5
A loud , drawn-out grunt resonated in my ear as he pumped the last of himself inside me. His breath was vile and hot on my neck. I closed my eyes, praying he’d leave without a word or extra favors, but when had luck ever been on my side? My prayers had long drowned in an endless sea of tears and despair.
“Just give me five minutes, sweetheart, and I’ll come back for this,” he said, pushing his thumb against the rim of muscles in my ass.
I shuddered at the indescribable pain that awaited. It wouldn’t be the first time, but Mr. H was a fucking sadist. He enjoyed tears, pain, and blood. The night he took my virginity, he’d made sure I bled far more than I was supposed to and proudly wore what he stole like war paint.
There were others, of course, but he was consistent, always coming back for more. I begged for the day he’d take it all and end me.
“I had some meetings scheduled tonight and a three-day business trip over the weekend,” he said casually, slicking back his hair in the mirror. “But it turns out, we had last-minute cancellations. And since the wife and kids are out of town, you got me for the next four days.” Slamming the comb on the dresser, he turned around, his wicked grin wide and smug as he ran his eyes over the length of my naked body.
Four days.
Surviving twenty-four hours with this man was a feat in itself.
But four days…
It’s what you want. Let her die.
“I have some fun planned for us, sweet girl.” Mr. H dragged his hand along my inner thigh. “Are you excited?”
He’d never demanded I speak before, so I didn’t see a reason to reply. It wasn’t until he flipped me over, face inches from mine, and three fingers buried so painfully inside me that I realized his twisted game had been upgraded.
“Y-yes,” I breathed.
His eyes were light green with gold specks, surrounded by pale lashes. He reminded me a lot of Ronan in the way he used humor to convey his depraved nature.
Ronan.
I hadn’t thought of that name in so long.
Then again, I hadn’t thought of much of what my life had been like.
Because not thinking, not feeling, was safer.
My blood suddenly felt a little warmer and moved a little faster. A flush of anger rose, heating my cheeks hotter every time Mr. H’s fingers slid back and forth. When he pinched my cheeks and forced me to watch him suck said intrusive fingers clean, I decided it was time for him to die. No one would come looking if he were slated to spend the next four days with me.
Play the part.
“My wrists. Just for a little?”
I followed his gaze to where my hands were bound. The cuffs were damn near a part of me now, buried into raw skin. If Mr. H didn’t kill me soon, infection would.
“You know that’s not allowed. Naughty girl. ”
“What if I begged?”
He chuckled. “You know what I like, don’t you.”
I nodded. “I do.”
Sometimes, we didn’t know what we were asking for. And when he flipped me back around and lifted my ass in the air, I instantly regretted the sacrifice. But as he plunged inside with just a drop of saliva for his benefit, it became clear: my suffering was a means to an end. His end. There was no guarantee he’d keep his word, but I had four miserable days to convince him.
I had always taken the act of scratching my nose for granted, but on that morning, or day, or night, or whatever the fuck time it was, that small, once trivial gesture was a godsend. Metal cuffs lay on the nightstand beside me, no longer rubbing my skin raw.
Mr. H was asleep, his arm around my waist.
With a steadying exhale, I maneuvered onto my back and slid off the edge of the bed as stealthy as I could manage. Once I hit the floor, I rolled onto my hands and knees, fighting the effects of the drugs still lingering in my system. Having spent the last two days in bed, my leg muscles ached when I stretched to my feet. Once fit and curvy, the ghastly sight of my rail-thin body and sunken eyes in the mirror made me pause. Magda fed me just enough to keep me alive…or whatever this existence was considered.
I snatched a key card and his black comb from the dresser, breaking its teeth from one end.
Hesitating, my gaze fixed on the door. All I had to do was walk out and take my chances. Attempting to kill him in his sleep with a plastic tool was dangerous, and I ran the risk of getting caught and overpowered. But letting him live wasn’t an option.
When I straddled his abdomen, his hands found my thighs, and a light smile formed on his lips.
“Good morning to you too, sweet girl.”
“It’s a good morning to go to hell.”
The moment his eyes popped open, I sunk the comb’s sharpened edge into his jugular. His first instinct was to grab at my skin, but my hand came down again, then two more times until the plastic snapped under the pressure. By then, I was covered in his blood spatter, and he was gasping and gurgling through the new holes in his neck.
But it wasn’t enough. He’d violated me and been inside my body without my consent. Desecrated my blood for his enjoyment. It was only fair that I paid him with the same disrespect. Mr. H didn’t deserve a quiet, suffocating death on the floor of this godforsaken place.
Pale blond brows hit the top of his forehead when I reached inside his ruined throat and tore away pieces of flesh as he shuddered beneath me.
He wasn’t deserving of mercy. But maybe his death would bring a more peaceful existence to his wife and children. When the light in his eyes faded, the feeling was damn near orgasmic. During my time with Ares, my marks were just names on a contract, and I was numb to their dying breaths. But the significance of this moment fractured something inside me.
An unnerving sense of deja vu took over when I shuffled toward the door and twisted the knob. But there was no turning back. My fate was freedom or death, only I wasn’t sure which of the two I desired more.
