Sundown Series (Book 4): Torment

by Konstantin, Courtney

  The guards leveled guns at her, their faces covered in masks of surprise and confusion. The Noble Lord stood ready, but motioned them all back with a slash of his hand.

  "Everything is fine here. Leave," he demanded.

  The guards didn't question the order as they filed back out into the main office, closing the bedroom door behind them. The Noble Lord looked down at Alex's leg before meeting her eyes again.

  "You're bleeding all over my bedroom. That's just unnecessary."

  "Sure, let me just turn it off for you," Alex replied.

  The Noble Lord shook his head at her obstinance. He began to circle to one side, so Alex limped the other direction. He closed the distance between them slowly as he made his circle smaller as he moved. Alex waited, knowing she wasn't going to beat him in hand to hand combat. She had to be smarter. She couldn't be faster with the lame leg. Her eye was going to swell shut soon, she could feel that. Doubt clouded her thoughts. Could she beat him on her own?

  "Just let me go. I'm more trouble than I'm worth," Alex said.

  "No woman is worthless here. If you don't stay with me, you'll be useful in other ways," the Noble Lord replied.

  "Like the women you're selling out there? I'll kill any man that comes near me," Alex said.

  "You'll have to try harder to convince me of that," the Noble Lord said.

  With that the Noble Lord stepped forward abruptly and grabbed Alex by the upper arms. He pulled her to him until their chests touched. They were both breathing hard and Alex felt some success knowing she had made him work for what he thought was his easy conquest. His bare skin pressed against Alex and she started trying to yank her body away. When she realized she could feel his excitement from the fighting with her, she physically gagged. Every cell of her body screamed in protest and disgust. When he leaned down and ran his nose along her neck and jawline, Alex couldn't take anymore.

  When her knee came up to hit him in the groin, he easily sidestepped, anticipating her move. Instead Alex brought her heel down to stomp on his toes. His eyes flew up and pain flared for a moment, but it was the only reaction he had. He released one of her arms and raised a hand to strike her. It was exactly what Alex had hoped for. Locking his remaining arm in place, she hyper-extended his elbow and clamped down on the pressure point in his arm. A small look of surprise crossed his face as he stopped his motion of hitting her and went to grab her again. Before he could, she used a flat palm strike and slammed the heel of her hand into his nose. Then she released his arm and stepped back far enough to front kick him in the stomach.

  The fast attack caused him to bend down slightly and grab his nose. She didn't think she was able to break it, but it was enough to bring tears to his eyes. She didn't want to waste the chance to attack. She ran at him, grabbing his head in both hands and taking it down as she brought her knee up to meet his face. When he pulled back and fell to his knee, Alex saw blood on his cheek where her knee had connected. Setting up her next attack, Alex took a step back before she ran toward him, with the intent of kicking him in the face.

  He was fast. When Alex looked back on the fight, she would marvel at how fast he was. Again, he anticipated her move and was ready when she got close. He bear-hugged her and stood as he moved. Next thing Alex knew, she was slammed into the ground, her body reverberating with the impact. The Noble Lord looked down at her, his eyes on fire, blood seeping from his cheek. Alex felt ice-cold fear as she stared up at the malicious evil. He quickly straddled her lower body, controlling her legs before he locked his hands around her throat.

  "You will need to learn where you belong here, pet."

  Alex struggled, raking her nails against his skin, trying to kick her lower body free. Her lungs began to burn as they demanded air that she couldn't get. Alex reached up and tried to grab the long hair that fell in the Noble Lord's face He just laughed and lifted his head out of her reach. She slapped at his arms, his legs, his ribs. Nothing stopped him from slowly squeezing the life from her body. Better this than to be anyone's pet, Alex thought to herself. She could feel her body slowly stop responding to the commands her mind was giving it. Alex fell into the black, knowing it was her end.

