by Eden Summers
Oh, God.
“No,” I scream as Robert swings me around, not pausing a beat before he shoots in the direction of the demand, hitting a man in the chest.
The shock on the stranger’s face, along with the sickening jolt of his body, shoves me straight into the horror of my past. All of it comes rushing back—the helplessness, the torture. It suffocates me. It’s impossible to breathe.
“You piece of shit.” I lash out, smacking and punching as his grip tightens in my hair. “You fucking monster.”
“There’s my pretty Penny,” he taunts. “It’s good to see you’ve still got fight left in you, because all Abi did was cry like a little bitch.”
I scream, pummeling his chest, scratching at his face until he reefs me along beside him, storming for the silver sedan behind us, the hood and windshield peppered with bullets.
People scramble to safety in the distance. Some frantically talk on their cells. Others flee the scene.
There are so many witnesses. So many potential casualties to my demise.
“Quit fighting.” Robert tugs me harder, making me stumble. “It’s time to get out of here.”
I don’t stop punching at him as he drags me toward the car and over the driver’s dead body lying on the asphalt, a gaping head wound sending bile rocketing up my throat.
I gag. Choke.
Robert doesn’t care. He continues to yank me along at his side before reaching into the driver’s side of the vehicle to pop the trunk.
Oh, God, no.
I increase my struggle, clawing and scratching like an animal. Hitting. Kicking.
People call out from their hiding places, pointlessly threatening him to stop.
“The police are on the way.”
“I’ve got a gun. Let her go or I’ll shoot.”
They won’t take him down. And the police won’t get here in time.
I’m going to die at the hands of a rapist. Just like I knew I always would.
“Get in.” He releases my hair when we reach the back of the car, and pulls the trunk open. “Hurry up. I don’t want to have to damage that pretty face any more than it already is.”
The sight before me makes me wither. I stare down at my new prison, the dirty carpeted interior seeming more of a sanctuary since it will be away from his touch. But it’s only the start. The deceptive prelude.
“Come on, pretty Penny.” He leans close, his breath making me shudder as he whispers, “It’s my turn to have you now. Didn’t I tell you you’d be mine?”
Yes, he did. And I’d believed him.
With everything inside me I knew it was true.
It was Luca who made me forget. He temporarily distracted me from my future. From my fate.
“Get in.” Robert shoves me with force. “Protesting won’t save you, but it will permanently destroy your beautiful face.”
“Fuck you.” I stand my ground.
“Have it your way.” He lunges for my legs, hauling me off the ground to topple me into the trunk.
Metal collides with my hip, sending shooting pain around my waist, and I cry out as my head hits the dirty interior. Neither impact stops me from scrambling to my hands and knees.
“Don’t even try it.” Robert pulls his gun on me and I freeze. “That’s a good girl.” He looms over me with a leering smile. “You wouldn’t believe how easy it was to get to you. How fucking simple when I had someone on the inside. And I can’t wait to tell you my plans for the future, but for now, enjoy the ride.” He shoots me a wink and reaches to close the trunk.
I quickly duck, missing another impact to the head as he locks me inside the darkened space.
As soon as his footsteps recede, I scramble to get a textural hold on my surroundings, panic overwhelming me.
I slide my palms over everything, searching for an end in the carpet to pull upward in the hopes of finding something beneath. But I can’t lift the floor when my weight already rests on top of it. I can’t even slide my fingers into the cavity below to search for a jack or any sort of tool.
A door slams. The engine growls to life.
I fight tears as the car moves forward, the pace increasing. Sirens wail in the distance and I set my gliding hands in search of the tail lights. I rip at the upholstery, tugging and tugging until my fingers scream in protest.
The more I rip and yank, the faster the car accelerates, sliding me around the trunk with each of Robert’s sharp turns.
I begin to pray for a vehicle collision. That this psychotic asshole will wrap us around a pole, because death by his hands would be better than a life under his fists, but then the red illumination of the tail lights seeps through, the glimpse of light in the darkness giving me hope.