Bloodied and naked, I trudged down a dim hallway, making a left turn toward a pulsating red light above a metal door. With cameras mounted on every corner, I knew it was only a matter of time before I was spotted. The muscles in my legs were still weakened, but sober enough to push my body into a slow sprint until I crashed through the door and into a torrential downpour.
The slanted rain was thick, slicing through the night sky and against my skin. Dropping to my knees, I let the storm wash away his blood and the imprint he and so many others had left on my body.
But it was in vain. Their hands still muddied my soul, and their voices had found a permanent home inside my mind.
She’s too far gone.
I collapsed and hung my head, wet hair falling around me, and cried.
“What the fuck are you doing out here?”
Strong arms plucked me from the mud. Despite the wet strands plastered against my face and eyes, obstructing my vision, I knew that voice.
“You’re supposed to be with Mr. Halstad.”
“He’s dead.”
She squeezed her fist around my throat. “Come again?”
“Fuck…him,” I choked out, thrusting my forehead into hers. “And fuck you too.”
The impact caught her off guard, and she released me and stumbled backward into the mud. Unfortunately for me, my ankle twisted when I fell on the unsteady ground. But I’d be damned if I’d gotten this far and let her drag me back to hell.
I took off toward a chain-linked fence, Magda on my heels.
“You’re going to fry, bitch!” She lunged and grabbed my hair, swinging me around as I reached the fence and punched the right side of my face. Sparks of light exploded behind my eyes, and I wanted nothing more than to lie down and die.
Never stop fighting.
I trained for eight years in hand-to-hand combat.
Pushing through the daze, I dodged her next hit and buried my fist into her abdomen. Oxygen huffed out of her lungs, and she groaned but remained latched onto my hair.
“You want to get bold, huh?”
Another blow to my jaw had me spitting out blood, but I returned the favor and reveled in the sound of broken cartilage. Red sprayed from her nose, slicking down her chin, and she smiled like the sadistic cunt she was .
“That was cute.” In a flash, her arms trapped me, and she slammed me into the hard ground.
I gasped for air as it fled my body in agonizing waves.
“You will pay dearly for what you’ve done,” she growled, pinning me down with her weight.
“Fucking kill me!” I spit in her face again, and she slapped, then backhanded me. “Is that…all you got,” I rasped with a grin, sending more blood-stained saliva her way.
“I’ll see you in the Pit.”
Fuck.
The Pit was worse than death. A free for all. Where everyone took a turn and lived out their most depraved fantasies while others watched. I’d found out the hard way.
“Look at you, taking all of us so good.”
With every ounce of strength I had left, I shifted my pelvis in an upward motion, throwing her off balance and over my head. Magda landed with a thud, and I straddled her, rock in hand. Her front teeth shattered, leaving her in a daze.
“You’re a disgrace. What you do to these girls.” The jagged edge of the rock crushed the bones in her face as I delivered punches as powerful as I could manage.
One. Two. Three. Four times until her flesh was mangled.
“Hey!” a man’s voice called from the door. Another flanked him. They were armed and began to sprint toward me.
No, no, no!
Diving for the fence, pulse thundering in my ears, I climbed up the slick metal as bullets ricocheted around me. Barbed wire wound around the top, slicing into my skin as I attempted to scale over the razor-sharp edges.
I swallowed back the sting as pieces of my flesh caught and ripped open. When a bullet clipped my side, I lost my footing and plummeted to the ground.
Crying out, I lay on my back and sucked in ragged breaths before flipping over and running into a thick hedge of trees just as I heard the gate slide open.
“Oh, fuck.” I nearly stumbled but kept pace because I knew this was my last shot.
If they caught me, they wouldn’t kill me; they’d torture me until I’d beg to die and then do it all over again.
Shouts echoed from the forest behind me, closing the distance between us, no matter how hard I ran. Cupping the wound on my side, I fell to my knees as I broke the tree line and reached an embankment. Headlights approached, but the mud on the small hill was too slippery and I kept sliding back into the ditch.
“Fuck!” I sobbed into the darkness, sure I’d given away my location. “You have to keep moving, goddamn it!”
Using both hands, I gripped protruding roots and pushed into the mud with my feet until I finally made it over and rolled onto the side of a highway. I crawled a few steps and collapsed, unable to stand or bear weight on my limbs any longer. I prayed to bleed out before they reached me.
Please, let me die.
“Oh, my God! Lorenzo, call for help!”
A sharp hiss left my lips when she flipped me over and pushed wet, muddy hair from my face.
An angel.
“Honey, what on earth happened to you? Where did you come from?”
I shook my head. “They’re coming. Please, don’t let them get me.”
“Who? Who’s coming?”
I blinked away fat droplets of rain and clutched her jacket as I fought to stay conscious. “We have to go…Can’t stay here.”
“It’ll be okay. We’ll get you help.”
Why was she talking funny? And why are there two of them now?
I collapsed to the ground and realized I was passing out…or dying.
The angel kept speaking, her words incoherent until they faded into nothing.