  In the darkness, Alex saw a figure. The body was moving, and the sound of rhythmic wood chopping met her ears. She felt confusion, not sure of where she was or how she had got there. Her memory was fuzzy, but she knew she was safe with the figure and she walked forward. As she got closer her surroundings began to brighten and she was standing in the middle of a field. When she looked around, she realized she was on her compound, behind the walls. The sun was bright, but she couldn't feel the warmth. Before she could wonder why that was a voice spoke.

  "What are you doing, Alex?"

  Alex spun back toward the figure who now had an axe resting on his shoulder. Mitch Duncan looked at his daughter, a disapproving look on his face.

  "Dad?" Alex asked, surprised to see him there.

  "Last time I checked."

  Max got his sarcasm; Alex had almost forgotten. He was always the one with the great one-liner to pick on his kids. He wasn't mean spirited; it was just the way he knew how to show affection.

  "What are you doing here? I'm not even sure...how I got here?" Alex said.

  "You're here because you gave up," Mitch replied.

  Then he turned and swung the axe in a large arc, impaling it into a block of wood. Alex stared at him as images assailed her. The Dead Brothel and the Noble Lord came to focus. She quickly realized she was probably dead. The Noble Lord had choked the life out of her. The realization made her heart ache. Though she knew that Rafe and Max would take care of her kids, they had already lost their father. Now Alex would be gone. How would they survive that?

  "How was I supposed to keep fighting, Dad? I tried. The Noble Lord won."

  "That's crap, girl, and you know it," Mitch said.

  "I couldn't stay there. Let him do what he wanted to do to me," Alex said quietly. Even knowing she was talking to her dead father, she felt the embarrassment of talking about that subject with him.

  "Let him? Alex, you've never let anyone do anything to you in your life. Why is this different?"

  "He was stronger than me. I can't beat everyone that comes at me."

  "Is that how I raised you?" Mitch asked.

  "What does that matter? You're gone. The world has fallen apart. We have been doing the best we can," Alex said. She was defensive, even knowing she was probably imagining everything.

  "I know. And I'm glad you all listened to me. But this is different, Alex. You need to fight, harder than you ever have. Remember who you are. You are a Duncan. My grandbabies need you. Easton and Candace need you. The compound needs you."

  How does he know Easton and Candace, Alex thought to herself? Because it's your imagination, Alex.

  "I'm not enough to help everyone. I can't lead the way you think I should," Alex replied.

  "I didn't raise a failure in my family. I always knew who you were, Alex. And that hasn't changed."

  "You were wrong. Even you can be wrong," Alex replied.

  "Was I wrong about this?"

  Mitch turned to sweep his hand around the compound. Alex looked away from him and could see people moving around the house. Everything was too bright, too white. Her imagination was letting her see her family again and she was thankful. Maybe she was dead and with her father while they were both looking down on the Duncan household. Mitch led the way toward the house. Closer, she could see Margaret and Candace on their knees in the garden. She saw Easton digging a hole fifty yards away from the bunkhouse. Alex cocked her head, wondering what it was he was doing. But her attention was pulled back to the house where a blonde head bounded out with a smaller dark head following. Her heart swelled as she watched Billie and Henry run, followed by her niece, Jack. Margaret lifted her head from the gardening and looked over to the children with a smile on her face. But even at that distance, Alex could tell the woman was worried about something.

&nbs
p; What would happen to her children with her gone? Margaret would be a caring grandmother figure; Alex had no doubt. But that didn't replace parents. Alex looked over at Candace as she pulled weeds with determination. She and her brother had already lost one mother. Losing a second one would be a nail to their hearts. Alex wished she could save them any pain. But as she thought about that, the sadness faded as she watched the younger kids run and play tag. Billie ran to the garden and yelled you're it as she poked Candace in the shoulder. Brushing the dirt off of her knees, Candace stood and chased after the kids. She grabbed Henry and swung him around before singing he was it and putting him down. The kids' laughter flowed over Alex; a balm to her battered soul.

  "They're getting big," Mitch remarked, pulling Alex's attention back.

  "Yes. They are."

  "I would have liked to meet Candace and Easton. They seem like good kids. You are doing right by them. But that isn't a surprise."