I squeeze my fist into the opening. Tug at the wires. Thump at the warm metal at the back of the light. I thump and thump and thump as I’m thrown around the small space like a doll. I swear I’m about to break through, and that the anticipation has increased the static in my ear to drown out the sirens. Until I realize I can still hear the rumble of tires against gravel. The low hum of the radio.
Oh, God.
The wail of cop cars trails in the distance. Robert must have lost them.
I’m on my own.
I fight back panic as the vehicle turns and turns again, then slows… stops… The grumble of a garage door grates from right outside my spacious coffin.
Wherever we are is still in Portland. Maybe even suburbia. But far from the police that previously gave me hope. Now there’s only resignation as I slide back into the woman I once was. The victim. The slave.
From hell to salvation and back again. All in the blink of an eye.
I’d been so happy this morning. Despite the trials and tribulations, I’d breathed freely, yet I took it for granted for too long. I hadn’t embraced the gift of reclaimed life. I’d refused to grasp it in both hands.
Maybe that’s why this has happened.
Maybe my lack of gratitude has brought me full circle.
I shouldn’t have held back in telling Luca how I felt. He deserved to know he was everything to me. Not just a savior or a protector. He was my hope. My future. My life.
The trunk opens and Robert greets me with his smirk still firmly in place.
“We’re here, milady.” He reclaims my hair, making me scramble as he drags me out of the car to my feet.
I don’t let a hint of fear escape. Not one glimmer of sadness or anger.
I lock everything inside, taking on the painful build of adrenaline.
He wants me to be scared of him, so I won’t.
He wants me to feel helpless, so I refuse.
“Where are we?” I take in everything within the limited restriction of my view as he continues to grasp my hair.
The three-car garage is empty apart from the vehicle he stole. It’s pristine, too—the floors polished, the storage shelves in perfect order. Either the owner of this house has OCD, or they have cleaning staff.
“This is a temporary pitstop.” He drags me toward a door across the far side of the room. “I’ve got a few things to take care of before we can return home.”
Home.
The word chokes through me.
“You can’t be serious.” I stumble as he tugs me harder, opening the door with a harsh kick. “Greece will be the first place they look for me.”
“They?” He laughs. “There won’t be anyone left behind to look.” His hand pinches tighter as he drags me down a darkened hall, the inside of the house smelling like death. It’s putrid, the vile scent bringing a gag-inducing taste to my mouth.
“You’ll get used to it.” He yanks me harder, past art on the walls, beneath high ceilings, along plush carpet.
I attempt to cover my nose and mouth as I stumble, only to have my arm fall to my side at the sight of a woman lying face down on the carpet.
“Watch out for the old girl. She’s resting.” Robert keeps pulling me. “Her dog is, too.”
Up ahead, a large Golden Retr
iever blocks the path, its limbs stiff.
I can’t hold the bile in any longer. I retch, the meagre contents of my stomach falling a few feet from the dead bodies.
“You need to toughen up, pretty Penny. You never used to be this weak.”
He gives my hair one long, hard yank then shoves me away as he flicks on a light, exposing a gleaming white foyer with a staircase bordering both walls. The picture-perfect scene brings a whiplashed contrast from the darkened death and destruction.
“Go on.” He jerks the barrel of his gun at me. “Get upstairs.”
I can’t move. Can’t think.
Back in Greece, Robert was a monster. He tortured my sisters, raped them, and tormented me. But he was leashed. Luther held him in check.
Now he’s a free agent. Willing and capable to cause unimaginable horror. And I don’t know how to effectively fight against it.
“Don’t worry about Mavis, my love.” He jabs me in the shoulder blade with the gun. “You wouldn’t have liked the old bitch.”
All the air shudders from my lungs.
I know where I am. With heartbreaking dread, I know exactly who the elderly woman is.
