Don’t-. Not here, Karl.
I won’t taint her by thinking of her in this space.
I allow my mind to drift, escaping the pain. Each crack against my back is almost like a dull throb as I replay everything that transpired. I saw the Senator. He was talking to someone, and I got close enough to see him and started recording. I’m sure the Senator’s goons destroyed my cell already. I’d be even more pissed at myself for being caught if I didn’t know the video recording was automatically saved to a storage cloud that only I can access.
Thank fuck for Liam’s foresight.
After confirming what I suspected and getting proof, I hopped in my Jeep and took off. I didn’t see the truck until it rammed me off the road.
Fucking Rubi. I’m going to have to get her fixed.
Crack after crack of the whip against my skin fuels the rage in me. The next blow is harsher than the last few, momentarily robbing me of air. I barely hear Brian when he speaks. “Making me take the fall for that shit in Jameson’s class. Do you know what the fuck happened because of that?” he yells, dragging back into reality. “My fucking father’s sending me to some bullshit military college, and he’s cut me off until I can prove not to make a mockery of the Porter name.”
I snort. “So, your response is to prove that you aren’t capable of that?” I’m not sure he thought this whole work-with-the-enemy plan through.
“Fuck him and fuck all of you. I picked the side that will seize power,” he growls, making me roll my eyes.
Typical Brian. Typical fucking Brian.
“Let me guess, you’re going to get the keys to the castle, and we’ll all bow at your feet?” The fucking idiot probably believes he’ll amount to something by being a traitor, failing to realize he’s disposable.
Brian wheels the whip in five successive strikes, annoyed with my dose of truth. “You’re at my feet now, aren’t you? Soon all you fucking heirs will be bowing at our feet.”
“Keep talking shit, Bri, and see what happens,” I grit out, nearly breaking a tooth at the next blow.
“You’re not in a position to be telling me what to do anymore. You and the rest of the fucking heirs walk around school like you’re Teflon.” He lashes the whip again before asking, “Who’s the bitch boy now, motherfucker?”
“Still you,” I goad just as another hit lands.
The whip whirs through the air, hitting the same spot until I feel my skin split, and I finally cry out.
Once my screams die, I hear the creak of a door. “Did you do it yet?” A gruff voice asks.
“No, she never said we had to do it right away. I’m having some fun first,” Brian snaps.
“You’re supposed to be trying to convince him to go along with the plan.”
I turn my head to see a lanky man-maybe a touch above six feet. He’s standing just inside the room. He sees me watching, so he straightens his narrow shoulders, trying to appear more like a looming presence-it’s a piss poor attempt.
“What the fuck are you looking at,” he barks.
“Not much,” I retort.
The man stalks over to where I’m strapped to the table. “We’ll see how smart that mouth is after I fill it,” he snarls, unzipping his pants.
I fight the compulsion to disappear in my mind.
I won’t go there. Aleksi and his punk-ass brother are dead. Elise is dead.
He fists the nub he calls a cock, trying to jerk himself hard, and I laugh.
“Having a little trouble? And I do mean little,” I taunt.
I hear the whip sound before it lands across my ass, but I bite back the scream-trapping it behind clenched teeth.
“You’re not really about to-?” Brian fumbles, trailing off without finishing his question.
“Shut up. This shit thinks he’s a tough guy,” the man mutters, spitting in his hand for lubrication. He continues to pump, and the little pecker hardens.
He’s definitely not a grower or a shower.
“Grady,” Brian starts, but
Grady waves him off.
Choosing, instead, to walk until the crown of his dick is pressed against my chapped lips.
“Open up, Bitch Boy,” Grady orders, and so I do. I open wide, and as soon as the tip passes far enough into my mouth, I clamp my jaw down in full force. I feel the instant warm blood pools in my cheeks. It takes him a moment to register the pain. “Fuckkkkk,” he shouts, pulling back, and I feel the flesh tear as he falls to the floor beside me, and I spit the tip of his cock in his face.
Lifting my head, I smile, knowing I look crazed. I can feel the remnants of Grady’s blood dripping down my face. “I think you look better this way,” I gleam at him. My attention is so focused on him that I don’t notice Brian’s brass-knuckle-covered fist until it connects with the side of my face. Then all I see is black.
ROWAN
I storm back down the hallway of the Bradford mansion. She’s gone. Her whole family-they’re all gone. I was just trying to buy us time. We needed to keep Karl safe, and now we lost them both.
Stepping into Emma’s room, the scent of her still permeates the air. The bare walls and her sweet floral smell are like a kick to the balls, reminding me she was here, but she isn’t anymore.
“Fuck!”
My gaze lifts in time to see August run his hands through his hair before I turn and scan the room. Liam is furiously typing away on his screen, no doubt trying to get a lock on her location. Sebastian paces, searching for something to prove she’s still here. But she’s not.
As the reality of the situation becomes clear, I sink to my knees. How many times can I fail her? Embattled thoughts plague me, making me question if I should’ve-. No! If I did anything else, Karl would’ve died. Knowing I made the right decision and feeling that way are two entirely different things.
A foreign sound registers in my ears, one with hints of familiarity but different enough that I can’t place it.
“Rowan!” Liam snaps, and the invisible fog I didn’t register I was in begins to clear. It’s only then I realize the sound I hear is 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.