Amorevolous: (Savage Princess book 2)

by liberty freer

  “Anna? Do I need to give you an incentive?” Camden pulls his phone from his pocket and crouches down. “There are ways to hurt your sister without physically touching her. My brother can turn the whole school against her. She would be in hell and too self-sacrificing to leave.”

  I mumble, “I understand” but because of the gag, it’s inaudible.

  Camden pulls the gag from my mouth, and I flex my jaw. “What was that? Are you going to be a good girl?”

  “Yes,” I hiss.

  He unties my legs and then my arms. My body feels heavy as I shakily get to my feet. Camden doesn’t say anything about the urine as I walk out of the closet and move into the bathroom to shower.

  ***

  Camden laid out a short, dark blue dress that I slipped on after my shower. I’m wearing shorts under it. They don’t show, but they help me feel like I have some control. I was tempted to wear a shirt over the tight-fitting dress, but that would probably be pushing the limit.

  The pesky idea of offing myself flashes across my mind again. It’s hard not to grab the thought and give it more attention. I’m a survivor. I’m strong, determined, and able. I will find a way out of this.

  I walk into the living room where Alexander and Camden are talking quietly on the couch, and all the positivity I was trying to talk myself into is whipped away when Alexander’s eyes meet mine. I have never felt fear like this, but I’ve never been in a position like this either. I’m facing the man behind the curtain, and he’s pure evil.

  Camden pats his lap, his face emotionless but his eyes dare me to defy him. As usual, Camden has the upper hand. I grind my teeth as I sit, and Camden positions me so I’m face to face with his prick father on the cushion beside us.

  Alexander chuckles. “Graysen could have never tamed her. I knew she was a savage the first time I saw her, but Graysen wanted a chance.” He clicks his tongue. “Graysen isn’t as sadistic as you, son. No offense.”

  “I fuc—”

  Camden slaps his hand over my mouth, his fingertips digging into my skin. “Do you want to take away the only place your sister has left? Make her miserable, an outcast?” Camden whispers against my ear, his hand clamping down on my thigh and squeezing painfully hard.

  Keeping my mouth shut when Camden moves his hand from my mouth is one of the hardest things I’ll ever do. My whole body is wound tight. I’ve never been in a position where the stakes are so high. I never stood a chance to win.

  The feeling of defeat makes me want to lash out. If I’m going down, I want to bring everyone I hate with me. The realization that I’m going to end up doing something really stupid has a shiver slithering down my spine. I stare at Alexander with a look of absolute hatred as my chest rises and falls rapidly. Camden gently runs his hand up and down my back and it only adds to my fury.

  Alexander’s quiet as he takes me in. “She has too much fire in her. You’ll need to fully break her down, or she’ll be running all over you after the wedding.”

  Camden doesn’t immediately say anything, but when his father’s eyes slide to him, his hand stills on my back and he says, “Got it.”

  “Impregnating her quickly is in the best interest of everyone, Camden.”

  “I know,” Camden says, sounding aggravated.

  “If she’s anything like her mother, you’ll need to keep her on a tight leash, or she’ll be spreading her legs for anyone with a cock once she’s had a few drinks in her.” Alexander focuses on me, his head tilting slightly. “Or maybe she wouldn’t need the facade of alcohol to open up. I’ve seen the pictures of you online when you were Hayley Thompson. How you dressed like a whore.” He clicks his tongue. “Was the woman who adopted you a whore? She let you pierce your face. I’ve seen that little sister of yours too. I bet she’s going to follow in your footsteps. I bet she’s letting my son—”

  I surge forward, my fist swinging before I can think of the consequences. Alexander moves back but I still graze his chin with my fist. I attempt to do it again, but Alexander’s hand shoots out and smacks me so hard that I see a burst of white light. My head swings to the side, and I tumble to the floor.

  I hold my hand to the side of my face as my mouth fills with blood. I think my tooth cut the soft tissue on the inside of my cheek. The coppery tinge makes my stomach roll.

