My fingernails clawing at his chest trying to cause enough damage he would be forced to drop me.
“So, my Selena has finally found her claws.” Law laughed softly before dropping his mouth to my ear, “Careful you might just find I like it.”
His words causing me to yank back my hands. The Law I had known would have never said anything like that. My mouth fell open jerking my head away to stare at his face.
“It seems the both of us will have to get reacquainted Ma Poupèe. My little doll has changed. I bet she never thought I would as well.”
His lips dipped down capturing mine before I could stop him. The kiss was quick. A mere brush of lips against mine but I felt it all the way to my soul. My poisonous, inky black soul needing the kiss like I needed air.
“I lost you not once but twice. I won’t lose you again. I was created in the dark. I will find you my il Mio Amore.”
He called me his love.
Then he stole me.
Chapter Thirty
The name was like a bullet to my brain, her sister’s name one I could never forget. She had been the girl I had refused to bring to Marcus. A fire had claimed the lives of her parents two years after she had gone missing. Her only relative, a sister, had been MIA at the time I found her no one having a clue what had happened to her. Paige Ward had simply vanished.
Squeezing my eyes shut, my thoughts turned fuzzy robbing me of my ability to think. My stomach clenching as my mouth went slack. I was officially out of words. The never -ending smartass machine had closed for business.
“Say something.” Case’s barely their voice shaking me from my trace.
I opened my mouth to answer her, praying for tact, wishing that my brain might have caught up with my mouth.
“I found your sister.” I blurted, the string of words the worst way possible to tell the girl you loved her dead sister was still alive. Fuck you, universe. Couldn't you have given something better than that?
Case’s face paled before stumbling from my grasp.
“My sister’s alive?” Case’s knees gave out, her body hitting the floor so fast I didn’t have time to catch her. Big fat tears burst from her eyes, rolling down her cheeks as her bottom lip trembled. Dropping to the floor beside her I once again found myself at a loss for words.
I couldn’t fuck this up for the second time. Case needed me to be that guy. The type of guy that would hold you up when everything stared crashing down. I hadn’t been him since my mother. Since I had climbed into her bed trying my best to fix black eyes, spilt lips, broken bones and anything else my father doled out. A boy should never have to see his mother be used as a punching bag being that guy nearly killed me.
*
My legs had given way, spilling on to the floor like freshly cracked eggs. My heart and soul spreading out, the contents far too thin putback. Like catching falling sand, or gathering the tide, I would only come back empty. Guilt eating at my mess, devouring everything until leaving me hollow. I had failed. All these years Finley had been alive, and I had given up on her, refusing to keep chasing her shadow around corners in the dark.
“Where is she?” I managed to ask the question, pushing the words past the lump in my throat and over the crashing beat of my heart.
“Where is she, Thorn?” My panic rising as desperation filled up my lungs. My arms aching for the chance to hold her.
“Tell me you know where she is.” My fingers fluttering, tapping a frantic rhythm as more tears broke free like rain. I didn’t know if they would ever stop.
Strong hands reaching out to take my face in their grasp as dark chocolate eyes locked on mine.
“I made sure to keep track of where she is. Marcus wasn’t the type of man who would give up easily. The only way I had to protect her was making sure I stayed one step ahead of him and could warn her if he got too close. I made sure she had everything she needed to be okay. I thought all her family was dead or missing. I couldn’t just drop her somewhere and walk away.”
I believed I knew the man I had fallen in love with, but Thorn Emery was still full of surprises. Not the small kind, flowers on a Sunday or a love note left on your pillow. His surprises were the kind that could repair a broken girl.
Thorn’s hands traced the sides of my face before falling to my shoulders. His arms slipping under me as he tucked me against his chest settling me back onto his lap.
Burying my face in his shoulder, I fell apart. Ugly sobs and gasps breaking the silence as Thorn remaining quiet as he rubbed my back in soft, slow circles. His touch became the only thing left to cling too.
*
“Case. I mean Paige,” I stuttered on the words not sure what name to call her.
