by James, Gemma
As I dragged myself back to the cot, I blinked to stave off the threat of tears, but they slid down my cool cheeks anyway. I would allow myself this moment, because when Zach was around, I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of my tears.
Seconds slipped past. Minutes and hours of utter aloneness, clinging to my last fraying thread of hope. Even after all of these years, I still couldn’t wrap my head around what made Zach tick. Evil was a pervasive entity, crawling across the earth in search of a willing host—a susceptible lost soul that not only welcomed such darkness but embraced it.
Zach had been infiltrated, a breeding ground for evil in its purest form. It had been quietly growing inside of him for years.
Maybe he’d been born with it.
I placed a hand over my belly. Would my baby come into the world innocent like most people believed infants were born? Or would it be tainted by an unavoidable defect of humankind? I wanted to protect my child from everything, but at this point, I was struggling just to keep the both of us safe from my brother.
Brother.
Funny, how my mind slipped up sometimes, reverting for a split second to the time when I’d considered Zach family. But family didn’t hurt each other the way Zach had hurt me.
The way he’d hurt me again.
There was no if, only when.
When he busted through that door and bent me to the breaking point. When he got what he wanted from me. The last time I’d been at his mercy, my hopelessness had saved me. Two slits down my forearms to end it all. In a weird twist of fate, trying to take my own life had saved me.
But that wouldn’t be an option this time, no matter how much Zach hurt and degraded me. No matter the level of my desperation.
I had too much to live for, and that was all the leverage he needed.
2. OUT FOR BLOOD
Rafe
I left her there.
I fucking left her with Zach.
Panic rose, worsened by the stifling hood Shelton’s goons had put over my head after we left the island. Through gritted teeth, I tested the metal cuffs binding my hands to no avail.
It’d been minutes.
It’d been hours.
Fuck, I had no idea how long I’d been in this damn vehicle. I only knew that each mile took me further away from Alex.
“Where the fuck are you taking me?”
More silence.
Shelton’s goons hadn’t acknowledged a single question, let alone offered an answer. And I knew they wouldn’t, but that didn’t stop me from hounding them at every turn.
The vehicle veered left and bounced over rough ground. Wherever they were taking me, it was off the well-beaten path. A couple minutes later, the car hit another pothole, slowed, then came to an abrupt stop. The men on either side of me stirred, doors opened, and then they ordered me out of the vehicle. Blindly, I scooted my ass across the leather seat and stood, bare feet sinking into the cool, damp grass. A breeze blew across my chest, carrying a hint of the ocean to my nostrils.
At least now I had a good idea of the location.
Shelton Briggs owned an estate a few miles inland of the coastline, in addition to a number of other properties scattered throughout the area. Some he used for the fights, like the barn Jax had burned down last winter so Alex and I could escape.
Others, I knew, he kept for more nefarious purposes.
Two hands pushed me into motion, accompanied by a gruff “get moving.” They ushered me through an endless field of grass that reached above the knee before we climbed a set of wooden steps. Keys jingled, a door squeaked open, hinges beyond needing oiled. Then we were moving again, navigating what felt like a narrow hallway on uneven floorboards.
More hinges squeaked, and someone shoved me forward before yanking the hood off my head. My lids flickered as the windowless room came into focus. The space was no bigger than a prison cell. I spied a twin mattress on the worn plank flooring and nothing else. Above me, shackles hung from a sturdy beam.
A cocktail of dread and deja vu twisted in my gut, but unlike last year when Perrone’s assholes had taken Alex and me, I wasn’t drugged this time. I straightened my spine, body strung tight, ready to fight and defend, even without the full use of my hands.
“Don’t do anything stupid,” one of Shelton’s escorts said, sounding bored. He and the other men stood between the door and me, giving off a vibe of nonchalance. Because the fuckers had leverage, and even if I did overpower the three of them, that still didn’t solve the issue of my son.
