by A. M. Myers
“Do it,” Damian urges from behind me. “I’ve waited long enough for this.”
Julian nods and turns back to Ivy, balling his fists and my breath stutters. The first punch lands on her cheek, sending her head snapping to the side as she whimpers and I scream. Julian drops his head back and sighs, his body trembling as a low groan rumbles in his chest.
“Scream again, Carly,” he rasps as he glances over at me, his eyes shining and his cheeks flushed. When I shake my head, he hits her other cheek and I give him what he wants. I fight against the rope, struggling to get free as I scream.
“Mmm,” Damian hums in my ear and I stop, my body locking up. “Don’t stop, sweetheart, you’re making my cock so hard.” He runs the tip of his nose up my neck and bites down. “I hope you struggle like this when I finally get to hold you down and fuck you the way I’ve been dreaming for months now.”
Something in me breaks and I wail, jerking on the rope more. I don’t care about withholding gratification from them anymore. All I want is to end this, anyway I can.
I can’t survive this again…
I just can’t.
“Fuck, this is even better than I imagined,” Julian whispers, cracking Ivy across the face again and her head slumps.
“Vi!” I bellow, kicking my feet out behind me and Damian’s grip in my hair tightens. Julian looks down at his fist, clenching it and unclenching it as he examines the blood staining his knuckles and smiles. He glances up and walks over to me.
“Did he threaten your pathetic little boyfriend if you ever left?” Julian asks, his gaze flicking to Damian and I nod. “Good. In addition to that, this will happen to your sister again if you ever try to get away.”
I nod. “I understand.”
“Not yet,” he says, laughing. “But you will.”
Turning away from me, he walks back over to Ivy and picks her up, hoisting her over his shoulder before marching out of the room. When the lock clicks back into place, Damian runs his tongue up my neck.
“And now we get to have some fun.”
I close my eyes, trying to block it all out but it’s no use. This is bringing back memories I’ve kept buried for so long that it doesn’t matter if my eyes are open or not. I’m surrounded by hellfire no matter where I turn.
“You want to know a little secret?” Damian asks, releasing me and stalking around my body. I open my eyes and he grins.
“No.”
“That’s too bad because I’m going to tell you anyway. See, Julian up there, he loves for his girl to be unconscious when he fucks her. His favorite thing in the world is the way she screams when she comes to and discovers he’s inside her. In fact, I would bet that’s what he’s doing right now.”
A knife shreds through my heart and more tears fall down my face as I picture what he’s doing to my baby sister right now. It’s an experience I know all too well.
“After their first date, he snuck into her apartment and knocked her out with the same stuff he used on you today before fucking her. You should have seen the look on her face when she learned that.” He laughs and I sob, shaking my head.
“But I love the fight. That’s why I chose you, baby, because even in the photo your mother showed us, I could see the fire in your eyes and I knew you would give me what I crave most.”
He steps toward me, his eyes darkening and my stomach rolls.
“And you know what else, Carly?”
“No,” I utter.
“If you don’t give me what I want, if you don’t scream and fight me through everything, we’ll bring your sister back down here and I’ll take my anger out on her. See, that’s why we chose sisters. Because you both will do whatever you’re told to save the other.”
He’s right. I’ll do whatever he asks of me; I’ll give him anything he wants if it saves Ivy from any of this. Letting out a breath, I hang my head and nod.
“Okay.”
“Damian!” Julian’s voice pierces through the room and Damian peeks over his shoulder before growling.
“I’ll be back for you.”
He spins on his heel and stalks out of the room, fuming. As soon as the door closes, my body goes lax and it strains my shoulders more, excruciating pain shooting down into my ribs. I try to go to a happier place, in bed with Chance as he holds me close and whispers in my ear that he’s got me. If I close my eyes, I can almost hear those words and feel his breath caressing my ear.
