Loyal Cheaters (Cheaters #2)

by Lacey Silks

  “What the fuck is he getting ready for?” Axel asked.

  “I don’t know, but I don’t want to wait to find out.”

  If Zoey wasn’t there, this could be one uncomfortable conversation… which could end fatally. I was trespassing, and Harper wasn’t a person to let something like that slide.

  Hugging the wall, I shuffled over to the next window. A girl younger than Zoey was sitting on the couch with Zack. It wasn’t Zoey.

  “Ace, over here.” Axel drew my attention to the small basement window. I crouched down and froze. Her clothes from last night were at the side, and with her back toward us, Zoey was sitting in a chair, naked, with her hands bound behind her back and her head slouched forward. Her legs were spread apart, each foot fastened to the side, and her mouth gagged.

  Chapter 24

  Zoey

  I woke up groggy. The curtains were drawn over the windows, letting minimal sun through. I looked around the room, confused, because I couldn’t remember it. It had been late when I fell asleep last night, but I could have sworn that it wasn’t in this room. I sat up and wiped my eyes. Madison was covered with a blanket, and her feet were stretched out on a lounge chair. I made my way over to her and lightly tugged at her arm.

  “Hi.” She woke smiling. “Are you feeling any better?”

  She had a weird look on her face, as if she wanted to say more but couldn’t.

  “What do mean?” I knew I’d been tired last night, and upset as well, but our conversation had ended on an upbeat note. “Madison, where am I? I don’t remember this.”

  She sat up. “Everything will be okay now. My boyfriend said he could help you too. He promised I’ll never have to be with any Infinity member again. I heard a rumor that girls are removing their trackers and leaving the city.”

  “Madison, is this your boyfriend’s house?” I asked.

  “No, not exactly.”

  I had a bad feeling in my stomach. The richness of this place didn’t feel right. Velvety cushions covered the sofa I’d just got up from. The texture of the rug underneath my feet was heavy, and the décor was richer than what I’d seen at the Wagner penthouse at the Plaza hotel.

  “Where are we? Please… you need to tell me.”

  There were two sets of doors in the room, and I stood up and walked to the first one. When the handle didn’t budge, I felt my heart rate increase.

  “This does not feel like a safe place, Madison.”

  For the first time since I woke, I saw concern flash in her eyes. “It wasn’t locked earlier. Try the other one.”

  I almost tripped over the rug running to the other door, but no luck. Next were the windows. I pulled the drapes aside. The sun was still quite low. Vast land of manicured lawn stretched until the edge of the forest. To the right, there was another house, although it looked as if it were a continuation of this house, like a wing. How huge was it? That’s when I saw a fountain right in the middle of the property, surrounded by bushes and clumps of flowers. I’d seen this place before, but couldn’t remember when.

  “You don’t know where we are either, do you?” I asked.

  “No, but it will all be okay.”

  “Look. I just woke up in a strange place, and I have no idea how I got here. I’m sorry if I’m being a bit skeptical about the goodness of your boyfriend’s heart. How did I get here and not know it?” I asked.

  “He said you would be afraid and wouldn’t listen on your own. The tea… well, it had a soothing herbal extract.”

  “You drugged me?”

  “Zoey, this is to help you. I promise. He wouldn’t do anything to harm me and the baby, and when I told him about you he said he could help both of us if I listened.”

  Tears were streaming down Madison’s face. I didn’t want her upset. Neither she nor the baby needed this right now. She was still young and naïve, and while I wanted to believe that her boyfriend had good intentions, his being an Infinity member flushed his credibility right down the toilet. I had to first figure out where we were and who we were up against. From the looks of this luxurious room, whoever owned this house had money. Lots of money.

  Don’t panic yet. Maybe Madison’s boyfriend was rich with resources. He had to be rich to be an Infinity member, after all. But something in my chest disagreed. Alarms were going off in my head, and I couldn’t stop any of them. I had that gut feeling that things were worse than I had anticipated. My anxiety was rising. I should have stayed with Ace. No matter what, I should have been at his side, even when he was being an asshole.

  “Okay, let’s give your boyfriend the benefit of the doubt. Why would he lock us up? What’s his name, anyway?”

  “Zack. His name is Zack.”

  As my brain began working overtime, the sound of a lock twisting jolted our gazes toward the far door.

  No fucking way!

  I just stood there with my mouth open as my father walked through. A bulky man stepped in behind him and blocked the entrance. It might have been years since I’d seen him, but you can’t really forget your father’s face — ever.

  “Hello, Zoey.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding me.” I looked from my father to Madison, putting the first few pieces of the puzzle together. My father might have made some money, but there was no way in hell he had enough to sustain this kind of living.

  “You know each other? I’m sorry. I should have assumed there was a possibility because Zack was a member for a few years before we met.” Madison walked over to my father and kissed him on his lips.

  Gross! Did she even know how old he was?

  “We do know each other, but not the way you think.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “He didn’t tell you he had two estranged daughters, did he?”

  “Zoey’s your daughter?”

  “I wanted to do this differently, Zoey. But Ace didn’t give me a choice.”