  Camden’s frozen, standing above me. After a moment, he reaches down to help me up, but Alexander stops him with a heavy hand on his shoulder.

  “The bitch still needs breaking. Maybe she’s not scared enough.” Straightening his blue tie, he glares down at me. “You will be a good wife to my son—”

  “You can’t expect me to keep my mouth shut when you’re bashing my fucking family!”

  “I do expect that. It’s what a good wife would do, keep her mouth shut. You fall in line or I’ll break your sister’s legs myself.”

  “You’re fucking sick,” I spit, holding back tears and trying to breathe. My chest feels like there’s a thousand pounds of pressure on it.

  “Dad, I—”

  Alexander whirls around to face Camden. “Impregnate her, Camden. She won’t be so rowdy with a baby in her belly, and a child from her ensures our family’s fortune.”

  “I know your reasons,” Camden grinds out, the muscle in his jaw jumping.

  Alexander jabs his finger into Camden’s chest. “This is your one shot to make up for being a good for nothing fuck-up. A disgrace to the family. You have your goddamn chance back as my eldest son. Take her cunt whether she wants it or not.” Alexander’s cold eyes land on me. “John hated the idea of an arranged marriage, especially with my family. I can’t wait until he finds out I’m taking away his daughter just like he took away what was mine.” He straightens his tie. “Go to your room and wait there for my son. I don’t want to see your face again until your wedding day.”

  Camden reaches down again to help me up, but I jerk away and get to my feet on my own despite my whole body shaking. I barely make it up the stairs, and when I make it to my room, I hug my knees to my chest in bed.

  Alexander is a heartless bastard. No wonder Camden’s so fucked-up. At least he looked sick when his dad talked about impregnating me. I don’t want a baby. They should see me with Liv. I suck at taking care of kids. But they probably don’t even care if I’m the one taking care of the kid. I’m just the baby maker and royal face to help advance their family.

  Nobody can force you into anything when you’re dead, my mind whispers. My face hurts like a motherfucker. I wish I had ice. I guess something good came from this. Camden and I are both going to be bruised for a while. No public outings.

  I startle when my bedroom door is pushed open. Camden tosses me a zip-lock bag filled with ice, and then eyes my face. We’re both quiet as we stare at each other. I still hate him, but I hate his father more. We all have bad and good in us. I’ve done horrible things in my life, but I’m not a horrible person. I saw the way Camden acted downstairs. He doesn’t agree with his dad. Why is he here?

  “He shouldn’t have hit you like that,” Camden says, stepping next to the bed. “He’s gone now. Him and Graysen.”

  I nod, my body stiff with anticipation because Camden looks on edge and the smell of whiskey lingers on his breath.

  “You know what we have to do.”

  My heart sinks.

  “Are you going to fight me? Do I need to call Aaron and have the consequences of your actions brought down on your sister?” He looks like he hates the world as he climbs onto the bed and forces himself between my legs.

  “I’ve seen the way your body reacts to me, Hayley. Can’t you just give in for tonight?” he pleads, taking my wrists and pinning them above my head.

  I don’t fight him yet. “I had a boyfriend like you, Camden. He was spontaneous and exciting. We would take little road trips to nowhere that would have us gone for days. He always found the best hiking trails and caves to explore. Everything with him was a rush.”

  Camden’s blue eyes are watery as he li
fts his chin to look at me in the eyes.

  “We also fought. Full-out brawling. It wasn’t pretty, and it would always end up with sex. Sometimes I would think I didn’t want it, but Toby knew how to work my body so that it did. My body always wanted it but sometimes my mind didn’t.”

  “Why are you telling me this?” he growls, releasing my wrists and sitting up between my legs.

  “Toby’s dad was a lot like yours. A piece of shit. He demeaned him, hit him, and humiliated him every chance he got. I think Toby believed he was the things his father said he was. Sometimes he was, but he also had a lot of good in him too. I saw it. I think you have good in you, Camden. I know you don’t want to do this. Don’t let your dad destroy you. Don’t become him.”