“Don’t call me Paige. She died the day I left. I’m Case. I will always be your Case.” Her voice coming out muffled, her head still buried against my shoulder.
Case was mine. The declaration striking harder, burrowing in deeper. A slowly polished blade sinking into warm skin, curling up and becoming a permanent fixture in my soul.
“You are my hero Thorn Emery. My wise-cracking, dick-obsessed, sexy as fuck hero.” Case confessed as her tears stopped searching my face for whatever she saw in me. I didn’t know what the fuck it was, but I wasn’t going to question it. I was the luckiest bastard in the world. I had found love not once but twice. Maybe God’s restraining order had expired, and I was allowed within 25 feet again. I was sure I wasn’t forgiven for all my sins, but I had been granted an angel, and that had to count for something.
I should have known then it wouldn’t last. That an angel would never be allowed to be mine forever. The devil had my number, and he had come to collect. I had no choice. Walking away from Case was the only way she would be safe.
Chapter Thirty-One
“V I need your help.” I choked on the words not quite sure I could do this. Some fucking hero I turned out to be. Leaving Case with nothing but a fucking letter like some coward. Slipping out of her arms to find Val before I could stop myself. Before I turned back around running back to her bed so I could drag her close and let my stubborn heart have its way and refuse to give her up.
Val’s eyes found mine, the cool blue stopping me in my tracks. Val’s glare could make anyone feel like they were the main course for a starving lion.
I had to pull myself together. I couldn’t fall apart in front of V. The mighty king of Bound and Bared wasn’t the type to pull you close and offer a hug. Reaching inside I dragged up the smartass everyone knew so well. He was always my best defense.
“Can you turn down the high beams V? When you look at me like that, I’m sure if you are going to help me or eat me.” Throwing my body into the chair in front of his desk I kicked my feet up to land with a thud on his desk. A stapler went flying off the desk landing on the floor.
“Whoops. I hope that wasn’t your favorite.” I babbled.
A fist shot forward to shove my feet off the desk.
“Miranda got that one for me.” His blue eyes narrowing and I knew helping me wasn’t what he was leaning towards.
Jumping from the chair I picked the stapler off the floor, blowing on it before placing it gently back on the desk.
“I’ll just put this back where it belongs.” Giving stapler a soft pat I whispered, “There you go beautiful stapler. Uncle Thorn’s sorry.”
Val’s threw back his head in laughter.
“It was from Office Max. You should have seen your face. Fuck you must need my help. That stapler has never been complimented before. I can get you your own for Christmas if you’d like.” Val’s eyebrows wiggled. The thought of stapling that smug look on his face to the desk suddenly seemed appealing. Recalling why I needed his help had me sobering up instantly.
“What no comeback? Shit, this is serious. What do you need?”
I reached into my pocket pulling out my phone to slide it across the desk. Val read the text on the screen his eyes turning almost colorless, the blue fading into gray. V didn’t take threats w
ell.
“It won’t come to that V. I’m going to give him what he wants.” Sitting back down in the chair I hoped he wasn’t going to argue. I had made up my mind. It was either the people I loved or me. The choice was an easy one to make.
“The fuck you will princess. This man is going to kill you, Thorn. Slowly. Painfully. You might not care about that but I sure the hell do. I’ll think of something.” Val’s face flushed and I could almost hear his fist slamming against Francis’s ugly fucking face.
For a moment, I felt a little taller pulling in a deep breath my eyes momentarily damp. Val didn’t give it a second thought, ready and willing to stand beside no matter what. Val Knight was pure badass with a side of ruthless killer, but under it all, he had a heart. He wasn’t going to let me go without a fight, but the price he would pay was fat too high. I couldn’t ask him to pay it. I got myself into this mess, and I would be the one to pay everything I owed.
“Not this time V.” I said softly, “The deal’s done. I already agreed. It’s over my friend. I want to tell you thank you for putting up with me all these years.”
