18
Over the next 3 days, food was bought at gas stations. A few had actual food but others only had old, stale snacks. Either way, they were both upsetting Rose’s stomach. She wasn’t used to eating high amounts of salt, grease, and fat. She wanted to chug water, but there was the problem of having to pee. She couldn’t go into a bottle and didn’t want to pull up her skirt and squat in front of three men on the side of the road. She groaned and leaned her head on the window, her hands and arms crossed over her stomach.
“Hey, what’s wrong, Rose?” Raiden’s concerned voice came to her from behind her.
“My stomach hurts.”
“I can-”
“You’re not doing anything, she’s fine.” Jace butted in.
Rose peered over at her tattooed captor, he had one hand on the steering wheel and the other held a cigarette. He took a deep drag, then tossed the butt out the window.
“We’re coming up to a small town, we’ll find a place and stay there for a while.”
The truck fell into silence again and in an hour, they entered another rundown town. Jace parked in front of the local grocery store, which was more like a farmer’s market where she was from. It was rather cute, despite having chipped, sun-faded paint and the baskets of fruits and vegetables made Rose’s mouth water. Jace turned around to face the other two and began giving commands.
“Check out the town. See if anything is abandoned or for rent. I’ll take Rose to the store to get a few things. Meet back here in an hour.”
“You sure your whore should be walking around looking like that?”
“Whore? What the hell has gotten into you Axel?”
“Sounds like he’s jealous.”
“I’m not jealous!” He barked back. “Besides, she’s got fucking chains on.”
“You may be right, but you didn’t need to call her that.” Raiden’s face showing pity as he stared at the back of Rose’s head.
“Whatever.” Axel whipped open his door and walked off the second his feet touched the ground.
“Rose, stay here. He’s right.” Jace finally spoke with a sigh.
His eyes trailed up and down the blotchy skin on Roses neck, some hickeys fading while others a deep purple. Rose could feel her cheeks heating up again, she hadn’t wanted him to leave marks scattered all over her skin. Raiden and Jace stepped out of the truck as she examined her chest. Jace left the windows open but came over to her side of the car before leaving. He reached inside, opened the glove box, and pulled out a set of metal hand cuffs that he used to attach her to the door handle. He made sure to make eye contact with her, warning her not to yell out or try to run despite the cuffs. She swallowed hard and gave him a slight nod to make him leave. She sat there for at least a full 45 minutes, a light perspiration covering her. Axel was the first to return, his face in a deep scowl and his shirt soaked in sweat. He ran his hand through his sweat-soaked hair, wiped it palm off on his pants, then climbed into the truck. It was the first time she had seen his hair pushed back, revealing his entire face.
“Any day now and Jace will drop you.”
She ignored him, nothing she said would matter anyway. In the next moment, she had her head pinned to the back of her seat and a hand over her mouth. Then a sharp pain as a handful of her hair was pulled roughly.
“I’ll make sure to get you next. Jace owes me after all.”
She whimpered against his palm and squeezed her eyes shut, wishing him to stop and go away. She could feel him breathing on her cheek and peeked through her lids to see him smell her hair.
“I won’t be gentle.” He tugged harder at her hair. “I’ll keep you tied up and be as rough as I please. You’ll be so used up that not even Raiden will glance at you.”
He released her and sat back in his spot, his arms crossed over his chest. Rose kept her head and eyes down, her breathing had increased and her chest was pounding. She couldn’t go to Axel, Jace was bad but at least he was gentle sometimes. Not to mention how unselfish he is in the bedroom. She blushed at that last thought, she can’t think about stuff like that with him. Especially after how brutally she was threatened.
“Hey, did you find anything?” Raiden spoke as he hoped into the back of the truck.
“There’s an abandoned farm house not too far from here. Looks like they left it for a new place. Its dirty, but big enough for us.”
“Cool. How ya doin’ Rose?”
She peered back at him, his face almost as red as his hair. Sweat was dripping down the side of his face and onto his shirt. He had a smile on his face and his eyes were filled with excitement.
“I-I’m fine.” She mumbled, her eyes moved back to the windshield and catching Jace.
His eyes were filled with some unknown emotion, his hair darker and sleeker from sweat. He tossed the bags he was carrying into the cab of the truck and got back into the car.
“Anything?”
“Axel said there’s a farm house.”
“Lead the way.”
Jace followed Axel’s directions, bringing them about 10 minutes from town. There was an over-grown gravel path that led into the woods and eventually to a dirty, white ranch. In some ways, it reminded Rose of Molly. Her heart sank. She was trapped.
“Maybe you should make Rose our maid, clean this place up and make us some food.” Axel spoke up as they got out of the truck.
“Not a bad idea.” Jace muttered as he uncuffed Rose.