“You just figured it out, didn’t you?” He snickers. “Surprise. I’ve been watching you.” He jabs the gun again, this time into my stomach, making me grunt. “Now you’re going to watch me.”
I backtrack, heading toward the staircase. “Watch you do what?”
“Kill everyone who betrayed Luther.”
Blinding panic overcomes me as I walk without thought. I’m too focused on trying to force myself to think, but nothing comes.
I can’t run. Can’t hide.
I need to fight. I just don’t know how.
We reach the top of the staircase and he shoves me left into a darkened bedroom with the moonlight spilling through the open curtains.
“Take a look at the view,” he taunts. “It’s spectacular.”
I don’t move. I don’t want to see.
“Look,” he demands, digging the gun into the back of my skull.
He won’t kill me, not yet. But I comply regardless, not wanting the little strength I have left to be beaten from my body.
I approach the window to stare down at Cole’s yard.
Even though I anticipated the sight, the reality stabs through my chest like jagged glass.
The illuminated empty living room is right there. The place where I spoke to Luca outside this morning is in clear view.
Robert approaches, settling in behind me, his arm wrapping around my waist. “I watched you with another man,” he growls in my ear. “I saw him place his hands on something that’s mine. Do you understand how that made me feel?”
I close my eyes and force myself to remember that moment. The bliss. The warmth.
Luca is always the light in the darkness. The protection in the face of my fears. I can’t forget the strength he’s given me.
“I got a front row seat to the way you looked at him,” he snarls. “That’s why it’s important you watch what comes next.”
“You won’t kill him,” I whisper. “He’s smarter than you.”
“Really? You don’t think I’ve taken the time to prepared to take down your SEAL? I killed Abi and got away with it. You should’ve seen her, all meek and vulnerable in her childhood bed. With her parents close by, she didn’t dare to raise her voice to me. It was all tears and whispered pleas as I slit her wrists. She made it so fucking easy to creep out of there unnoticed. I would’ve done the same with Nina, but I needed a little more excitement. I decided to shoot that bitch instead.”
I sink my teeth into my lower lip, battling the need to release the screaming voices inside my head. To kick. To attack. I bite until I taste blood and bile. I clench my fists until I’ve gained enough control to turn in his grip and face him.
“But you failed.” I hold his gaze, his nose bare inches from mine. “You didn’t kill Nina and now she’s more protected than ever.”
His eyes narrow. “Bullshit.”
I smile through the hatred. “Luther would be disappointed in you.”
There’s a second of hesitation. A small bite of stillness before he lashes out, grabbing my throat in a choking grip.
I grasp at his wrist, attempting to break the hold as I struggle for air. I can’t remember what to do. There’s no memory of what Luca taught me before I’m shoved backward into the window.
“Don’t worry, Pen. I’ll fix my mistake. I might even make you join in.”
I gasp for breath as footsteps creep down the hall, alerting me to another threat. I tilt my head, trying to get a gauge on this second enemy that lurks in the darkness.
“That’s right. I’m not alone.” He grins. “And I have the best leverage to take down everyone responsible for ruining my life.”
“You’re wrong. I’m not a big enough draw card to pull anyone into a trap.”
“I agree. You’re worthless.” He bridges the space between us, pulling me close to kiss my jaw, my cheek, making my skin crawl. “That’s why I made sure I had something far greater than a whore to make them fall to their knees.”
“Like what?”
“You’ll find out.” There’s confidence in his gaze, a gleaming assurance capable of sending a shiver down my spine. “For now, let’s get you down to the kitchen.”
He clasps a hand around my wrist, his grip directly above the leather cuff I’d completely forgotten.
I release a sob at my failure.
After everything Luca taught me, I couldn’t break from a choke hold, and didn’t even remember my weapon. Nothing has changed. I’m just as careless and ignorant as when I was first taken.
The only difference is that I now refuse to give up. I won’t let him win when he plans to hurt Luca.
