help me put this back up?"
"What happened to being the one in charge?"
"It's about compromise. I give a little. You give a little."
"And what exactly do you think I'm going to give you?"
"Everything."
"Keep dreaming." I hoisted the door into place, holding it while Paul fit the pins in place.
His cell phone buzzed. When he pulled it out of his pocket, he gave a low curse.
"What's wrong?" My lips turned up in a smirk.
"Damn thing isn't holding a charge."
"Did you plug it in?"
His look could cut steel, and I held back
a laugh.
"It's been plugged in all night and is only at thirty percent."
"You probably have a bunch of apps draining the battery."
"Hasn't been a problem before."
"Maybe the charging cord is corroded?"
"And you're some expert."
This brought a genuine laugh. It felt surprisingly good, but I would have to watch Paul. He had a way of making me lower my defenses.
"You do know what I do for a living?"
"Right, you're a damn tech genius. Doesn't mean you know shit about cell phones."
"I know quite a bit about them. If you want, I can look at the cord, troubleshoot it for you. I'm certain Snowden won't be happy if he can't get a hold of you."
Paul rubbed the back of his neck and squinted at me. "No funny business?"
"Funny business?"
"You're not going to fuck up my phone or anything, are you?"
"Not at all. In fact, I insist you watch." I plopped down on the couch and held my hand out.
Paul looked unsure, but I gave a little flex of my fingers, urging him to trust me. When he handed his phone over, I barely suppressed my surprise.
Sara woke a few minutes later. Making her way into the room, she paused at the door and glanced at me on the couch and Paul hovering behind me.
"And this will help?" Paul asked.
"You need a new phone. This one is past its prime. That's why it's slow and why the battery isn't holding a charge."
"Wasn't slow until recently." In my peripheral vision, Paul raked his fingers through his wavy auburn hair. I held back a groan because I had a fucking hard-on for my fucking guard.
My attention shifted to Sara. Her brows pinched together as she watched us. I understood her confusion. Instead of being at each other's throats, we were having a normal conversation.
While Paul watched Sara, my fingers danced across the screen. Give me electronics and no mere mortal could keep up with me.
"Good morning, Miss Sara." Paul abandoned me and walked toward her. "Can I get you a coffee?"
"No, thanks," she said." I'm not a coffee drinker."
"What do you drink?" He joined her in the small kitchenette. "We can stock the kitchen as needed."
Like this was our fucking home and stocking the kitchen made any sense. I expected Sara to keep her distance from Paul, but she didn't turn away when he drew closer. He was entirely too attentive, something I would care more about if I hadn't been busy with his phone.
Chapter Thirty
Sara
I left Forest alone with Paul, excusing myself for a little privacy in the bathroom. I wasn’t going to ask about the odd scene between them or the fact that the door was back on its hinges. Instead of prowling around each other, looking for opportunities to attack, they appeared almost relaxed as if they’d come to some kind of truce.
What the hell were we going to do?
Impossible didn’t begin to describe our situation.
A soft knock sounded. “Sara?” Forest’s deep rumble extended the lifeline I needed to reel in my desperation. I swiped at the tears which had fallen and glanced at my reflection and practiced a smile. “Can I come in?”
“Yes, of course.”
He closed the door behind him, and we stared at each other for half a second before he held his arms out.
I launched into his embrace and placed my cheek against his chest. He wrapped me tight, and we stood there for what seemed like forever.
“How’re you holding up, angel?”
I glanced up at him. “Angel?”
“It’s what I call you in my head. You’re my angel.” He spoke the words reverently. “My guiding light.”
Of course, he would have a pet name for me. If only I’d known how he felt years ago. We’d wasted so much time.
“I like it.”
I had no pet name for him. He’d always been just Forest, sometimes Boss when he annoyed me.
He lifted my chin, tipping my face to meet his guarded expression.
How was he holding up?
How did he feel?
What happened to him in that room?
“I should be asking how you’re doing.” I pressed my palm over his heart. The steady lub-dub anchored me. I could almost forget we were prisoners of a madman.
“I’d rather you didn’t.” His reply came too fast.
“Why?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
I ached for him to open up, but understood. How did I convince him it didn’t matter? Nothing could change how I felt about him. My greatest fear was he would grow distant because of what Snowden did to him. All I could do was wait for him to open up when he could.
But really? If I was a man, would I want my girlfriend to know the details about my rape?
I didn’t have an easy answer to that.
