"What is this place?"
"Do you like it?" he smirks. "I had it built just for you, my favorite little toy."
"What are you going to do to me?" I whisper.
"Wait and see, my little toy. Wait and see." Dex walks over to a wall, carefully examining the whips hanging from hooks on it. "I wonder which one I should make you take. The same one I got hit with when your father punished me? Could you handle it?"
"N-No," I manage. "Please don't..."
The memory of his whipping is all too fresh in my mind. The scars must be horrendous.
"Such a scaredy cat." Dex laughs easily. "Fine, we'll go easy on you. Maybe a nice leather flogger."
He picks up one of them from a table laden with instruments designed for sexual torture. I swallow thickly when I see his weapon of choice. It's dark red leather, with spiky silver studs on the tassels.
"I won't go too hard," he promises. "Just enough. So you remember what you're supposed to admit to me."
"I don't know what you want from me," I whine, fearfully looking away as he runs the tassels over my bare chest. It feels so good, I flush in embarrassment. "Please, Dex..."
"Dig deep, little toy." He grins at me, knowing he holds all the power. "Dig until you uncover all your secrets."
He forcibly spreads my legs. I watch his spit dribble down, hit my pussy and hear myself moaning when he fucks it into me with two fingers.
"Didn't even need it toy, did you? You were so fucking wet for me already, you little slut..."
"P-Please," I manage. "Don't hurt me."
"I won't," he promises. "Just give me what I want."
He begins hitting me gently with the tassles. At first it stings. But the more he increases his strength, the better the hits feel. Yes, they sting, but God, it's so fucking delicious. The leather and studs leave red kisses on my skin. I flush, hating myself when the first moan escapes my lips. Dex doesn't acknowledge it, doesn't say a word.
He just keeps hitting. Slowly, patiently, knowing he's going to get what he wants in the end, because there's no fucking way I can resist this. Resist him.
"I'll keep going, toy," he tells me gently. "I'll keep going until you admit the truth."
I keep begging and begging until my voice goes. I don't even know what I'm asking for anymore. The words are right there. I could say them right now. Because of-fucking-course I know what Dexter Booth wants to hear. After all, he's already forced me to say it before.
"Come on, toy," he urges me. "Say it. Say it for me. Admit it. Tell me how you feel. Tell me what you want."
"I need..." My voice breaks and I cry out when he hits me again, but not because it hurts. Because he's too gentle, and I want more delicious, beautiful pain. "I need you, Dex..."
"Tell me more," he demands. "Tell me everything."
"I need you." Suddenly I'm desperate. Eager to get the words out. Maybe this is the last chance I have, because it feels as if I'm being pulled somewhere far, far away from here. "I want you. I don't want anyone but you, Dexter. I love you. I love you."
"That's right," he mutters, but the sound is so very far away. "That's right, my pretty little toy, that's exactly right..."
I whimper, trying to reach out to him, but he's too far away, and I'm lost in the darkness again.
It pulls and pulls, demanding I fall deeper, give into the current.
But I struggle against it as much as I can.
I struggle, because I won't lose him again.
I want Dexter Booth, and no one is taking him away from me.
"Pandora, fucking please, please, I'm begging you. Please, toy. Please."
My eyes flutter open but can't hold position. I feel so heavy and so light at the same time.
"Stop it, Dexter," I mutter, but this time the words feel different than they did in the dream. They're heavier, carrying more of an implication. "Just fucking stop it."
"Look at me, toy, please—just look at me. I need to see those pretty eyes."
A hand grabs my cheeks and my eyes fly open, adrenaline coursing through my veins. I struggle against the unwanted, unfamiliar touch.
"Stop resisting," Dex hisses. "Look at me."
And I do. I force my eyes open, and I look deep into his. It's not a dream this time, it can't be. I used to know those eyes like the back of my hand. But they're different now. Darker. The pools seem deeper. There's pain in them. There was pain before, but it was sharp and deep. The new kind is layered. One thing on top of another. Too many sad things to count, all of them pushing down on Dex.