“I love you, Chance,” I whisper into the darkness, hoping that he already knows the words I’ll never get to say to him again. And that, whatever he does, he stays the hell away from here. I have no doubt in my mind Damian will do everything he promised if Chance ever tries to save me and the thought robs me of breath. I’ll remain here in this hell as long as the people I love are safe.
“Carly?” a soft, melodic voice whispers through the dark and my head jerks up, my heart racing as I scan the room.
“Ivy?”
Rosie tentatively steps out of a little nook in the wall and I sigh, dropping my head back down. She races over to me and reaches into the pocket of her apron, pulling out a small utility knife.
“I’m sorry, I don’t know where your sister is.”
I glance up. “What are you doing down here?”
“Freeing you,” she states, looking down at the knife in her hand like it should be obvious. Maybe it should be, but my mind isn’t performing at one hundred percent right now.
“How long have I been here?”
Her gaze flicks to the watch on her wrist. “Thirteen hours, give or take.”
Thirteen hours…
Chance must be frantic.
“If they catch you down here…” My voice trails off and I shake my head. I don’t need to tell her what they’ll do because she probably knows better than I do.
“Don’t worry about me. You have to get out of here, Carly. Now.”
“They took Ivy somewhere. I need to find her.”
Shaking her head, she reaches up and cuts the rope. My arms drop like they’re filled with lead, taking me down with them as pain floods my body and I scream.
“Shh,” she whispers, kneeling next to me as I whimper and sob on the cold concrete floor. She cuts my wrists free before slipping the knife back into her pocket. “We have to go.”
I nod, pushing up off the floor as my body shakes uncontrollably and I wonder if I’ll even make it to the door. Rosie wraps her arm around my waist and helps keep me up as I stumble across the room. When we reach the door, she cracks it open and peeks out for a moment before opening it all the way. We pause again, silence greeting us and after a moment, we ascend the stairs with my heart pounding in my ears.
“Where would he take Ivy?” I ask when we reach the hallway at the top of the stairs and she shakes her head, her gaze darting from one side of the hall to the other.
“I don’t know but you don’t have time to look for her. Julian’s father stopped by and it’s the only reason they’re not down in that pit with you right now.” She drags me down the hall and I’m not strong enough to fight her no matter how badly I want to turn around and search for my sister.
“I can’t leave without my sister.”
“You have to,” she hisses, pulling me along with her as she marches to the front door and I struggle but it doesn’t slow her down. “I’ll look for Ivy, I promise.”
“No. I’m not leaving without her,” I snap, my voice getting louder and her eyes widen as she presses her hand to my lips. Damian’s voice drifts into the hallway and my heart stops.
“It was nice seeing you, too, Mr. Henshaw. We’ll have to grab a drink next time.”
“There’s no time,” Rosie gasps as we reach the front door and she pulls it open.
“Ivy. I need to get Ivy.”
Rosie’s face crumples as she shoves me out onto the porch. “I’ll find her, I promise. Now please go before you get us all killed.”
She shuts the door in my face and pain pierces my chest, radiat
ing out to the rest of my body as a lump forms in my throat and I sink to my knees. Looking back up at the house, I clutch my throat and cry, unable to move.
I can’t leave her.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chance
The sky in front of the truck explodes in yellow, orange, and pink as the first ray of sunlight peeks over the horizon and we turn down the two-mile-long red dirt road that leads to Julian’s house because, of course, this fucker lives on a hundred-year-old plantation in the middle of nowhere. Perfect for abducting the love of my life and holding her hostage. Unfortunately for him, it’s also a pretty good spot to sink a knife into his bitch ass neck… if we weren’t following behind the damn swat team Rodriguez called in, that is. I mean, I appreciate all the help, but it will limit my revenge plans.
