My breath gets stuck in my throat when I see my brother chained to the far wall. A black mask covers his eyes. His arms are up above his head secured with black straps. His legs spread eagle also secured by the black straps. And next to him in the very same position is Vaughn. They both wear nothing but their boxers. “What …?”
“Presleigh?” my brother asks, shaking his head around, trying to see under the mask. “Presleigh, is that you?” He yanks on his restraints.
I turn to face Avery. He stands by the wall, his arms over his chest, and his eyes on mine. I stare at him for an explanation, and he doesn’t make me wait. “Your brother was the one who sold you out to Victor. I had him tied to a chair in a warehouse in New York when I had you taken from your house. He was the only one who knew you were with me.” He sighs heavily as if disappointed in himself. “He and Vaughn broke into my home and took you from me. He was the one who removed your tracker. He was there in the house they kept you at with Vaughn, Victor, and Lance.”
I look back over at him. “There was a voice … I recognized it while there. But couldn’t place it.”
“Presleigh!” my brother snaps.
“Why?” I ask, and my voice shakes. “How could you …?”
He doesn’t answer.
Instead, Avery speaks. “But he had planned to take you before then. He had already sold you to Victor.” My eyes widen, and he continues. “They’ve had a lot to say since I brought them down in here. Vaughn informed me that Preston is the one who told Victor we were expecting a baby.”
“What? How …?”
“He found your pregnancy test in your bathroom trash. And it was his idea to get me out of town that week in order for Victor to … do what he did.”
Tears sting my eyes. Looking at my brother, I don’t feel an ounce of remorse for what Avery is doing to him right now. Does that make me a bad person? Maybe. Do I care? Not one bit. He stole everything from me. He took something that can’t be replaced.
I feel hands on my shoulders, and I jump. Avery leans down and whispers in my ear. “I told you that you can leave. But you can also stay as long as you want. To make them pay as long as you want.”
I spin around in his arms and look up at him. “Is that the only way I can stay?”
He pushes the hair from my face, tucking it behind my ears. “I never want to be without you again.”
I smile up at him, and I know he can see it in my eyes because he gives me a soft smile in return. I’m not going anywhere. I might not have come here willingly, but I’m the one choosing to stay. “What did you have planned?” I ask, and he takes the pad of his thumb and erases the last tear I’m gonna cry over my past. I’m going to get my revenge, and I’m going to move on with my life. With my Avery. Just as I always wanted.
He steps away from me and goes over to the table. “Funny you ask that.” He picks up a long metal-like poker. And then picks up a blowtorch. My eyes widen when I realize what it is. My brother begins to thrash in his restraints. Vaughn doesn’t make a noise or move. I’m not sure he is even conscious. “I made this for you,” Avery says, handing it to me.
I look at the end of it, and bunny is written out in small letters. “And when you decide you’re done with that, I figured we’d take this …” He holds up a knife with a long blade. The same one he used to remove my brand that Victor gave me. “So he can know what it feels like to have it removed.”
I smile up at him. This love story is ugly. But it’s ours. And I wish I could change how we got to this exact moment, but I can’t. All I can do is look forward to our future and move on. Because I’ve been stuck in the past for the past eleven years, and it was hell.
But this? Now I get my revenge that I’ve dreamed of for years. All because a man with a sick mind loves me. If I had to choose, I’d choose madness over boring any day.
CHAPTER FORTY
AVERY
I WALK OVER AND SIT DOWN on the chair nailed to the floor and watch her with fascination. I wanted her to eat. I wanted her to have a couple of days before I showed her what I had to offer, afraid it may take days before she is back to herself. But she’s stronger than I give her credit for.
She walks over and stands before Vaughn. Reaching up, she yanks the black blindfold down his face to where it hangs around his neck. His eyes are narrowed on her and his nostrils flare. He hasn’t said much since we ambushed him at the warehouse in New York. Unlike Preston, can’t get that idiot to shut the fuck up. He always did talk too much.
