2
Was it possible for the room to spin while my eyes were closed? Not that I had a choice because it was like my lids were glued together or made of lead. The heaviness also radiated to my limbs, reminding me of when I convinced the boys to ride the Graviton at the state fair. A decision we’d all paid for dearly when we found ourselves dizzy and bent over shrubs, puking out our lunch.
The boys…
Visions of their faces floated in my thoughts like a hazy memory I couldn’t quite reach.
Where was I? What happened?
The rushing sound of a highway registered first and then came the feeling of movement beneath me. I was in a car, traveling fast. And I didn’t need my sight to know I was shrouded in darkness.
Realization hit me with the force of a bomb.
Ronan.
Every sensation rushed forward at once. My arms and legs were bound tightly together, though despite the restraints, my limbs were far too weak to attempt an escape. And to my horror, the partial numbness seemed to overtake every part of my body as well. The scream blazing up my throat became nothing but a muffled whimper, and no matter how much I thrashed and clawed in my mind’s eye, my body refused to cooperate.
There was no telling how long I’d been out, how far I was from home, or where the fuck I was heading.
No, no, no…
A stream of tears flowed from my eyes as it sunk in how truly fucked I was. Drugged, beaten, and tied up like an animal heading to slaughter.
I will have to break you. Those were the last words he’d said before my world caved in on itself.
At the thought of what would come, a soundless sob tore through me. I knew Ronan well enough to understand he didn’t make empty promises. And whatever fresh hell awaited me at the end of this ride was sure to break or kill me.
Without a moment to dwell on my fate, the car suddenly jolted to a stop, and I crashed mercilessly against the rugged interior of what I could only assume to be the trunk. Pain flashed behind my eyes when my head nicked a sharp edge or object with enough force that it had no doubt left a gash. Between the adrenaline and sedatives, it was hard to gauge my injuries. I could be bleeding out and wouldn’t know it.
“Get the girl inside. And remember what he said: no one touches her.” The command came from a gruff voice right outside the trunk. “I’ll be back in the morning. Try to keep that bitch alive. She was bleeding all over my fucking car.”
A second man responded in Russian.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
A sudden rush of cool air followed a loud creak.
I stiffened and held my breath, waiting for him to make a move, but seconds crawled by in suffocating silence.
What the fuck was he waiting for? I could feel his eyes on me and nearly jumped out of my skin when his rough hand fell over my hip. But I managed to keep still and feign unconsciousness.
Until the sudden blaring of a horn caused me to jerk.
“There you are,” he said with a heavy accent.
“Sasha, hurry up and get that bitch from my trunk before I send you the cleaning bill.”
The man chuckled deeply and plucked me up like a rag doll, tossing me over his shoulder.
“ Idi na khuy .” Go fuck yourself.
No other words were exchanged between them before the car peeled off, and the sound of screeching tires and burned rubber filled my senses.
“P-p…” I swallowed hard, bracing myself to speak as I fought to find my voice. “Pl-please…” I whispered on a raspy breath. “L-Let me…go.”
The man barked a laugh as we moved swiftly toward some unknown location, grass rustling beneath his feet.
“Even if I wanted to, I can’t do that. Don’t be foolish.”
The slamming of a heavy door and subsequent click of a deadbolt tightened my chest. I knew then that my fate was sealed, and there would be no escape.
“No…please.”
“I’m just here to get paid, pretty girl.”
Without warning, he tossed me on a bed and dragged my arms above my head, where he latched my restraints to metal rails.
“Can’t have you trying to run.”
Every second that ticked by brought me closer to a fate worse than death. Like some twisted premonition, I could feel it.
“Open your eyes,” he demanded, ripping off my blindfold so callously that he tore several strands of hair from my scalp. “I want to see if what they say is true.”
I wasn’t sure if it was out of defiance or just the fact the world was now far too bright, but I squeezed them tighter and shook my head as more tears slid from the corners .
“Don’t get bold. Do as I say.”
His large hands gripped my throat, forcing my eyes and mouth open. Another boisterous laugh echoed against the walls of that dank room.
“Kirill wasn’t lying.” The hazy vision of his face neared mine, and a deep crease drew his eyebrows together. “Demon eyes… ved'ma .”
Something in his gaze shifted and darkened, as if whatever shred of humanity that had once lived inside this man was gone now. Ever since childhood, I have been used to the stares and double takes due to my heterochromia and the stark contrast between blue and brown. Yet in my eighteen years of life, no one had ever looked at me the way he was—as if I was no longer a person but an object to be loathed and used.
When his eyes fell over my chest and trailed the length of my abdomen, I followed and gasped in horror when I realized I was naked.
Not even the night my parents died had made me feel so utterly vulnerable and helpless. The sadistic tilt of his mouth and the gleam in his narrowed gaze sent me spiraling into despair. My only consolation was that the other bastard had warned him I was untouchable. However, he didn’t seem the type to abide by anyone’s rules.
