He grimaces, “Yes, I’ve heard. How is the girl? Emma, is it?”
I dip my head confirming he’s correct. “She’s a fighter. A fucking spitfire. Resilient in ways that put grown men to shame. She’s been thrown to the lions and became the tamer.”
Matthieu’s frown lifts, his olive cheeks lift into a megawatt smile that would make men and women trip at his feet. “You like her, oui?
“No. I can’t allow myself to be that foolish again.” I blurt before he can say more.
He laughs- fucking laughs.
“Oh, Bastian. Vous ne pouvez pas ?tre tr?s intelligent si vous n’avez jamais rien fait de stupide. Be a little foolish, you deserve it,” he offers, reaching over to pat my knee before sitting back and sipping on his drink.
I hear him, but I wouldn’t survive another heartbreak. Whenever we choose Emma, I’ll care for her- love is not an option.
EMMA
“You’re next. You think you’re safe because of who you are? You’re not. Your name won’t save you from the anal pounding I’m going to give you.” The shriveled dick jackass with the moldy breath proclaims as he tucks his disgusting appendage back into his soiled black pants.
He and his partner have taken turns coming in and out of this fucking room to violate Sam in so many ways. He stalks over to me, just like he has every time he’s come in here.
It’s always the same.
He bends, breathing his aged milk smell into my face, telling me how many ways he’s going to have me and which hole he’ll take first before he turns and stalks out of the room.
“Are you listening to me, you privileged bitch?” he snaps
I want desperately to deck him in the throat, but I’m chained to this damn wall. So, my fight would only piss him off and leave me at a significant disadvantage. Instead, I stay quiet, internally cursing him out as I bash his face in with his own boot.
A sudden yank of my hair pulls my head back. He grips it at the root, reminding me of a certain someone who did this on my first day of school. My hand twitches at my side, and I have to ball it into a tight fist to prevent myself from my gut reaction to swing.
“Do you hear me talking to you, you dumb whore? Didn’t they ever tell you that when a man talks, a woman is supposed to answer unless told to shut the fuck up?”
I can’t stop the sneer of disgust I feel from appearing on my face. My nose wrinkles and my eyes squeeze closed.
Does he think we’re in the eighteen hundreds or some shit?
“You think you’re too good to talk to me, you little cunt? Well, maybe you’ll scream for me instead.” My eyes snap open, and I try to pull away, but his grip on my hair is too tight. His free hand reaches for the resistance-free sweats they put me in. For fuck’s sake. I begin to struggle, flailing in his hold as I try to loosen his grip.
“Hold still,” he grunts, changing tactics, no longer reaching for my pants. Instead, he reaches for his own. “You won’t think you’re all high and mighty when I’m shoving my coc-.”
“
Angel, wake up.”
My eyes spring open as I suck in air, my heart racing faster than my mind can register the sound of the voice.
I can’t let him try to do that to me again.
I swing my arm up in the direction of the sound until it connects with its target with a loud smack.
“Fuck, Angel. It’s me. You’re safe,” I hear, and the voice finally registers.
Karl.
My eyes come into focus on the two figures in my room.
“What, what are you guys doing here?” I ask Karl and August, looking out my window to see darkness, verifying it’s still night.
“We needed to make sure you were okay. We had to make sure you were truly safe,” August murmurs, taking up the spot next to Karl.
Noticing my gaze focused on where he’s currently seated, Karl answers my silent question. “Tabitha and Jamie were bringing the twins to their rooms when we came in. You were thrashing in your sleep.”
Still confused, I try to shake the remnants of my nightmare off. Thoughts of that vile man and his partner make my skin crawl.
“Hey, Love,” August beckons, bending to lightly brush the hair out of my face, putting his more into view. “What’s going on in that head of yours?”
I’m unsure if I’m ready to talk about everything that happened over the time I was taken. Shit, I’m not sure I’m prepared to begin to process the lies upon lies my entire life has been.
How can I? I still don’t know enough to fucking know where to start.
My annoyance at this whole fucked up lie I’ve been living grows. I feel the muscles in my jaw tighten with each pass of my teeth grinding against themselves.
“Riri. Emma,” August’s voice snaps me from my spiraling thoughts.
“I’m sorry. What did you say?” I know it was something because I could hear him speak, but I was too lost in my thoughts to register what he said.
He lifts me from my bed, positioning me on his lap. “I said whatever you need. We’re here. Tell us what’s going on in your beautifully chaotic mind.”
Do I tell? Can I trust them? It’s the guys. Karl and August have easily bulldozed their way into my life, and before I was taken, I was definitely growing feelings for both of them.
But can I give them this piece of me? Ever since my dad was taken by his traitorous cunt wife, that thought causes my back to stiffen. It’s always been me making life continue in their absence.
“Or we can just sit here and be,” Karl states, climbing over our outstretched legs and sitting beside me on my bed. His breath tickles my shoulder before he plants a chaste kiss. “You don’t have to talk now or ever if you don’t want to. I know a great way to exorcize your demons,” he finishes, glancing up and peering his hazel gaze into mine. He gets a faraway look in his eyes like he’s seeing past me, lost in his mind as I was moments ago.
Reaching up, I touch the scruff of his beard, bringing him back like he did for me. “Where did you go?” I ask, tipping my gaze up as his eyes clear.
“A story for another day. Right now, my- our concern is you, Angel,” he endears, and I see the haunting shadows leave his stare as he refocuses his attention on me.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.