“Since you like to watch so much,” Bunny says to Vaughn, “you can watch me torture my brother. See what you have to look forward to.”
“Presleigh!” Preston barks, still yanking on his restraints. “You can’t fucking do this.”
She walks over to him, lifts the blowtorch, and turns it on. He begins to cuss, spitting in the process. Instead of arguing with him, she takes the now hot iron rod and pushes it into his thigh. The same exact place hers was and holds it there while he screams out. When she pulls it away, he hisses in a deep breath, banging his head back into the wall.
“Fuck you!” he shouts. “Fuck you, Pres. You always were a fucking bitch who deserved what you got …”
She silences him pressing it against his stomach this time. When she pulls that one away, his body is pulled tight and veins bulge from his forehead and neck, but he doesn’t speak to her.
Turning on the blowtorch again, she makes her way back over to Vaughn. My brother glares down at her. She shuts it off and just stares at him for a few long seconds, and I wonder what she’s thinking. Is it anger? Does she finally feel at peace? Our father was the one who raped her, but Vaughn played a big part in it.
I get my answer when she finally speaks.
“Now you’re my bitch.” Then she presses the iron rod into the middle of his bare chest.
PRESLEIGH
I always steered clear of Vaughn growing up. He gave me the creeps and made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up just entering a room. I hated when Avery left me. I begged him to stay. I remember it like it was yesterday.
I sit on the edge of his bed as he digs around for clothes in his closet.
“Please don’t go,” I beg for the hundredth time today.
“I have to.”
“No, you don’t. You’ve already taken a year off of school. What’s one more?” He’s supposed to wait for me. I’m still in my senior year.
He throws a pair of jeans in his bag along with a pair of Vans. Then he’s walking out of his closet and over to me. He kneels down to my level, cupping my face. “I’m doing this for us.” I open my mouth, but he continues. “I know you want out of this place.” His hand drops, and he places it on my stomach. “I want you both out of this place.”
I hang my head and sigh. “We are fine, babe. We need you here.”
He reaches up and runs his hand through my hair. “How have you been feeling today?” I hate when he answers my question with one of his own.
I’ve been exhausted and sick in the mornings. We had our first appointment yesterday, and we managed to go without getting caught. We have an estimated due date, and there’s no way I won’t be showing by the time I graduate. We’re gonna have to leave before then. “Let’s just run,” I offer. “I can go with you. We can leave now.” I push off his bed and stand, needing the movement.
He grabs my hand and pulls me to a stop. “I know you’re scared, but it’s gonna be okay.”
I just have this feeling. There’s a thought in the back of my head that we’re gonna get caught. I can only hide it for so long. We need to get the hell out of here. “The baby …”
“Our baby is fine,” he assures me, pulling my hips into his. “I just need you to trust me. I’m gonna take care of you. Both of you.”
My phone rings, and I pull it out of my back pocket. I look at it to see Mitch written across the front. I press ignore.
“What does he want?” Avery demands.
I roll my eyes. “Who kno
ws?”
“Why is he even calling you?”
“The other night when you were down in the cellar with your dad, he came over. I walked into the game room to find him and Vaughn talking about you and my brother going on your trip.”
“What about it?” he snaps.
“I don’t know. They stopped the moment I entered. Mitch just winked at me and said he would see me soon,” I lie. If he knew Mitch kissed me, he’d flip. And I don’t want that kind of trouble for him.
“I want you to stay the hell away from him, Bunny.”
“I do.” I pull away from Avery. “But I can’t stay away when he comes over.”
My phone rings again, and I don’t even bother to look at it. “Who is it?” he demands.
“I don’t know …”
He yanks it from my hand and answers. “Why the fuck are you calling her?” Avery growls in answer. He pulls the phone away from his ear and tosses it onto the bed.
I blink and look up at Vaughn. His arms are stretched out before him, and his legs are just as wide. “You set me up.” I say in disbelief.