  “What?” When had he seen Ace? How did he even know about him?

  “But you can help her too, can’t you?”

  “Shut up for one moment, please!” I didn’t mean to yell, but there was so much going on in my head that if I didn’t get a chance to think in peace, I was afraid my brain would explode and leave a gooey red pattern all over this white-fitted room.

  “Don’t speak to her that way.”

  “Why, because she’s carrying your child? How sick is that? And you’re a member. Regular cheating wasn’t enough for you?”

  “You’re an employee of the same company.”

  “Don’t fucking judge me because you don’t know shit!”

  “I know that I offered Ace a fair deal, and he went back on it. All I wanted was to see you, and neither he nor your mother would give me your address.”

  “So, what? You kidnap me?”

  “That’s not all.”

  Of course it wasn’t.

  “Infinity has gone down, but I had debts to pay before I could ever be free.”

  “What do I have to do with this?”

  “I need to protect my child.” He rubbed Madison’s belly.

  But I’m your daughter! I wanted to yell. He must have gotten the hint from my somber face.

  “You’re a woman who can make choices for herself, and you made the wrong one by joining this club. I can’t do anything about that. I tried, I really did. But things aren’t as simple as I’d like them to be.”

  “Since this obviously isn’t your house, where am I, Zack? What have you done?”

  The bulky bouncer stepped aside just as the lock turned again.

  When Craig Harper walked through the door, I felt my knees buckle and I fainted.

  * * *

  I opened my eyes to a familiar smirk.

  Shit!

  “Hello, Zoey. I can honestly say that I didn’t think I’d see you again after the trouble you put me through.”

  Madison was no longer in the room, and I wondered how much Harper knew. My father was sitting in a corner chair, his gaze darting from Harper to me. My hands were b
ound behind my back and shackles were fastened to my feet.

  “I’m not sure I know what you’re talking about.”

  “Don’t fucking patronize me, bitch! You’re the only one that could have done it because I don’t remember shit after I fucked your mouth.”

  Except he didn’t, but I wasn’t about to tell him that.

  “Sir, I’m sorry, but I thought you enjoyed our night.”

  He took a few long strides toward me, grasped my chin in his palm, and squeezed it tight. I thought he’d remove my jaw right then.

  “I should just slit your throat right now.”

  “Harper!” my father yelled. “We had a deal.”

  “I know and I’ll honor it. But this bitch is going to pay.”

  I wondered what kind of deal my father had made with this devil.

  “You cost me millions, and my lawyers are fucking grateful to you because I just paid them five years’ worth of salary to get me out of this shit. It will take time to rebuild the business, but have faith that I will.”

  “Just what kind of deal did you make?” I aimed the question at my father, through my tight lips.

  “Oh, you don’t know that daddy’s been privy to my whores for over a decade now, do you? Some of them don’t come cheap, and he ran up quite a debt. When he told me he’d bring in Julia to sign, it was supposed to be half-paid. By your sister’s luck, she was attacked and you took over the debt.”

  “You sold your own daughter out?”

  “I didn’t have a choice.”

  There was always a choice when children were concerned. I would sell my soul before I let harm come to not only my child, but any child.

  “Now I understand why it’s so easy for you to do this. You never loved us. You’re not worthy to be called a father. And that’s the main difference between us, Zack. I would die before I let my child be hurt. You don’t deserve to have Madison’s baby.”

  “I’m protecting my child, Zoey. The unborn one who can’t make decisions and will have a full-time mother. Madison’s contract will be canceled. I have to do this for her.”

  For her? What about me? What about Julia? Part of me was happy for Madison and another part was furious with my father. He loved his unborn child more than he loved Julia or me.

  “Get the fuck up.” Harper came closer. “It’s time for your daddy’s debt to be paid.”

  “You said you wouldn’t hurt her.”

  “You’ve been with Infinity long enough to know what’s coming her way.”

  I didn’t like the sound of that any more than I did Craig’s stinky breath. His strong fingers grasped my arm and he pushed me forward. Something inside me told me that this was one of the last times I’d see my father. His eyes held fear and uncertainty. I hoped that if there was any guilt left in that man, that it would eat him up from the inside out.

  Once we were out the door, one of the security guards tied a blindfold around my eyes and led me down a set of stairs. His grip on my arm was so tight, my skin felt bruised within seconds. At one point, I tripped and fell a few steps, twisting my ankle and hitting my thigh on the corner of what felt like a table. Thankfully there were less than three steps left to go and the fall, although awkward, wasn’t hard.

  This room was bright behind the blindfold. We walked a few more steps before darkness set in again. As I walked, waiting for the shade to change, I was beginning to doubt whether I would see daylight again. Would I ever see Ace? Was he even worried about me, or had I pushed him too far? It didn’t matter now. I felt like my hours were numbered. If I ever got a chance to take my shot at Craig, though, I would. We stopped for a moment and someone jabbed a needle into my arm.

  The click of a lock echoed in my ears and I felt shivers run through my body. Before the blindfold came off, something cold touched my shoulder.