I shift in my seat and even with the fresh morning breeze blowing in through the open window, sweat beads at my forehead. I unclench my fist before clenching it again and shaking my head. All night long, I tried everything to not think about what Carly’s going through right now, what the fucker is doing to her, but I’m exhausted and it’s harder to push those thoughts away now. With a sigh, I scrub my hand over my face and try to breathe through the weight that’s been sitting on my chest since I realized she was missing. It’s been fifteen long fucking hours since I last saw my girl and the unknown is killing me. I’ve seen the evidence of Julian’s depravity on Ivy’s face, but I have no clue what he’ll do, how far he’ll go with Carly, to get what he wants.
“Can you drive any fucking faster, Grandpa?” I snap at Kodiak. He flicks an annoyed glance in my direction and sighs. Blaze decided I was too amped up to drive, which was probably a good decision since I would be taking this road at one hundred miles an hour instead of twenty. Still doesn’t make it any easier to sit here while the woman I love is in danger.
“No, I can’t. And you need to chill the fuck out before we go rushing in there.”
Fuck him.
Gritting my teeth, I turn to the window and my mind drifts back to yesterday morning, remembering the blissful smile on her face as I was getting dressed to leave. The peace that settled around us because we were finally together, done running, done fighting it… just together. Her whispered words, Go. We’ll be fine here, ring in my head and my throat feels tight. She wasn’t fine. She was just fucking gone and it’s like someone reached into my chest and ripped my soul out. In a split second, everything was ripped away from me and I’d rather die than ever experience anything like it again.
Not only did I royally fuck up on keeping Carly safe, but I also lost her sister. As soon as Rodriguez got there, we jumped into planning mode – looking at floor plans of Julian’s house, the surrounding area, and everything Streak could find on guard schedules. I was so focused on getting Carly back that I forgot to watch out for her sister and she decided to take matters into her own hands. She disappeared into the night, leaving behind two letters – one for me and one for her sister. It’s gonna break her heart when I tell her. I slip my hand into the pocket of my jeans and run my fingers along the one for Carly. Didn’t Ivy trust that I wouldn’t stop until Carly was home safe with me again? Or did she just think I was incapable?
Either way, I failed her.
“You don’t understand,” I hiss, my knee bouncing as the top of the house comes into view. As we get closer, I notice something on the large front porch and I tilt my head to the side as I study it. We get closer and I realize it’s a woman on her knees and my heart lurches in my chest.
What the fuck?
“Is that Carly?” Kodiak asks, his voice full of disbelief but I ignore his question as I fling the truck door open. He slams on the brakes and I jump out, taking off at a dead run down the road.
“What the fuck, dude?” he screams from the cab of the truck, but my only focus is getting to Carly as my boots slap against the ground and the air punches out of my lungs. She looks so damn small up there on the porch of the plantation house and I know, I can tell just from the slump of her shoulders, that she is hurt. It spurs me on, my mind screaming for me to run faster and my legs screaming in pain. It doesn’t matter though. Nothing does until she’s back in my arms.
The van Rodriguez is driving with his team jerks to a halt and he jumps out, holding his hands out like he’s going to stop me and normally, I wouldn’t go up against him, but this is not a battle he’s going to win. I will burst through every obstacle in the path until I reach her. Sucking in a breath, I duck him and continue toward the house, my gaze bouncing all over the yard like Julian might pop out at any moment and steal her away from me again.
Let him try.
I’ll fucking kill him this time.
“Carly!” I yell as I reach the end of the cobblestone walkway and stop, grabbing onto the fence post. She spins around, her eyes widening as she wipes away tears and stares me down like she can’t quite believe that I’m real. I know the feeling. Last night was endless and I have to blink to make sure she’s really here in front of me.
“Chance,” she whispers, her voice cracking and my heart shatters as I start running again. She pushes to her feet and stumbles before slowly walking down the front steps. Her face twists in pain with each step and her shirt gapes open, revealing two long gashes on her chest. I skid to a halt. Red stains my vision and I clench my fists as I watch her move toward me. I imagine slicing that fucker’s body open just like he did to her and dipping him in a vat of acid but not even that is enough to quell the boiling of my blood.