  "They are wonderful. You would have liked them. They are determined and are learning fast," Alex replied, as she fondly watched Candace running with the younger children.

  "Because you're a good teacher, Alex," Mitch replied, looking back at her.

  "Where are Rafe and Max? If this is my imagination, shouldn't they be here?" Alex said. She was talking more to herself than her father.

  "They need you. And no matter what you think, I know you are a leader. You can protect them. Just like Rafe and Max are coming to protect you now."

  "What? What do you mean? Protect me how? No one can protect me if I'm already dead."

  "Did I say you were dead?" Mitch asked.

  "I'm talking to you and you're dead," Alex said.

  "I thought this was all your imagination?"

  Without warning, her father took up a fighting stance facing her. Alex didn't think so much as just react. It felt so normal to fall right into the lessons he always had with her as a child. At any time, Mitch would challenge his children in hand to hand combat. His belief that you never knew where the next attack was coming from. Alex fell into an easy defensive stance. She feigned and blocked as Mitch threw a few punches at her. Then as Alex expected, Mitch tried to sweep her legs. She jumped back and then took a leap at him with a fist up. She stopped before connecting and turned away. She didn't feel out of breath. However, she knew she had beat him this round.

  Alex turned to her father. She was surprised to see one of his rare smiles splitting across his face. He seemed to study Alex before reaching out a hand and touching her short hair.

  "I like your hair like this. It was a smart decision. But that's because you're a smart woman."

  Alex tried to grasp his hand, to hold it in her own, to ground herself in the moment. But when she reached, he was suddenly further away. He smiled again and waved at her. It was then Alex realized she was moving away, not Mitch moving from her. She struggled, calling out to him. She could feel tears on her cheeks. What she wouldn't do to have her father back, to help them, to protect her children. All the while he smiled and waved, as the darkness took her again.

  Chapter Seventeen

  "Were you trying to kill her?" A female voice said.

  "Don't question me, Auntie. Just finish sewing her up," a harsh male voice replied.

  "If you want to keep this one, you're in for a fight. She's different from the other women you've kept in this room," the female voice said.

  Alex tried to focus on the voices around her and try to pull herself back to the world. Her confusion was fueled by her hazy dream of her father and her family at the compound. Was she dead? Who was beating the drum in her head? Why did her leg hurt so bad? If she were dead, would there still be pain? Where was her father? Why had he let her go? So many questions were on her mind. And the surrounding voices were answering none of them.

  "I know she's different. That's why I'm keeping her," the male voice said.

  "Some women can't be kept. That's this one. You will kill her eventually," the female replied quietly.

  Alex pulled at the threads of her memory and she started to realize who was talking around her. She could recognize the pity in Coral's voice as she spoke with the Noble Lord. A slight tug at her leg told her that Coral was stitching up her wound. As she tried to focus on the conversation, the darkness in her mind began to bleed into her conscience again. She struggled, trying to keep it at bay, hoping to learn something from the conversation happening.

  "Then I will enjoy her until I kill her, Auntie," the Noble Lord said.

  Auntie, Alex thought. That did explain some questions she had about Coral and what place the woman held in the brothel. The doting nephew had saved his aunt from death, only to put her to work in his brothel. But not to work like most other women and that put her into a place of respect. It also explained why Coral didn't have a problem talking back to the Noble Lord or denying his orders. She believed he wouldn't harm her. Alex had a feeling that Coral gave her nephew too much credit. The man was a monster that enjoyed harming and enslaving women. Killing family was likely not something he would struggle with.

  "Your mother would turn over in her grave if she could see you now," Coral said.

  "My mother was a druggie streetwalker, who got sick from dirty needles. I don't care what her ghost thinks of me," the Noble Lord replied, dismissively.

  "She wouldn't want this for you. Or for these women. She was sick, but she wanted to provide for you."

  "Well then this job—that was good enough for her—is good enough for the women here," the Noble Lord said.