She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She thought her punishment for running away was over. She absentmindedly rubbed her wrist and jumped down from her seat. Jace slammed the door shut and wrapped an arm around her. Raiden had grabbed the grocery bags and brought them inside.
“Not sure if anything works.”
“We’ll figure it out.” Jace pulled Rose closer to him as they went into the first room, then the kitchen.
“Why don’t you get to cleaning, maid.” Axel glared at Rose.
She found herself curling into Jace more, as if he would give her the protection she desperately needed. But of course, he didn’t, he pushed her away.
“Might as well.” He turned his back to her and went off to assess the bedrooms.
Rose wanted to cry. Things had been bad ever since the day of the robbery but she somehow felt even worse. And with the way Jace was acting, Axel would get his wish in no time. She tried to clear her head and focus on the task at hand. She got to work on the kitchen first. For being abandoned, it could have been worse. Most of the cleaning was wiping away thick layers of dust and random dead bugs. She ignored the men in the house and focused on the task at hand. She had tested the stove and 3 of the 4 burns worked. The oven also worked and they had running water. The house must be on a well, but she didn't trust it enough to drink it. The fridge wasn't running, but she wondered if that was a matter of being plugged in.
After what seemed like hours, she wiped her forehead with her forearm and stood back to see what she accomplished. It seemed rather cozy and helped take her mind off the others in the house. She scrubbed her hands and arms up to her elbows, then went through the remaining bags filled with food. She went over everything, searching in her mind what to make when she realized they didn't have any pans. She sighed, then grabbed the paper plates Jace managed to remember and set out four of them. She pulled out bread, deli meat, tomatoes, lettuce, and mayo. She left the ingredients out and assumed that the three men would know how to put together a sandwich. She started to make hers as Jace walked in.
"That for me?"
"No." She looked up at him, annoyance clear on his face. "Um. But you can have it." She surrendered, lowering her head and handing it over to him.
She waited for him to take it, but nothing happened. She saw his hand, but he grabbed the loaf of bread instead.
"I was kidding." He mumbled and put together two sandwiches. "Raiden, Axel. Food."
Raiden came running in with a grin on his face, which fal
tered when he saw the food.
"Aw, you didn't cook anything?" He pouted.
"I didn't have any pans, I'm sorry." She felt bad as she bit into her sandwich.
"Then, will you make me one?" He gave her a sly smile.
"Oh." She gulped down the food in her mouth. "Yea, I can do that."
"You're more than capable of making your own." Jace glared at Raiden.
"But I like when Rose makes it." He moved closer to her.
"It's not a big deal." But her words fell to deaf ears.
"Make your own." Jace grabbed Rose around the waist, lifted her up over his shoulder and carried her off into another room.
19
"Jace, put me down!" She held on to her sandwich, it was the only thing making her stomach feel better.
"Don't be like that Jace!" Raiden shouted after him, but began making his food.
Axel passed them in the hall, he said nothing to Jace but turned to glare at Rose once he was behind him. Rose felt frozen for a moment, her hysteria from Jace carrying her like a caveman momentarily forgotten. She thought she'd never fear anyone more than she feared Jace. Turns out she was wrong. Jace kicked open a door to one of the rooms and set Rose down on her feet. She stared up at his grey eyes and was surprised that there wasn't even a single trace of anger in them.
"Jace-"
He cupped both sides of her face with his large hands and pulled her into a rough kiss. She gasped at his sudden action, allowing his tongue to easily glide into her mouth. She felt her sandwich slip from her fingers and splat onto the floor. Her heart beat picked up and she closed her eyes. In a weird way, his kiss made her feel better. Made her feel wanted. And less likely to be handed over to Axel.
"I'm. Sorry. Rose." He spoke between kisses.
She couldn't seem to breathe, her mind muddled with thoughts of Jace and everything that has happened. She wanted to know what exactly he was saying sorry for but was struggling for air as his kisses grew rougher. He backed her against a nearby wall, his hands dropping to her waist and held her tightly to his body.
"Wait-" Another kiss. "I-I'm-" He led his kisses down her neck, giving her a chance to breathe. "I'm gross and dirty! Stop!"
"I don't care." He stopped for a moment, his head resting on her shoulder. "You don't deserve what I've done to you. And I don't deserve to have someone like you."
Her heart dropped as fear began to rise. She didn't understand what he was trying to say or what he was going to do with her. Then hope appeared, maybe he meant he was going to set her free but that seemed too good to be true.
"I'm too greedy to let you go." He gave her a gentle kiss on her shoulder.
"Please, let me go." She whimpered and his grip on her tightened. "I want a normal life."
"Then I'll give you a normal life, with me."
"This isn't normal, Jace. You've done way too much to have one."
"I'll do whatever it takes, I can't let you go."