“Where’s the boy?” I demanded, matching the guy’s apathetic tone as I dusted off my black pants. The less significance I put on my relationship with William, nonexistent as it was, the better. I was his father, and that gave them enough leverage as it was—they sure as hell didn’t need to know how terrified I was for my son’s safety.
“The kid is fine,” the guy on the right said. He was built with a couple inches on me. His blond hair was cropped short, and something about the way he stood straight as a pillar screamed ex-military. He pointed at me, a no-nonsense line transforming his lips. “Sit tight. Boss will be here in a bit.”
I gritted my teeth as the three of them filed out of the room. The heavy wooden door slammed shut, and a lock clanked into place, giving off the sound of finality. I didn’t do patience well, especially under these circumstances. Leaning against the far wall with nothing to do but wait, I fisted my shackled hands.
That’s when my wedding band caught the faint light coming from the single bulb in the ceiling. A band of despair wound around my heart like a vise, squeezing the life from it. This time yesterday, I was preparing to marry the love of my life. My mind dove off the deep end, straight into the happiest fucking memories of my existence.
The way Alex had watched me as she’d walked down the aisle in that sexy-as-hell white dress. The joy of her smile during the exchanging of vows. The trust in her jade eyes later that night when she’d bared her ass to Jax’s paddle as her mouth sucked my cock down her delicate throat.
Then I imagined her horror-filled expression when she awoke and realized I’d left her alone to fend off Zach. Bitter anger stung my eyes. Intense self-hatred.
How could I have left her?
Blinking away the burgeoning sting, I tried to come up with an answer but failed. I had no fucking clue how I’d been capable of walking away knowing she was asleep upstairs, content in the illusion of safety while Zach lay in wait.
The chaos in my head overflowed. Shelton’s holding cell and its isolation was going to drive me mad. Every thought and fear amplified, sharpening with sickening clarity. I saw Zach putting his hands on her, forcing her legs apart, beating her. Glorifying in her pleas for help that would never come.
Holy fuck, I was going to be sick. I sank to my haunches and hung my head, breathing deep and even, counting each breath until the vomit in my throat receded. But there was no way I could ignore how dire of a situation I’d left her in. I recalled Alex’s frail state after she’d escaped Zach the first time, when I’d found her in that hospital bed, alone and broken.
No, never broken.
I’d been the one broken, my mind fractured and void of memories. Even after I left her in that hospital, she’d still had the strength to break free of her father and Zach. She’d been brave, facing her phobia of water long enough to cross a river and knock on my door, despite believing I didn’t give two fucks about her.
She’d get through this.
She had to fucking get through this.
With a groan, I squeezed my eyes shut. She shouldn’t have to get through this.
Not again.
When would I stop letting her down?
No answers, and no fucking way out. I stared at the door, willing it to disappear. Willing this solitary room to fade, to be replaced with the cabin on the island and Alex next to me, naked and warm and safe in bed.
But this wasn’t a nightmare.
This was real fucking life, and I had to be smart. Until
I found out what Shelton wanted, I needed to keep my cool. As if my thoughts had summoned the devil himself, Shelton pushed the door open.
“Good to see you again.”
“Can’t say I share the same sentiment,” I said, lifting my shackled hands. “Seeing as how you’ve got me in cuffs.”
Shelton nodded toward his men. “Let him go. He won’t be a problem.”
One of the goons scrambled to follow the order. Afterward, I pushed away from the wall, hands at my sides, no longer bound by metal, and glared at the guy responsible for fucking up my honeymoon. Several seconds passed as we sized each other up. He was no less intimating than I remembered. Beefy inked arms, same shrewd gaze. Shelton was the epitome of brutality.
I was angry enough to take him, even with the same three men who’d brought me in waiting at the threshold as backup. It took every last ounce of my self-control not to lunge for him.
“Why am I here?”
“You’re here because I want you here.” He waved a hand around the windowless room. “Are you not happy with the accommodations?”