  Scissors.

  Someone cut through the fabric.

  Snap.

  Then the other side and my dress fell to the ground, leaving me in my bra and panties. I heard the door open and lock again, as my blindfold was removed. My head felt fuzzy, and I wondered what they drugged me with.

  I was standing in a basement room. The only piece of furniture was a chair and a table to the side with ropes, floggers, butt plugs, dildos, and other sex-toys. Despite the small window with horizontal bars, I felt like I’d just been shoved into that box I dreamt about: an exit-less box where I’d be forever tortured. Everything went in and out of focus.

  I crossed my arms over my chest.

  “Stand straight,” Craig ordered. He came to my side and cut the back strap of my strapless bra and the sides of my panties, shedding the last pieces of cloth from me. Pleased, he stepped away.

  This is my chance.

  I grabbed his arm and reached for the scissors. If I could only get a hold of them, I would stab him over and over again until he couldn’t move, and then I’d run. I imagined slamming through all those bodyguards and taking down the walls as if I were the Hulk, and I wondered what was in that injection. My muscles felt like goo. I dug my fingers and nails into Craig’s skin. My one hand finally grasped the scissors. The pointy blade cut into my skin as he pulled them out of my grip.

  “You bitch!”

  Somehow my palm landed on his face and I tried to push my fingers into his eye as I bit his arm. But he was much stronger than I was, bending my hand with ease, almost to the breaking point, and then he hit the side of my face. I felt a gash open on my cheek. He shoved me to the chair and in a few swift moves, tied my arms behind it.

  His breaths were heavy from the struggle, and if there were a perfect example of pissed, it was Craig’s face.

  “By the time I’m done with you, sweetheart, no one will ever feel your pussy again.” His promise sounded so real, I was certain that this was the last room I would ever see.

  “I’ll torture you a little first. I want to hear all those whimpers and pleas for your life until you have no more strength to beg anymore.”

  Then my feet were tied to each side of the chair, spreading me wide open. He grabbed both my thighs and squeezed them tight, his hands grazing closer and closer to my sex… and then his phone buzzed.

  Craig reached into his pocket, swore, and turned for the door. He then stuck a piece of fabric in my mouth and took the blindfold I had over my eyes, tying it around my mouth.

  “I won’t be long,” he said.

  As soon as the door closed, I broke down. Exhausted from the fight, I cried until I couldn’t find any more tears.

  Chapter 25

  Ace

  Thank God, Axel stopped me from running around the front to get to Zoey as fast as I could. They would have shredded me with bullets before I got to the front door.

  “Ace, we can’t do this on our own.”

  “I don’t have a choice. I love that girl.” I pointed to the window. “I will not stay here and watch her get raped by fucking Harper.”

  “Remember what Father said? If you’re going in, do it smart.”

  I didn’t have time to be smart, but pulled out my phone and texted Emma to send back up to Harper’s house.

  “How the fuck do we get in?”

  “Pool house,” Axel pointed. “Keep your back against the wall.”

  We hid between the bushes by the house, sneaking from one to another until we reached the pool house, which was connected to the main house. Axel removed his shirt, pressed it against the glass pane of the door, and lightly tapped the window. It cracked, and piece by piece, we dislodged the glass, making as little noise as possible. Soon enough we were in the mansion. I had no time to pay attention to how hard my heart was pounding in my chest or to wonder whether Zoey was still alone. Room by room, we drew closer to the basement entrance guarded by a buff security guy.

  “Fuck!” I swore under my breath.

  “You go get that girl and save her, no matter what.” Axel squeezed my shoulder.

  “Where are you going?”

  “To create a distraction.
See you on the other side.”

  I wanted to say thanks, but it got stuck in my throat. I hoped my brother knew how much I appreciated his help. He disappeared, and moments later I heard something clatter upstairs.

  How the fuck did he get up there?

  This house must have multiple staircases, but it didn’t matter now. The security guard’s head flew up. He reached for his gun and headed toward the noise, leaving the entrance to the basement open.

  Trekking lightly on my feet, I hurried down stairs.

  I was in stealth mode.

  Invisible.

  A ghost.

  There was nothing out of the ordinary; only a giant games room with pool, poker, and football tables. Looking at the dimensions, while the room was grand, it definitely didn’t span the full width and length of the mansion.

  I took a moment to orient myself and turned to the right. The room Zoey must have been in was to the east. I moved toward that wall and smoothed my hand over the wallpaper. When my hand came over an invisible button, I pushed it, and the wall slid to the left, creating an opening. Pointing my gun ahead, I squeezed through and followed the narrow path.

  The dimly lit hallway had velvety carpeting and rows of doors on each side. I opened one set of doors. A young girl, maybe eighteen, was sleeping on a mattress.

  Fucking bastard!

  One by one, I pulled on the handles. Shackled women with bloodshot eyes jumped up, each one quietly. Each whimper of fear I heard wrapped itself around my heart as the scope of what Harper had done sank in deeper and deeper. I counted the steps it would take to get to the one I’d seen Zoey in, and I finally stopped.