He doesn’t respond. His chest rises and falls quickly, and his eyes glare down into mine.
“You had Mitch call me, thinking that it would be more believable when your dad told Avery that I left with him.” I shake my head. “You set me up. You fucking bastard …”
He actually chuckles. “You set yourself up, Presleigh.”
I press the end of the rod to his stomach, and he bows his back, hands fisted. I hold it there as long as my arms can hold it up. When I pull it away, he sucks in a breath through his teeth.
“Presleigh.” My brother growls my name. “You don’t have to do this.” I turn to look at him. “You’re not like him.”
I tilt my head to the side. “Like who?”
“Avery …”
I laugh. “He saved me.”
He shakes his head quickly and pulls on his restraints. “He put you there. If you had just stayed away.” He swallows. “If you had just listened to me …”
“You were supposed to look after me!” I scream. “After Mom and Dad died, you were supposed to take care of me. But all you cared about was yourself. You knew what I went through. Fucking helped set it up and never once asked me if I was okay.” My heart pounds in my chest with anger.
I remember things he had said to me before Avery took me. Like when I laid on the bathroom floor drunk.
“Get your ass off this phone and on the jet. Now, Presleigh. If you don’t, he will make a move.” He growls. “And it’ll be too late.”
I look up at him. “This whole time, I thought you were talking about Avery.”
And the other time when he dragged me out of Seven Deadly Sins.
“Because you’re business, Pres.”
I shake my head. “It was always Victor. You were going to fucking hand me over to him! For money!”
“Presleigh, I’m sorry.”
He sounds sincere, but he always was a good liar. He got that from our father. “I believe you.” I walk back over to the table and grab the blowtorch. Turning it on, I hold it up to the iron.
He tenses when he hears it. “Presleigh …”
“But it’s not enough.” Then I shove it into his skin, enjoying the sound that it makes on contact.
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
AVERY
FOR THREE HOURS, I SIT in that chair and watch her make these men pay for what they did to her. And not once did she ask me for help. Or permission. She branded them over and over, and then when she was finally done, she just stared down at the blowtorch before placing it on the table. Then she went for the knife, and she began to cut. At one point, she cried, but I’m not sure if it was from happiness or anger. I just let her do her thing.
She drops the knife to the floor, and I sit up straighter when she turns to face me. Her blue eyes heavy when they meet mine. I open my mouth to speak, but the door opens. We both look over to see Tristan walk in. He comes to a stop when he sees the guys hanging in their restraints, bleeding to death. Patches of skin cover the floor by their feet along with blood and sweat. The smell of burned flesh fills the room, and the moment it hits him, he takes a step back, placing a hand to his mouth.
Bunny walks out with her head held high and shoulders back, not saying a word.
Tristan closes the door once she leaves and places his hands in his pockets. “Damn.” He looks over the guys. “Remind me to never piss her off.” He actually smiles.
“You … are a … disgrace …” Vaughn manages to get out between breaths. “You … both … deserve death.”
I stand from the chair. “You and Preston will be the only two dying tonight.” And with that, I exit the cellar. I make my way into the formal dining room and don’t see Bunny anywhere. So I head to my bedroom. It’s empty, but I hear the shower come on in my adjoining bathroom. I enter to find her removing her bloody clothes and then stepping into the shower.
I quickly undress and join her. She faces the showerhead, her forehead resting on the tile along with her hands. Her lips are parted, and I can see her ribs through her skin expand as she breathes heavily. Blood runs down her frail body and pools at her feet before disappearing into the drain.
Walking up behind her, I softly touch her back, and she jumps, spinning around and looks up at me. I push the wet hair behind her ears, and she licks her lips. “I’m sorry—”
“Don’t ever apologize, Bunny,” I interrupt her. “You owe nothing to no one.”