“Cut the shit, Shelton. Why the fuck am I here?”
His casual nonchalance faded. “You cost me a fortune the night you blew out of town and left my barn in flames.”
I should have known that mess would come back to bite me in the ass. “You didn’t have to bring Alex into it.”
“Do you think the men I answer to gave me the same courtesy?” He raised a brow, but I already knew the question was a rhetorical one. “They beat the shit out of my old lady. She was in the hospital for three goddamn months.” He paused long enough for his statement to percolate. “So I’m sure you understand why I had to bring Alex into this. Fair is fair.”
“An eye for an eye, is that it?”
“Something like that.”
“Zach won’t just put her in the hospital. He’ll break her.”
A smile curved Shelton’s lips, and a chill traveled down my backside. “I know exactly what De Luca junior wants with your whore.”
The rage festering inside me boiled over. My feet ate up the space between us, and I clutched him by the throat, lifting until he was on his toes. “I will kill you for this.”
His men lurched forward, but Shelton’s voice halted them, strong despite my hold. “Stay back!” His devious eyes focused on me and nothing else, and the fact that he wasn’t shaking in my grip pissed me off more. “He won’t hurt me,” he told his goons, and then he smiled in my face. “We have something he wants.”
William.
The fight bled from my soul until my fingers lost strength, and Shelton slipped free. Clearing his throat, he adjusted his collar. “You’re in no position to hand out threats. I’ve got you cornered from all sides.”
The truth had never seared so much. “What do you want?”
“That’s the question you should have started with.” He paused, and each beat passed with significance. The dread in my stomach grew as he exchanged meaningful glances with his guys. “We’re anticipating a hell of a payday around here, aren’t we, boys?”
I studied him, and the next few seconds slithered by with lethal intent as it started to sink in. “You want me to fight in the cage.”
“Oh, not just any fight. I want what you promised. What my business associates paid good money to see, but instead were sent home empty-handed after you disappeared and left me to clean up the goddamn mess.”
He wanted a death match. Shit. He was out for blood. Literally.
“Bring Zach back. I’ll gladly kill him in the cage.” I wouldn’t hesitate to put him down—just like the rabid dog he was.
Shelton tsked. “That opportunity has come and gone. De Luca junior earned his life…and his piece of ass. Something you could have done,” he said, pointing a finger at me, “if you’d stuck around to do right by me and mine.” He narrowed the space between us until we stood nearly nose-to-nose. “But you will fight, and you will win.”
“And if I don’t?”
“Your son pays the price.” He jabbed a finger into my chest. “I own you now, Mason.”
3. GAME ON
Alex
I couldn’t breathe.
A groan rumbled on my lips. I tried swallowing, but my mouth felt hot and dry and rough as sandpaper. I forced my eyes open, blinking against the pitch-black, and rolled to my side on the thin cot. Sliding my feet to the concrete floor, I braced for the coolness under my heels, but it didn’t come.
The floor was neither hot nor cold—just different from how I remembered it before I’d drifted into a fitful sleep.
But something was definitely…off.
It was too hot in the cellar, the air too heavily weighted. Too thick to breathe easily. I stumbled through the blackness to the sink, working my thick tongue against the roof of my mouth. I was so damned parched that I could practically taste the refreshing liquid on my tongue. My stomach cramped from lack of food, and water was the best I could do at the moment, so when I switched on the faucet and nothing happened, I almost cried. I tried again and again, but the pipes refused to spit out what I thirsted for.
With a desperate groan, I slumped to the floor. Sweat trickled down my back, crawled between my breasts, and each breath sawed in and out with too much effort. I placed my palms on my warm cheeks as frustration burned by eyes.
Goddamn him.
Zach was trying to sweat me out. I had no way of telling time down here, but if I had to guess, I figured I’d slept the night away in restless fits, drifting in and out of consciousness. I was going on thirty-six hours without food, and now the heat made the environment suffocating.