Val’s chair flew from under him crashing into the wall behind him. His hands gripping the desk until his knuckles turned white, jaw clenching as every muscle in his body grew rigid.
“Stop. Those are the goodbyes Thorn, and I’m don’t want to hear them. You aren’t saying anymore touchy feely shit because you aren’t going anywhere. You are going to have many more years of pissing me off.” Val said through clenched teeth.
Val didn’t take no well either.
I rose too, slowly and carefully, doing my best not to add fuel to Val’s not so thrilled reaction. I knew he wasn’t going to like it. Knowing him for the last three years had taught me Val wasn’t the type of guy to take no for an answer especially when it came to the people he cared about.
Dropping my head, I sighed. Heaviness settling over heart, my hand rubbing over chest attempting to ease the pain. “I love her Val. Don’t ask me to risk her to save myself. I won’t do it and neither would you if it was Miranda instead of Case.”
“Did you ask Case what she wants?” Val’s question sucker punched me, and I staggered backward.
“Would you?” I hissed, scrubbing a hand over my face
“No.” Val sighed before meeting my eyes. His hands falling from the desk as palms fell flat against the oak. His shoulders slumping forward and I knew the fight was over. I’d won. Not like the prize was anything to look forward to.
“What do you need princess?” Val’s voice still held an edge, a hint of something raw lurking within the tone. Pain at losing a friend.
Never caring about my fate until now, the past few years spent running towards death my constant companion, my shadow who was just buying his time. I had the sudden urge to punch death in his fucking face and try to make a break for it. Breaking Case’s heart, hearing the pain in my best friend’s voice was almost enough to stop me. No matter what I choose, I would leave broken things in my wake.
“Give this to Case.” Sliding a letter across the desk, Val took it without saying a thing.
“That’s it?” He asked after a moment.
Nodding sadly, I couldn’t stand goodbyes making it to the door before turning back around. Val Knight was my best friend.
“Try not to get shot again I’m not going to be around to save your sorry ass if you do. Thank you for sticking by my crazy ass all these years. Take care of the family V.”
Walking out I forced myself not to look back.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Rolling over I reached for Thorn and found space. I had fallen asleep in his arms too exhausted to think. My groggy brain having not the time to think about where Thorn had gone my thoughts interrupted by a knock at the door. Rising from the bed, I wrapped a sheet around me to discover Val waiting for me on the other side of the door.
“Thorn wanted me to give this to you.” Val’s fingers held out a white envelope. I responded slowly, my fingers hesitating to pluck the envelope from Val’s hand. As soon as it was in my possession, Val took off fleeing down the hall.
An ache formed in the back of my throat as my heart grew heavy. My fingers chilled as I lifted the lily-white paper from the envelope.
Thorn’s messy handwriting blurred as I struggled to swallow, the ache sliding down my throat and into my heart. The world around me closing in like a vice. I didn’t fight it. I didn’t cry. I let it take me as my eyes drifting to the bed. The same bed where just hours before I had been safe in his arms.
Thorn had told me how this would end.
My patchwork skin brutally ripped open at the seams, every stitch breaking free revealing nothing but hollow space Thorn left behind.
Thorn had put me back together.
Then he broke me.
Not with violence or nightmares. Instead, it was with kisses, and I love yous in the dark.
Sometimes the sweetest things are the deadliest.
*
“I must say I expected more of fight.” A mocking voice echoed in the tiny room as the man before I grinned showing off a set of perfectly gleaming white teeth.
All the better to eat you with, my mind whispered. I shuddered hoping whatever he planned to do to me didn’t involve anything to do with that man’s mouth.
Francis York was a man never wanted piss off, and I had done it not once but twice. Go me!
The small dark cell he had thrown me into had come complete with the previous occupant’s blood stains. The walls, the floor, fuck even the ceiling was splattered with dark crimson, turning the dull gray into a wash of reddish brown. I didn’t want to learn how it had ended up on the ceiling.