I’d give my life for the man who saved me.
My soul.
“Come on.” He tugs me toward the door. “I have a fresh length of rope that’s going to look perfect against your skin.”
31
Luca
Torian keeps his weapon trained between Benji’s eyes. “I can stay like this for however long necessary. We all know as soon as one of the guards watching this block stumbles upon the asshole with a gun to my head, they’ll take you out.”
He’s right. I’ve been lucky so far but that luck will soon run out. “He’s my brother. He’s yours, too.”
“He’s no brother of mine.”
Benji raises his hands in surrender. “There’s no excuse for what I’ve done. But let me explain. Let me tell you why.”
“I know why. Money. For fucking pieces of paper, you greedy shit.”
“Torian, I’ve had enough. I’m done here.” Hunter lowers his weapon and walks to Benji’s side. “We can’t do this. Not out in the open. We have to move this somewhere else.”
Torian doesn’t budge.
“I’m serious,” Hunter growls. “You’re angry. And for good reason. But whatever’s going on in that head of yours can’t happen in a public place. You also need to give him a fair hearing. If Layla—”
“Leave her out of this,” he snaps.
Layla lets out another sob. “I’ll never forgive you, Cole.”
“You’ll never forgive me?” he roars. “Are you kidding?”
She flinches, then hikes her chin and straightens her shoulders. “Stella will never forgive you. Keira will never forgive you.” She adds strength to her tone. “Luca and Hunter and Decker will never forgive you.”
He doesn’t respond. He just stands there. Weapon pointed. Finger on the trigger.
“I’m lowering my gun, too.” Decker points his barrel to the sky as it descends. “We can discuss this with civility. Stella deserves that much.”
Still, there’s no movement from Torian. Not a flinch or loosening of his posture.
I keep my aim on the back of his head, the weight of this situation becoming heavier through the quiet.
I’ll never get away with killing him. I w
ouldn’t want to anyway.
One bullet would steal everything I have.
I built a life with these assholes. I found a semblance of home.
“I’m lowering my weapon.” I stare at Benji, hoping these aren’t our last moments together. “We’re going to do this the right way.”
Torian scoffs. “You trust I won’t kill your brother, then shoot you, too?”
No, I don’t. This could be suicide. But I have to put faith in everything we’ve been through. I have to trust I’ve earned enough of his respect to grant Benji a hearing.
“We’re family. And families fuck up sometimes.” I lower my gun, my heart pounding at the vulnerability as I place it back in my waistband. “You can’t expect any of us to be perfect.”
Torian swings around, removing the threat from my brother to place the barrel against my chest. “I can expect whatever the fuck I want.”
I hold his gaze, glare for glare. “You’re a smart man, but you’re not thinking straight. Don’t let a knee-jerk reaction destroy your family.”
His lip curls, his weapon digging further into me.
“I risked my life for you in Greece,” I add. “And I’d do it again. You know me. You know Benji. He fucked up; that’s all.”
Torian breathes out a laugh. “This is just a fuck-up?”
“He’ll pay a price. A heavy one, I’m sure. But you can’t kill Stella’s father. You can’t kill your own brother.”
He steps close, snarling. “I ensured the death of my own father. This piece of shit will mean nothing in comparison.”
I don’t bite. Not when he’s begging for me to engage.
He wants a fight, and I won’t give it to him.
“Come on.” Hunt steps close. “Go back inside. We’ll take care of this later.”
Torian smiles, slow and brutal. “We’re not done here.” He places his gun inside his suit jacket. “As soon as the party is over I’m dealing with this.” He levels Hunter with a stare. “Keep an eye on Benji.” He doesn’t wait for a response before stalking for the stairs, pulling the door wide to disappear inside.
There’s a collective sigh of relief. A sniffle from Layla. A curse from Decker.
“Well, that’s definitely not what I expected when I set out to fuck my fiancée in the parking lot,” Hunt drawls.