How much longer would I be able to hold out?
And even if I did give in and tell him where the key was, it wouldn’t help me now. Not with Rafe gone and the key around his neck. Jax was the only person who had a spare.
Footsteps sounded above, and I tilted my head, listening as those heavy, purposeful stomps landed on the floor, bringing Zach across the room. Thirty seconds later, the lock on the cellar door clicked over, and he flipped on the light.
I blinked against the sudden brightness as he made his way down the stairs, bringing a hint of a breeze with him. I bit my lip, swallowing a groan. What I wouldn’t give to wrap my feverish skin in that breeze. My eyes adjusted to the light, and I found Zach loitering on the other side of the bars, a smug grin tugging at his lips.
“Good morning,” he said, confirming my guess at the time. “You look a little dehydrated.”
“I’m fine,” I ground through gritted teeth. A blatant lie—one he undoubtedly saw through—but I wasn’t about to let him win this game. I’d hang onto my pride for as long as I could.
Rafe would come back soon. He had to. If not him, then Jax would return.
Just fucking hold on, Alex.
With a snicker, Zach wrapped his fingers around the bars. “Did you know the cellar has its own thermostat?”
Refusing to engage, I bit my tongue to stay quiet.
He let out a snicker. “You really think you’re gonna win this standoff?”
I glared at him. “What do you want?”
“Oh, that’s a loaded question, baby.”
“I already told you. I don’t know where the fucking key is.”
“Even if I did believe you, there are plenty of other ways to pass the time.” His sharp, hazel gaze lowered to my lips. “Until I get my hands on that key, I’ll settle for a good mouth-fuck.”
My stomach revolted at the thought. “Never!”
“You think you’re hungry and thirsty now?” My stomach chose that moment to impart an obnoxious growl, and Zach answered with a knowing smirk. “I’ll have you begging to suck my cock by this time tomorrow.”
“Don’t hold your breath.”
He let out an indulgent laugh that chilled my blood, and despite the sweltering heat coming through the vents, I shivered.
“You know what these past few months have taught me?” He paused a beat as if t
o wait for my answer. “Patience, Lex.”
“Good thing time is running out for you then.”
Another laugh, followed by the easy pace of his meandering footsteps. “Still holding out for a rescue, are you?”
“Jax will come back eventually.”
He faltered in front me again with only a few feet and inescapable bars separating us. “I guess I should’ve told you this sooner.” He let several seconds pass—just long enough to ratchet my heartbeat with dread. “Jax sent a text to Rafe’s phone saying he’s staying clear of the island for the next few weeks.” His voice flit through the air, eerily calm and triumphant. “No one’s coming for you, so you might as well tell me where the goddamn key is.”
“Go to hell.”
“It feels a bit like hell down here, doesn’t it?” His feet shuffled against the concrete. “Maybe you need some more time to consider your lack of options.”
The heavy thud of his shoes carried him up the stairs, and a few seconds later, the light shut off. The blackness seemed to spin around me, and my heart pounded behind my breastbone.
Because it was starting to sink in.
Help wasn’t coming. Not in enough time, anyway. He’d either breach the door to the prison, or I’d lose the last of my self respect in order to survive these bars. But there was only so much he could do to me from the other side of them. Wrapping my arms around my knees, I made a vow to be strong.
I would survive this. Rafe and I would both survive this. Two people shouldn’t have to be so strong, shouldn’t have to fight so hard for happiness, but we would despite the distance between us and the impossible circumstances. Despite the apparent curse hanging over our heads. I had faith we’d make it through.
I thought back to the hours we’d spent together on our wedding night. The way he’d made love to me in our bed for the first time as husband and wife. The light of hope and love in his green eyes. The way he looked at me.
God, the way he looked at me would stay with me until I took my last breath. Those precious hours were the happiest of my life, and that made the memory of them now slice so much deeper.