I bit back a sob, refusing to give him the satisfaction of seeing me cry.
You won’t break me.
“You know, witch, boss wants you cleaned up and pretty for tomorrow,” he said with a morbidly amused tone as he traced a rough hand up my thigh.
I yanked at my restraints, attempting to crawl away from his touch. “Let me go. You don’t have to do this. Please.”
“I know.” His shrug was callous. “But I do need to get paid.”
Thick fingers gripped my chin, causing the taste of blood to spill inside my mouth.
“What do you say? Bath or shower?”
“Fuck you!”
Searing pain ignited across the side of my face like a flame when the back of his hand connected with my cheek. Clamping down on my jaw, I muffled a scream as another steady drip of liquid rolled into my ear from a laceration most likely caused by his signet ring.
“That’s always an option too. Don’t tempt me.”
As much as I wanted to lash out or just outright beg for him to kill me, I couldn’t be stupid or lose hope. I was still breathing, and that meant there was still a chance to escape this nightmare. Kai and Derek were still out there. They had to know I wouldn’t just leave and cut them off.
Didn’t they?
I squeezed my eyes closed, still fighting back tears, and listened as his footsteps faded and the creaking of the heavy door followed soon after. It wasn’t until the world around me went silent that I realized I’d been holding my breath. A gasp of relief fled my quivering lips because even if, for just a moment, I was safe. Alone. I needed to plan, and strategize, and use my training to figure out how the fuck I’d get myself out of this mess.
Tilting my head, I tested the chains against the wrought iron bedpost, but both were solid. And the cuffs binding my wrists were too tight to slip through. Not even the errant thought of breaking my thumbs would free me.
“Fuck!” I screamed and attempted to kick my legs, but they were too weak. “This can’t be happening.”
My voice cracked, pain and despair rushing forward like the bursting of a dam. I cried out, every sob louder than the last.
Until I was suddenly drowning, water seeping down my nose and throat. My lungs were on fire, the burning amplified by the violent spasms and coughing that followed. I heard his barking laughter before my eyes snapped open to where the bastard stood above me, an empty bucket in his hand.
“That should shut you up.” He sneered with a laugh.
My chest heaved as I tried to regain my breath, but another splash of ice-cold water left me voiceless and frozen in every sense of the word .
“Oh, fuck. You should see your face, witch.” He doubled over, his vicious laughter thundering against my eardrum. “I’d heard stories about you, but now I know those were lies.”
Digging his thumb into my cheek, he reopened the cut inside my mouth and squeezed, prying open my jaw. I couldn’t hold back the whimpers. My suffering only spurred his cruelty.
“We aren’t supposed to sample the merchandise. But tell me, little witch, who would know?”
Before I could register his words, his mouth slammed into mine, aggressive and unforgiving. I raged beneath him, grappling to free myself and urging my legs to break through the prison of sedatives. When his tongue slid inside my mouth, I bit down, and his howls vibrated through my body.
Another sharp and heady slap rocked me into near unconsciousness.
“Bitch!” he roared with a newly attained lisp.
Through the haze of pain, my lips curved into a smile when I saw blood pouring from his mouth and dribbling past his chin.
I spat blood and a small chunk of flesh. “Coward. Why don’t you free me so we can play.”
His eyes narrowed into slits as he glared at me and pulled a key from his pocket as if calling my bluff. I could take him on a good day, armed with a blade. But my muscles were still weak, and I wasn’t even sure I could stand. I was trained to never show weakness, even in the face of death. But regret roiled inside me as he approached.
“You’re fucked,” he said with a growl, tossing the key across the room and flipping me over.
“Wait…I’m sorry. Please…”
“On your knees.”
The sound of his belt sliding from the loops like a whip sent me into a panic.
“Sasha…please,” I begged through heavy breaths, bracing myself for what was to come.
“ Sasha? ” The fire of the first slash stole my breath, and the third and fourth, my soul. “On your knees, and call me sir.”
Two more unforgiving whips blazed against my ass and the backs of my thighs, ripping a scream from my throat.
“On your knees, witch!”
Every slash threatened to send me into unconsciousness.
“Stop…please!”
“Call. Me. Sir.”
Seven. Eight. Nine. Ten.
My shoulders and lower back.
“I said get up.”
Eleven. Twelve.
My ass.
Thirteen. Fourteen. Fifteen. Sixteen. Seventeen. Eighteen. Nineteen.
“Do it!”
The sounds of leather against skin were wet now.
“F-fuck…s-stop,” I cried, my voice raw.
“Knees.”
Trembling, I struggled to lift my body off the mattress, but every gash caused me to drop. The pain was excruciating like every inch of me had been set ablaze.
“Say it,” he grunted through heavy breaths, yet his swings didn’t cease or slow.
Twenty-three. Twenty-four. Twenty-five…
“S-sir…s-stop.”
But they kept coming.
Until the edges of my vision darkened, and his loud groans and the sounds of ripping flesh became a distant echo while I descended into nothingness.