I let out a sob as he embraces me.
"Where is she?" I manage, finally waking up, even if I'm slowly losing consciousness again. "Where is Lily Anna with the baby?"
Dex pulls back and smooths my hair off my face, but I know it's just a distraction tactic.
"Where are they?" I roar.
"We don't know," Dex admits brokenly. "We're trying to find them."
"You have to go after them." I trip over the words in an effort to get them all out as soon as possible. "She left with the baby in a car seat. It must have been ages since she left. Go, Dexter, go... Please..."
"Emilian went after them," he mutters, holding me close. "He'll find them."
"You have to help him." I'm crying again. Whether it's out of relief that he found me and I'm alive, or out of fear for my baby, I don't know. "You have to find my baby."
"I have to help you," Dex mutters. "Did you see this place? It's a fucking mess..."
I take a look around, only then realizing I'm still on the floor atop a mess of once white sheets that are now drenched in blood. My blood.
"I called an ambulance," Dexter goes on. "And I'll go with you to the hospital."
"No, no, Dex. Please, don't do that!" I grab him desperately, clinging on to his jacket. "You have to go after Lily Anna, you have to stop her!"
"If I have to pick, I'm picking you," he mutters. I don't even know if he's aware he said that out loud. He looks pale as a ghost.
"Pick the baby, Dex," I whisper, but he shakes his head silently and pulls me onto his lap. I feel his fingers caressing my cheeks as the darkness creeps in with its dark, shadowy fingers. This time, I give in gratefully, because even the fucked up dream I had before would be better from my messed up reality.
12
Dexter
I stay by Pandora's side, holding her hand, until the paramedics arrive. She drifts in and out of consciousness, her accusatory eyes on mine every time they fly open.
I know she thinks I should've gone after Lily Anna. But I can't bring myself to leave my toy alone. She's in danger. I know it the moment the paramedics arrive and I see the grave expressions on their faces. They pry her hand away from mine and load her onto a gurney. They allow me to get in the ER van after I insist I'm not fucking leaving.
The ride to the hospital takes ages. With every second that passes, the nurse riding in the back of the van with me looks more concerned. Pandora looks deathly pale. Her lips are almost blue, translucent. I can barely make out the rise and fall of her chest.
"Am I going to lose her?", the words escape my lips before I even realize I asked the question.
The nurse gives me a long look. "I'm not going to lie to you, Mr. Booth. It doesn't look good."
My hands tighten into fists. I spent the rest of the ride in silence, thinking about Lily Anna and what I'm going to do to her when I get my hands on her. They're going to have to hold me back so I don't fucking kill her. I have a feeling the only thing that will dissuade me from putting a bullet in her head is the knowledge that I'll be locked up if I do. I can't leave Pandora alone again. Can't risk the distance between us. I need to stay by her side and do what's best for my toy.
We're rushed into the hospital while an alarm blares through the hallways. Despite my insistence to stay by Pandora's side, the doctors shoo me out of the operating room. I pace the hallway outside when my phone buzzes with a call from Emilian Oakes.
"Did you fucking find her
?" I bark into the phone. "Tell me you have that bitch."
From his long pause, I can tell he doesn't have any good news for me. "I'm sorry, Dexter. We did our best, but she's just... gone. Gone without a trace."
"Unacceptable." I want to fucking punch something, but there's a kid with his mom in the same waiting room, and I don't want to scare her, so I force myself to hold back. "You got someone trying to find her? People tailing her? Eyes all over town?"
"We do," Oakes reassures me. "I'm coming to the hospital now. How is Pandora?"
"She's not doing well." Admitting it out loud threatens to break me. But I hide the shakiness in my voice well. I cover it up with barely held back rage and tell Emilian to get there as soon as he can before ending the call.
Emilian arrives what feels like hours later. We sit in the waiting room together, and he brings me a plastic cup of stale coffee every hour while the doctors fight for Pandora's life.