  “Of course you’d think I’d do this to please my father.” A dark laugh leaves him. “I’m not Graysen, baby. I don’t give a fuck about my father, not anymore, not for a very long time.” He jumps to his feet and pulls at his hair. “I don’t want to do this, any of this. You think I like hurting you or the people I once considered my family? You have no idea what my reasons are.” Backing away from me, he stares at me like I’m cursed, and then he storms out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

  Chapter 31

  I wake up the next morning with wet sheets from the ice pack that melted next to me after icing my face last night. I change out of my pajamas and into leggings and a tattered gray hoodie. Determined to get my freedom back, I head downstairs to John’s room. His door is unlocked, so I slip in and start where I left off, but a nagging feeling has me moving from his desk to open the top drawer of the filing cabinet. I reach into the back and grab the picture of the lady with the red nails. Nick never said if Aiden texted back. I close my eyes, trying to find old memories.

  The room is filled with people wearing blue jeans, but it’s too foggy to see above their long legs. It smells bad. Red nails squeeze my arm. Someone laughs loudly and then somebody else. I cry out when my toes are stepped on. I try to pull away, but the red nails dig deeper.

  My heart hammers, and I put the photo back, telling myself it means nothing. Every female has had red nails at some point in their life. I dig through each drawer until I find one labeled “medical.”

  It looks like Nora has always had some anxiety, but when I was taken, that led to PTSD, and it was downhill from there. Different doctors name different conditions like manic depression, borderline personality disorder, and schizophrenia.

  She’s attempted suicide twice, not long after I was taken and then when Liv was a year old. It looks like she was starting to get better after a three-month stay at a treatment facility, but it didn’t last long. Different medications are listed, but nothing like the dozens of pill bottles I saw in her room.

  “What are you doing in here?” Camden growls, stumbling into the room, eyes focused on me.

  I can smell the whiskey already. I put the folder back and shut the drawer before getting to my feet. He looks pissed. Maybe it’s because I know he has some good left in him. Maybe it’s because I saw the way his dad treated him.

  “Come here,” he snaps, and I do as he orders. “You think you know shit?” He smirks. “Baby girl, you don’t know anything about me.” His hand reaches out and strokes down my cheek and then moves to graze my collarbone. “My father said you’re not scared enough.” His fingers trail up until his hand is wrapped around my neck, but he’s not squeezing. He backs me up until I’m against the wall. “You’re scared, aren’t you?”

  He leans in and breathes me in and then runs his tongue down the faint bruise on the side of my face that his father left. I keep still. A drunk man is to be tread lightly around. Their emotions can change so abruptly you’ll feel like the wind has been knocked from your lungs.

  “Answer me, little one.”

  “I’m scared of you.” I don’t know if that’s a truth or a lie. I don’t want to fear him, but he’s capable of ruining everything in my life. How could I not be at least a little scared?

  “But you also find me attractive?” he asks, leaning in to smell my hair.

  I grind my teeth together as his hand moves from my neck to my waist. He tugs my hips forward so that I’m pressed against him. Keeping my head turned to the side, I don’t answer that question. My breaths are shallow as his finger skims the skin between the hoodie and my pants. His finger dips below the elastic, and I grab his wrist, bending it awkwardly.

  “Not scared enough.” He wraps his handaround my upper arm.

  It’s hard to keep up with his fast pace but I do because the alternative would be being dragged behind him. When he brings me to his room, I first notice the smell of whiskey and the almost empty bottle on his nightstand. He pulls me toward the closet, swings the door open, and pushes me in.

  “Clean up your mess.”

  There’s a bottle of cleaning spray and a pile of rags next to a very prominent stain. Camden steps back to lean against the bed, grabbing his bottle from the nightstand. He tips it back, eyes on me.

  I turn my back and get to my knees. The smell of old urine and lemon-scented cleaner is disgusting. I gag as I scrub. The rag soon becomes soiled, so I swap it out for another, and I repeat the process until I’ve used all the rags and the stain is almost unnoticeable.

  “Go wash your hands,” Camden says, slurring his words. “Then right back here.”