She stumbles again, halfway down the walk, and I jerk into action, running to her and wrapping my arms around her body just as she collapses. A whimper slips out of her and she clutches her arms around her body as she trembles.
“I can’t believe you’re here,” she whispers, reaching up to touch me with a shaky hand and I grab it, pressing it against my cheek because I need this as much as she does. Pulling her closer, I bury my nose in her hair and take a breath, relief coursing through my body so fiercely it would probably knock me over if I wasn’t already sitting in the grass. I shift and she lets out another whimper.
“Princess,” I whisper, pain unlike anything I’ve ever known throbbing through my body as I pull away and run my hands over her skin gently, checking for any more injuries. “Where are you hurt?”
“Everywhere.”
Darkness clouds the corners of my vision as I square my shoulders and look up at the house, one thing on my mind. Julian Henshaw is going to fucking pay for laying his hands on her and I’m going to enjoy every moment of it. As gently as possible, I move her off my lap and push up off the ground, my fists clenching as I imagine tearing him limb from limb.
“Baby,” she whispers, and in an instant, she has my full attention again. “Please don’t leave me.”
The whispered plea breaks through the fog of rage for a moment and I stare up at the house before dropping back down next to her, my brow furrowing as I meet her eyes.
“I’m not going anywhere, Princess.”
She smiles, leaning against me as she closes her eyes. “I love you.”
“I love you, too, Baby. I’m so fucking sorry I let this happen. You have no idea how much I hate myself right now for not protecting you.”
She shakes her head. “Not your fault.”
“Listen, there’s something I have to tell you…” I pause and before I can say anything else, she jerks back, wincing in pain as she meets my eyes. She grabs my arm, his eyes wide and full of fear again.
“Ivy. She’s still in there.”
I glance up at the house. “You saw her?”
“Yes.”
“Do you know where she is?”
“No. Julian took her away and she was unconscious…”
“It’ll be okay,” I assure her even though I’m not convinced. I’m sure they will find her but her condition when they do is a whole other story.
Rodriguez and his team advance up the front walk with precision, guns drawn, and decked out
in black tactical gear but stop when they reach us. “How many are inside?”
Carly shakes her head. “I’m not sure. At least four but I don’t know about staff. Ivy was hurt and Julian took her somewhere.”
Rodriguez nods and motions for his men to move forward as Blaze and the guys gather around us.
“What happened with Ivy?” Carly whispers, her expression haunted. “Why is she here?”
I suck in a breath. “Julian taped a note to the clubhouse door saying he had you and he wouldn’t release you until he got Ivy back. We were up all night planning and at some point, she snuck out. I’m not sure when it happened but by the time we realized, she was long gone.”
“They were never going to let me go,” she whispers as Rodriguez kicks the front door open and his team storms inside. Someone screams and Rosie runs out of the house with her hands in the air. She glances over at us before Rodriguez marches out, gun down at his side.
“Where is Julian Henshaw?” he yells and she points to the house.
“Last I saw them, they were headed to the basement.”
Them?
Who the fuck else is in that house?
Carly pales on the ground next to me, her body shaking and Rosie glances in our direction, something passing between them.
“Did you find her?” Carly asks.
Rosie shakes her head. “I’m so sorry.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
Carly
Carly,
I know you’re mad, but I hope you understand why I had to do this. It was my mess and you’ve been taken because of it. If I had known it would turn out this way, I never would have come to you for help in the first place. You’ll never know how sorry I am. Once I show up, Julian will let you go and if I never see you again, I want you to know how much I love you. You’ve been my best friend since the moment I was born and I never thought I’d be without you. I’m just happy that I got to see you fall in love before I left. Chance is an amazing guy. He actually kind of reminds me of Dad and I know the two of you are going to have an amazing life together. No one deserves it more than you, big sister, and I’m so happy that you were finally able to let go of your past and find the happiness you’ve always wanted.