That's what I'm assuming they're doing. We've been here for hours, and no one has come out of that operating room. As much as I hate being kept in the dark, I'm grateful for the professionals who've made saving Pandora their priority.
We wait for ages before the double doors of the operating theater finally open. Oakes and I are instantly on our feet despite our tiredness, approaching the exhausted doctor who lifts his hands to ask us for some space. He's tired and worn out just like we are. I fucking shake anticipating the news.
"How is she, doctor?" Emilian asks.
"She's..." He glances between us and I feel my heart stop for a brief moment. "She's not stable yet. She's in critical condition."
"But she's alive," I mutter.
"She is," he nods. "We believe the operation we just performed saved her life. We had to stitch her up—she was bleeding profusely. It seems the birth had some complications. She really should have been in the hospital for it."
My nails dig into my palms. Lily Anna will pay for this.
"When can we see her?" I ask.
"Not until she stabilizes," the doc says. "But we'll be moving her to a private room and you'll be able to see her through the glass. But you need to be prepared."
"Prepared for what?" Emilian furrows his brows.
"Because of Miss Oakes' critical condition..." The doctor shifts his weight, obviously wary of our reaction. "We've had to put Miss Oakes in a medically induced coma."
"What?" I hiss.
"It's for her own good," the doctor follows up. "This way, she's the safest. And we'll be waking her up in three days. Hopefully she'll be stable by then. We have her on blood transfusions now. She's lost a lot of it."
"Fuck," I mutter, fighting the urge to slam my fist into the wall. Again.
"I'll keep you posted with any kind of information," the doc adds, hesitating before he speaks up again. "Regarding the baby... I have no reason to believe it's been harmed during the birth."
"Good," Emilian nods gravely. "We're doing everything in our power to bring the baby back home."
The doctor nods. "You should. Miss Oakes will be distressed when she wakes up. Seeing her child back safely in her arms would help."
He leaves us standing there. I can't even move. I feel the weight of the world on my shoulders. I want Pandora here, to console her. But she's in a deep slumber just like Sleeping Beauty. It's up to me now to save our family.
"I need to stay here," I mutter. "I can't leave her. But I need you doing everything you can to get that baby back."
Emilian nods. "I'll put some more men on it. The police are looking for Lily Anna, too. They know she killed Lai now."
"Fucking finally," I mutter. "Nobody believed me. Nobody."
"Maybe you shouldn't have kept so many secrets," Emilian hisses, but I've had enough.
I've got him backed up against a wall the next moment, grabbing the front of his shirt as I snarl in his face, "You don't get to lecture me, old man. I did what I had to do to save Lily Anna from you, you fucking monster."
He pales and does not object. He knows what he did. He knows his obsession with Lily Anna was unhealthy. Despite all the atrocities she's done, she wasn't at fault for Oakes' sick obsession with her.
"Find her," I hiss. "Or else."
He stumbles when I let him go, clearing his throat and fixing his tie. Without saying another word or looking at me again, he leaves the hospital. For his sake, I hope he's getting more help to find Lily Anna. We have to find her. We can't leave the baby with her. She's dangerous. I wouldn't put it past her to kill an innocent child.
I return to my seat in front of the operating theater and patiently wait until one of the nurses informs me they've moved Pandora into the glass-walled room.
I'm finally allowed to see her then, but nothing could prepare me for the sight.
She looks so different than she did just a few hours ago. Pandora's body is tiny and frail despite having just given birth. There are tubes coming out of her nose and mouth, and her skin is ghostly pale and bruised where they've stuck the tubes in. I vow again to make Lily Anna pay for this.
She fucked with my family.
She fucked with my friends.
She fucked with my future.
And now she's fucked with my favorite toy, and I'm not letting her get away with it. She's going to fucking pay, and I want to be the one to bring her to justice. I can't fucking wait to punish her for her crimes. She deserves every bad thing that's coming to her, hopefully sooner rather than later.