  Coral didn't reply to that. Alex had the feeling this was an argument she had tried before. But the Noble Lord wasn't to be swayed from how he wanted to control people. And in the end, Coral needed the protection she had become accustomed to. She felt the woman's fingers at her leg as she put something cold on the wound and then taped a bandage over it. Despite the violence from the Noble Lord, he was clearly concerned about infection and illness. He didn't want Alex to die. And now that she wasn't dead, Alex wanted to fight for her freedom even more.

  She laid with her eyes closed and kept her breathing even. Her mind replayed the conversation with her father. He had more faith in her than she had in herself. She wasn't sure she could do what he wanted her to. But he reminded her of who she was. Duncans didn't just give up when things were difficult. Hell, her entire childhood consisted of difficult times. Mitch Duncan had made sure they could handle themselves in some of the harshest circumstances. And though Alex didn't fully embrace all of her father's lessons like her sister, she remembered everything Mitch wanted them to know

  Coral's examination included the probing of Alex's skull and there were a few tender places where Alex had to fight the wince. Then the older woman touched Alex's throat carefully. As soon as her fingers pressed into the area around her trachea, Alex knew there was something wrong. Her neck hurt a great deal, but Alex had assumed it was just bruised. Now feeling Coral's prodding, Alex wondered if something was strained or broken.

  "You did a number on her throat. I'm not sure she'll be able to talk when she wakes up," Coral said.

  "Permanently? That might be preferable," the Noble Lord replied.

  "I doubt it's permanent. The bruising and damage would be much worse, I think, if it were that extreme."

  Alex heard the Noble Lord scoff and she wanted to sneer at him. She didn't need her voice to defy him. She would use her wits, her body, and her actions. It seemed her imaginary father’s pep talk had stoked a fire deep inside Alex. She began to test her body, checking for additional injuries. She flexed her fingers in both hands, happy to not have any broken fingers. She tried to rotate her ankles. The left with the stitches didn't like the movement, but Alex had no doubt that she would heal quickly. Pain she could handle. She didn't want to be immobile.

  "She's waking," Coral said as she quickly took notice of Alex's shifting.

  "Ah, good. I was wondering if she was permanently damaged."

  Alex took her time as she continued th
e internal examination. When she was ready, she slowly blinked her eyes open. The room was lit brightly by a lantern. Alex assumed that commodities such as lanterns were only used in emergencies, as the rest of the brothel was lit by candlelight. She turned her head slightly and pain cut into her thoughts. Her throat was definitely injured. She looked at Coral who was trying to see into her eyes.

  "How many fingers am I holding up?" Coral asked as she held up her hand.

  "Three," Alex said, her voice barely coming out as a raspy whisper.

  "Is that the loudest you can speak?" Coral asked.

  "I'm not sure," Alex responded. She tried to force her voice louder, but it was too painful against her vocal cords.

  "Ok. Don't try. It would be good for you to rest your voice, I think. Your vocal cords are bruised."

  Alex didn't bother trying to respond. Her body had already told her what Coral was saying. Talking was painful, don't force it. The Noble Lord stood behind his aunt watching the exchange and he stood with a bored look on his face. Alex looked back at him, staring. She was pleased to see the butterfly bandages across his cheek and the bridge of his nose. She had wounded him and that only reminded her that he was just a man.

  When his eyes met hers, he smiled ruefully. Without words he told Alex he had won, and she needed to submit. But instead of looking away, Alex grinned wildly back, allowing a little crazy to cross her face. The Noble Lord stopped smiling, but he didn't look away. Alex was pretty sure he got her message. She wasn't done fighting.

  Coral stood from the bed and began to pack her supplies. Alex watched as she put away sterile packages and hospital supplies. The brothel was very well stocked, so it made sense that they would have a full supply of medical needs. Alex wondered how often the women of the brothel were injured. Coral was adept with stitching and some basic medical knowledge. With all the women prisoners, she probably put those talents to work fairly often. The last thing the woman did was break the inside of an ice pack, allowing the interior chemicals to mix and start their reaction. She placed the pack on Alex's throat. This time Alex couldn't hide the wince. Quickly the cold pushed away the pain and all Alex felt was numb.