  Fucking cocksucker. I wash my hands and then walk back into the room, feeling anxious.

  Camden pulls my phone from his jeans pocket and wags it back and forth. “You haven’t been active online.” He hands me my phone. “Turn your camera setting to black and white.”

  I do and he pulls me against his side, setting the whiskey bottle down. He takes the phone from my hand and holds it up as he leans down, mostly blocking my face with his. His lips are centimeters from mine as he snaps a picture. He stares at the image on the screen for a moment before handing me the phone back.

  “Caption it ‘The love I have for him is endless’ and then post it.”

  I do what he says, hoping he’s done with me now.

  “Good girl. If you play by the rules, maybe you’ll make it out of this alive longer than I expected.”

  Camden sinks onto the bed, his head on the mattress and his feet on the floor. He confirmed what I was thinking, once I give him what his father wants, a baby, there will be no need for me. Camden’s chest rises and falls slowly, his eyes are shut and mouth slightly open. Clutching my phone, I back out of his room and slip into mine.

  I dial my sister, and she answers on the third ring. “Hayley?”

  “How are you?”

  “Aaron said you knew if I came home, they would hurt Dad. You were going to let them hurt Dad?”

  “If it meant you were safe, yes,” I say truthfully.

  “Oh my god. I can’t believe you would do that. That’s messed up, Hayley.”

  “Any father would make the same choice.”

  “I’m not weak or naïve. I can handle myself. What if the roles were reversed? What if I was told I had to marry Aaron, or they would hurt you? Would you want me to marry him?”

  “It’s not the same,” I say even though it kind of is.

  “It’s exactly the same. I’m telling you I’m fine.”

  “Is Nick with you?”

  “He’s at a hotel nearby. He looks rough, Hayley. Let him go back. There’s no point in him being here. Don’t do anything stupid because you think you’re protecting me. I can handle myself.”

  “Stay safe, Tilly. Don’t trust anyone but Nick.”

  I end the call and dial Nick. I had thirty-two missed calls from him.

  “Hayley.”

  His voice is rough and scratchy. My heart hurts for him, for us, and what could have been. “Hey.”

  He clears his throat. “You okay?”

  “Yeah,” I lie.

  I hear something that sounds like liquid sloshing and then he clears his throat. “I was thinking you should tell Aiden what’s go
ing on.”

  “I can’t. He would complicate things. Nora said—”

  “Fuck what Nora said. She’s not even there. Things are out of control and—”

  “And there’s nothing Aiden can do,” I say in aggravation. “I either find something on Nora or I marry Camden.”

  “You’re not marrying Camden.”

  “Are you prepared to drag my sister out of England against her will?” Silence. I never thought I’d be the type to sacrifice myself for another, but here I am. “Life doesn’t always work out the way we want. We have to make the best of what it is.”

  “What the fuck is that Hallmark bullshit? You’re a fighter. Get the fuck up and make life your bitch. You hear me?”

  “Yeah,” I mumble.

  “Has something happened? Has Camden touched you?”

  “No, and he’s not going to. Thank you for staying with my sister.”

  “I wish you wouldn’t ask me to.” A pause and then, “How’d you find out about the day you were taken?”

  “Camden told me, but damn, Nick, don’t feel guilty. You were a child. I don’t blame you. I shouldn’t have made you think I did.”

  “Logically, I know that, but I remember my thought process. I didn’t like you. You were always getting in the way when Aiden and I were playing. I knew something was wrong. I could have snuck around the back to alert someone, but I fucking hid. I was scared, and I made Aiden stay with me when he wanted to get help.”

  “I’m glad you made him stay. Maybe we both would have been taken if you hadn’t.”

  “Graysen told me his dad showed up.”

  I scoff. “I had an up-close and personal experience with him. He’s a huge asshole.”

  “What the fuck does that mean?”

  “Uh… he was just... bossy and loud.”

  “Alexander Anderson is fucking evil. I wouldn’t put anything past him. Camden spent summers with us to get away from that prick.”