Her shaking hands come up and rest on my chest. Her eyes search mine, and I press my body into hers. She rises on her tiptoes, lifting her lips to mine but not close enough to touch. She’s feeling me out. Trying to see where I stand after what she just did to her brother and mine. She should know that no matter what this woman does, I stand with her. By her side.
My hands slide into her soaked hair, and I grip it tightly, pulling her head back, and she sucks in a long breath. My cock instantly hardening at the sound. Then I lower my face to kiss her neck. Opening my mouth, I bite into her soft flesh before sucking her skin between my lips. She shudders and lets out a moan. “Avery …”
I cut her off, spinning us around and slamming her back into the wall. She cries out from the force, and I grip her left thigh and wrap it around my hip. Then my hand goes between our bodies and finds her wet cunt. “Fuck, I’ve missed you.” My voice mirrors my actions—rough and needy.
“I’ve missed you too,” she breathes, rocking her hips into mine. “Please fuck me.”
“What have I told you about begging?” I ask.
“I need you to use me.” She urges. “It’s been too long.”
I chuckle even though I smile down at her. I’m gonna have her coming so hard she’s gonna need another nap afterwards.
PRESLEIGH
The rest of the day went by like a dream. For the first time in eleven years, I was at peace with myself. With life. We all sat around Avery’s formal dining room table laughing and telling every funny story we could think of about ourselves. It wasn’t like we were trying to compensate for what everyone knew I had done. It was real. The laughs. The jokes.
It was … natural. For once, I felt normal. Avery made himself and Tristan a glass of scotch, and I told him no thanks when he offered me one. He gave me this smile that made my heart beat faster. Like he was proud of me. I hadn’t felt that in so long that it made my chest hurt. Alex ended up snatching it out of his hands and everyone laughed. I sat back and watched them all with fresh eyes. As if I had been blind for years. Burying yourself knee deep in drugs, alcohol, and men will do that to you.
I noticed the way that Tristan couldn’t keep his eyes and hands off Chloe, and how she would lean into him and get that dazed look in her eyes when he spoke to her. I saw the way Alex stared into her glass of scotch as though it held answers to questions she didn’t even know she needed to ask. I hate it for her. The unknown. The path that she ended up taking because she had no other choi
ce. It had to have been for a reason. Maybe I’m it. I’m supposed to help her find her way back to who she was before. I’m far from being fixed, but I’m on the right road. I watched Kayn, but the man is a mystery. A dark hole closed off to the world. And then I glanced at Avery. He was already staring at me over the rim of his glass tumbler. His blue eyes watching me intently. They looked like storm clouds ready to release their madness over a city. And I smiled at him, knowing that I would take on that storm any day.
It’s funny that a month ago he had me bent over this very table. We were both full of hatred that was fueled by anger. Now we’re just two people who love one another in a way that most will never understand. It’s messy. But the most beautiful things are never just handed over to you wrapped up in a bow. It takes tears and sweat to get what you want. Even blood. And I’d bleed for this man. All he’d have to do is ask. ’Cause I know without a shadow of doubt that he would do the same for me.
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
AVERY
I ENTER MY STUDY AND SIT behind my desk. Everyone sat around the table for hours talking until the late night. Tristan finally carried off a sleeping Chloe to a room after I told him to stay over. Bunny helped a drunk Alex crawl to hers before she headed off to mine, telling me to wake her up when I come to bed.
My computer comes on just as my door opens. Marvin enters. The man is like me—never sleeps. “Sir, you had a package arrive while you were in New York.”
Without looking up, I reach out my left hand, and he places a small padded envelope in it. “Thank you.”
Then I hear the door close as he exits. I type away on my computer for a few minutes. Once I’m done sending the email, I pick up my cell and make the call.
“This better be good,” my boss growls.
“Preston is taken care of.” Might as well get to the point.
“Good.” His voice changes to appreciative. “And Damon?”
“Still working on it.”
“Well, I believe you will get it done.” Click, he hangs up. We never do small talk. Always business.
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