For the next few days, I'm in and out of the hospital. I only leave to go home and shower and change clothes once a day. I'm even getting used to the shitty cafeteria food in the hospital, because I refuse to leave Pandora's side. The guys have been coming over to keep me company. I'll never forget their expressions when they saw Pandora for the first time after all the shit that went down.
They were fucking shocked. Shocked that the girl we all once cared about, Lily Anna, is capable of leaving another human in a condition like Pandora's. But it only serves to bring us closer together. Now we are determined—to find Lily Anna, to punish her for what she's done.
On the thirdday in the hospital, the doctors decide Pandora has recovered from her injuries enough that they can bring her out of her coma. I sit by her bed when it happens, holding her small, frail white hand in mine. Her fingers are so tiny. She has never looked more vulnerable.
When my toy's eyes open, they connect with mine first. She stares deep into my soul with that glare, and before I can even ask, the question shoots out.
"Where is he? Where is my baby?"
I squeeze her palm to reassure her, but she soon realizes I don't have any good news for her. I don't know where Lily Anna and the baby are, and as soon as she realizes the truth of the matter, Pandora begins to wail. It takes two nurses to calm her down and they inject her with a sedative, saying she's getting overly worked-up. I want to slap them in the fucking face. Tell them she has every reason to be upset. I know they mean well, but I'm teetering on the edge of my sanity. One wrong move and I'm going to fall.
When she wakes up hours later, she's much calmer. I walk into the room but she won't look at me. Sitting by her side, I try to take her hand in mine, but she snatches it away. It fucking hurts like needles being plunged into my heart but I force myself not to say anything about it. I can't hurt Pandora even more. I need to be strong now, for the both of us.
"We'll find them," I say lamely, but she merely scoffs in response.
"They could be anywhere, Dexter."
"And wherever they are, we're bringing them back."
She shakes her head. A part of me breaks seeing she's already lost hope, but I try not to show it.
"And until we do find them, I'm right here," I manage, but she just manages a sad smile.
"I can't even look at you right now," she whispers, and once again, the needles dig into me, deep. "You should've gone after them, Dexter. You should've brought my baby back."
"Our baby," I mutter.
Now she looks
at me, her gaze ice cold. "You don't know that."
"I know that-"
"It doesn't matter," she snaps. "The only thing that's for certain is that it's my baby. And I want him back. I'll never forgive you if you don't find him."
I nod, trying to control my temper and emotions so I don't lose it in front of Pandora.
"What did you name him?"
The question slips from my lips before I can stop myself. Once again, Pandora's eyes burn when they meet mine.
"Reign," she finally answers, her voice breaking over the simple word.
I nod, getting up abruptly from my seat and walking out of the room. I can't let Pandora see me vulnerable. I have to be strong, like I've always been. I have to be the man she needs me to be.
And I fucking have to find Lily Anna and my son.
Because whatever the fuck Pandora says, he is my son.
13
Pandora
I can't even look at Dexter.
He's been acting differently. Apologetic, almost. He brought me back to Booth Manor a week after I first arrived in the hospital, but it's almost worse in this huge, empty house than it had been in my private room. Even with the stench of medicine and antiseptic, it was better than this. Knowing all the secrets I know now, I can't get the thought of Alli—Lily Anna—out of my head.
The thought that she still has my son makes me sick. I've seen firsthand what the girl is capable of, and I know enough to be sure my son isn't safe in her hands.
But there's nothing we can do. Father is already spending a fortune on PIs to look for them, but it's like they disappeared without a trace. Weeks have passed. Pandora has healed from her surgery, but the fact that we don’t have our son back is weighing on her heavily.
On good days, I think Reign will get the care he needs. That Lily Anna wouldn't be so heartless to hurt an innocent baby.
On the bad days, I remember her manic laughter, her cruel words, and I wonder whether she's killed him yet.
A Hurt So Sweet Volume Four: A Dark High School Bully Romance (Elite of Eden Falls Prep Book 4) Page 8