"I-"
"Give me a chance."
"Why should I?" She barely managed to keep the anger out of her voice, he was the one who had turned her world upside down and inside out.
"Because either way, I'm not going to let you go."
"Why are you doing this? Why me?"
Jace was silent for a while, she wasn't even sure if he was going to give her an answer.
"You remind me of my ex."
"That's why you kidnapped me? Because of an ex-girlfriend!"
"Not girlfriend, fiancée."
She paused her rage for a second. She hadn't thought of Jace to be the type of man to settle down and stick to one woman.
"I had a normal life once. Before Raiden and Axel and Morgan. Before living a life of crime."
"What happened?" She whispered, she couldn't help but ask.
"She got pregnant on accident. It freaked her out, so she had an abortion. After that, she decided she didn't want to have a family or kids. She wanted to party and drink and fuck whoever she pleased." He dug his fingers deeper into her.
"Ow! Jace you're hurting me!"
"I'm sorry." He loosened his grip, but refused to let her go. "I guess I saw you and couldn't help myself."
"That still doesn't make it okay!" She snapped.
"I already know that!" He shouted back at her. "But I wouldn't change a damn thing. I need you."
"I-" She licked her lips, she was completely overwhelmed with everything he was saying. "I can't do that."
"You're mine, Rose. I'll make sure you're always mine, even if I have to lock you away."
"No! Please, don't!" Her anger flipping to fear.
"Then stay with me. I'll take you away from all the problems I've created. I'll live an honest life, make a safe home for us."
"Jace-"
"Just think about!" He yelled in frustration.
He completely let go of her, twisted away, and left the room with her standing there dumbstruck. She had learned more about Jace in ten minutes than she had during the months she spent with him. For some reason, she wondered if he had gotten his tattoos and piercings before or after his fiancée leaving him. It didn't matter though, what did was that he was trying to make her the replacement. Her eyes drifted to her discarded sandwich, dust was surround it and no doubt was underneath it as well. She sighed and pushed herself away from the wall, she really needed to eat something.
She cautiously left the room and headed back toward the kitchen. She spotted Axel outside and relaxed a bit. Raiden was standing behind the fridge and messing with something. She quietly remade her sandwich and sat down at the rickety wooden table in the middle of the room. Her stomach began to feel like normal as she filled up, the bread seemingly soaking up all the grease she had consumed. Suddenly, she heard a loud bang and jumped in her seat.
"Ah! Fuck!" Raiden yelled and stepped out from behind the fridge. "Oh, sorry Rose. I didn't know you were in here."
"It's okay. What happened?"
"Hit my head on the cabinet, didn't realize how damn low they are." He touched the spot on his head.
"Do you want me to make sure you're not bleeding?"
She was hesitant to ask, but didn't want him to be injured. Raiden, although weird and apart of this criminal group, had been the kindest to her.
"Sure." He grinned and came over to the chair next to her.
Rose stood up and gently started moving the hair around the place he hit. Even with him sitting, he was rather tall. She stood on her toes to see better and leaned in closer to examine his scalp. She didn't see anything, but could feel his breath on her chest. She blushed softly and backed up.
"I-Um, I didn't see anything. Probably just a sore spot." She turned her eyes away from him.
"Well, that's good." He rubbed his head. "Thanks for checking."
"Yea, no problem." She mumbled. "Uh, do you know where Jace is?"
"I know he went outside. Might have taken the truck somewhere unless that was Axel."
"Oh, okay."
Rose glanced out the nearest window and saw Axel coming out of a wore down shed. Jace must have taken the truck, but where and for what she didn't know. She swallowed down the rest of her sandwich and decided she would clean more. It would be the only think to take her mind of everything and make time go faster. She started in what could be a living room or dining room. It was the same as the kitchen, dust and bugs. She tossed all her dirty wipes into one of the empty grocery bags, then searched for a bathroom. She mentally kicked herself for not doing that first. She wanted it clean and see if it were possible to finally take a shower.
The bathroom was at the back of the house, dirty and filled with spider webs. She let out a loud screech when she walked through a web she hadn't seen. She could feel it on her face and caught in her hair. Her skin crawled, her mind tricking her into thinking there was a spider walking over her arm or leg. Panic gripped her as she flailed around and eventually fell on her butt outside of the room.
20
Jace sped down one of the back-county roads, windows down and a cigarette in his hand. He pulled in a long, deep drag. He had acted like a fucking woman. He let out the smoke and took another hard drag. He said too much, but he had meant every word. He wasn't ever going to let her go. She didn't exactly look like Savannah, but he hadn't felt strongly about a woman since her. Everything was a fling, a quick fuck. Rose was different. Sweet, soft, and caring. He could see it in her actions and how she handled what he had put her through.
Jace's Pet Page 12