When I’d been abused, there had been so much shame associated with the entire experience. The blame I placed on myself, believing I had somehow asked for it, or deserved it, or worse, had taken years to process.
My adoptive parents tried sending me to shrinks, but they eventually understood I would deal with the trauma on my own time.
Forest had to feel something similar.
“Snowden will be here soon.” A resigned acceptance filled his tone. “He left you alone yesterday because he was preoccupied with me, but that will change. You need to be ready.”
My heart clenched, thinking about that room with all the torture devices in it.
“What did you mean by be ready?”
“Let’s hop in the shower. We don’t have long before he’s here.”
The last time we’d been in the shower, we’d stolen time and wrapped ourselves in a protective bubble where we could forget why we were here. We’d found each other and revealed feelings for each other we’d both kept buried.
This felt different.
Bruises, welts, and cuts marred his flesh. I wanted to reach out, comfort him, but sensed this wasn’t the time.
He took no time in wrapping his massive frame around me. We stood under the spray from the shower while he simply held me.
Our connection stirred between us, a melding of mind and body. We weren’t going to have sex—the limited kind we could share—but that didn’t mean we didn’t fit together like a lock and key.
I waited for him to speak. That was Forest’s way. He thought things through a hundred different ways before revealing his thoughts in an economy of words; short staccato bursts I was left to interpret.
“I need you to do something for me,” he said.
“Anything.”
“Don’t you want to know what it is first?”
“Doesn’t matter. I’d do anything for you.”
His body stiffened then he slowly relaxed.
“You’re pretty incredible, Sara Brenerkie.”
“I think the same about you, Forest Summers.”
Why were we using our full names? We were developing our language as a couple, nuances in the words we used, which communicated far more than the words themselves.
I felt his love tunnel deep into my heart, where it curled up and settled in.
“Snowden takes everything. He won’t be satisfied having only me. You’re my executive assistant. If he doesn’t own you in some fashion, then he hasn’t won.”
“I don’t understand.”
“He’s going to put you to work.”
“How?”
“Not sure. It may be as his secretary or as his servant. It may be both.”
A shiver rippled down my spine. The thought of serving that man sickened me.
“How do you do it? How do you…” We weren’t supposed to talk about it, but I couldn’t help but ask.
“Because I’ll do whatever it takes to protect you. That’s the only way this works.”
I glanced up at him. His arctic gaze turned down on me. So much pain simmered behind those eyes. He wasn’t sharing what had happened for a reason.
How could he be so strong?
If it weren’t for me, he wouldn’t be in this situation at all.
I bit my lip and buried those thoughts deep down inside of me. Forest wasn’t good at reading human emotions, but he wasn’t an idiot. He understood.
“You need to do whatever he says, be the perfect secretary. Anticipate his needs like you did mine. Go over and above to do a good job. And above all else, don’t try to protect me.”
“How can you ask me to do that?” I could play my part, be Snowden’s secretary, but going above and beyond? Or worse, ignoring what Snowden did to him.
“I need him to trust you. He needs to watch all hope die in your eyes.”
“I’m really confused.”
Forest placed his hands on my cheeks and tipped my head back until we were looking at each other.
“We’re in this for the long haul. There are things in play that need time to work. I need you to understand we’re not getting out of here.”
“What about rescue?”
Xavier had to be working on something. Not to mention, Forest had groomed Mitzy into a cyber-tech genius. They had to be searching for us. All we had to do was get the word out to them. Tell them where we were, what they would face. Forest had special ops teams who were trained in hostage rescue.
“If I can sneak out a message—”
“You’ll do no such thing.” His reply was terse and brooked no room for discussion. “Promise me.”
“Forest, if I can get him to trust me, I can—”
“You do that, and we both die. I need you to trust me.” He practically begged.
“But we have everything at our disposal. Xavier has—”
“Promise me.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Trust me. It may not make sense, and I can’t explain, but I need you to do this. Work for Snowden. Resist at first, he’ll expect that, but slowly he needs to know that he’s winning. He needs you to serve him as I do.”
My eyes widened, and terror shot through my body.
Forest realized his mistake and hugged me tightly. “Oh, not like that. Shit, that’s not what I meant. I swear that man will never touch you.”
“Then what do you mean?”
“He needs to know you’ll do anything to make my life easier, but also that you won’t interfere with what he does to me. Does that make sense?”
Forest's Fall (Captive Hearts Book 3) Page 24