Francis’s looks were serial killer handsome. Dressed in a three-piece black suit his dark blue eyes and pale blonde hair could make some mistake him for a model. It was only when he smiled you caught a glimpse of what lurked inside.
Hitman. Assassin. Right-hand man of the devil. Take your pick. The boss he worked for didn’t get his hands dirty, so I was left at the mercy of his pet.
“How is Xavier doing? Still raping and murdering young girls in South America I take it?”
The skin under Francis’s eye twitched.
“He’s quite well. Thank you for asking Mr. Emery.” His voice rolled over me like tar. Hot, sticky and black. I wished my hands were free. A punch to the face would knock out some of those perfect teeth and would make my day about now.
Cold fingers captured my jaw, the grip painful and without mercy.
“Be careful with my face. The girls say it’s one of my best features.”
His hold tightening to near crushing strength.
“I forgot how annoying your mouth is. Gag him.”
A random goon pushed a foul rag into my mouth securing it behind my head. The scent sending my stomach recoiling highly doubting it had seen a washing machine recently.
Fuck a small of amount of fabric spray would do wonders. Cozy lilac would be better than road kill funk it had going on.
“I was rather disappointed you decided to come willingly. I would have loved to meet your friends. Pity you cared more about them than yourself. I have never understood self-sacrifice. Life is about clawing your way to the top and making sure you stay there. Did you know I had a brother? He was my parent’s favorite until the day he had a most unfortunate accident. I can still recall the sound of his voice as he begged for his life, telling me he loved me and that I was his brother. I told him he was nothing to me, just something in the way I needed to get rid of. His head made such a delicious sound when I smashed his skull in.”
Francis was one sick bastard. Still, he followed orders and the deal I made with Xavier would save the people I loved. I had earned the deal it by handing myself over. No matter what Francis did to me, it was worth it in the end.
A fist landed on my cheek, pain shooting through my face as my nose busted chanting a tune of pure agony in my brain. So far only a few things were broken, Francis preferrin
g to draw out the pain if possible. It’s not like I hadn’t been beaten before. Fists and punches were like kisses, but I knew the show was only just beginning.
A scream snapped my eyes open. A young girl stood a couple of feet from where I was strung up like a Thanksgiving Day turkey. I yanked at the chains as another scream tore through the room. The rag still stuffed inside my mouth but I tried shouting through the vile fabric.
“Is there something you would like to say, Mr. Emery?” Francis asked as his mouth twisted into a grin. He loved every minute of this fucked up show.
Francis stepped away from the girl to tug the rag free from my mouth. I swallowed, the inside of my mouth felt like cotton, the rag’s disgusting smell was now a taste lingering on my tongue.
“Don’t hurt her.” I croaked, every word setting my tender jaw on fire. Ignoring the pain, I focused on the girl in front of me. Dark hair limp and unwashed hung around her face hiding her eyes. Keeping her head down she refused to look anywhere but the blood-soaked floor.
“How sweet. Why don’t you introduce yourself, my dear?” Francis grabbed the girl by the nape of her neck, yanking her head back so I could see her face.
Terrified brown eyes met mine. The girl must have been new, her eyes holding fear instead of acceptance. Once they accepted their fate, they were nothing but broken dolls.
“Don’t be shy. Mr. Emery doesn’t bite, but I do. I won’t ask again.” He shook the girl hard, her body flying back and forth like a rag doll as she whimpered.
“I’m thirteen.” Her voice nothing but a whisper, her eyes becoming wet with fresh tears.
“Such a pretty girl, don’t you think Mr. Emery? Thirteen is a recent addition I was lucky enough to acquire. Do you know what she is best at?” Francis polished voice held nothing but cold fascination.
A push sent the girl to her knees, the crack of her knee caps hitting the cement floor causing me to gag.
“Don’t,” I growled, the sound coming out almost inhuman. Fighting the chains, I would break every bone trying to get myself free. Someone had to stop this. She was Selena. She was Miranda. She was my beautiful Case. I howled as the handcuffs around my wrists spilt my skin open in my desperate attempt to get free.
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