Chapter 60
SIXTY
KASHTON
“Perfectly.” She assures me. “It’s perfect.” Placing her hands on my face, she kisses me, and I wrap my arms around her, pulling her into me.
I wanted this to be special for her. A chance to show her just how much she means to me. Words only go so far. They only mean so much. I’m going to prove to her how much I love her. That I can take care of her.
“Seriously?” Sin calls out, and she pulls away laughing as I look at the open door. “It’s time.”
“We’re coming,” she laughs softly.
I look over her necklace and then check her ears and see she hasn’t put in the earrings Bill got her. “Be right there,” I assure him and he closes the door when I grab the small box and hold it out to her.
She removes the diamond studs and replaces them with the earrings that Bill gave her. I close the box with the diamonds now in them and set it aside. “You look stunning, Eve.”
Her cheeks turn pink at the compliment. “Come on.” I take her hand, and we exit the owner’s suite and step out onto the deck. I’ve got it lined with rose petals to a black altar at the bow of the yacht.
“You shouldn’t have done this for me,” she whispers.
I turn to look at her, and her watery eyes scan the bow. “I’d do anything for you,” I tell her, and when she looks at me, I gently kiss her lips. This is just the start of our forever.
“Truly Madly Deeply” by Savage Garden begins to play, and Sin clears his throat, standing under the altar.
Eve glances at me. I shrug. “Where’s Howard?” I ask, looking around.
He smiles, answering, “I told the officiant he wasn’t needed. I’m going to marry you.” Sin pulls his shoulders back. “Don’t worry. I’m legit. I got ordained online today.”
I open my heavy eyes, hearing my phone beep. Looking at my wife, I see she’s tucked into my side, right arm across my chest and sound asleep.
Reaching over, I pick up my cell and see I have a new video message.
I gently pull out from underneath Eve and put on my dress slacks before opening the sliding glass door and stepping out onto the balcony.
The ocean looks like black glass. It’s so dark out here, and the sound of the waves is calming.
After our ceremony, I opted for the patch that Sin also got for me in case the gum didn’t work. I prefer the patch much more.
I fall into a chair and run a hand down my face before I open up the video. It’s in the group chat with Saint and Haidyn.
When I press Play, a room comes into view. It’s the same one she was in for her initiation, but only Evan is currently present. He’s got his back to the camera, tossing some things onto a tray, but I’m unable to see what they are.
The door opens and Eve is shoved into it. “Fucking bitch,” she hisses at the man who pushed her inside before turning to face Evan.
The door opens once again, and my pulse races when I see who has entered. Her back is to him, so she doesn’t notice. Too focused on Evan.
“Get on the table,” Evan orders her.
“I will not,” she argues, snorting.
Evan turns to face her. His eyes flicker to the Lord watching their exchange. “If you don’t—”
“You will have to make me,” she interrupts him.
I love my girl, but she’s so stubborn. It’s going to get her killed one day.
“Eve…” Evan smirks. He’s enjoying this. “We’ve talked about this.”
“And I told you to go to hell.” She spins around to rush out of the room but doesn’t get far. The Lord swings, punching her in the face.
My heart races when she drops to the concrete floor like deadweight. She didn’t even see his fist coming.
She’s on her side, her legs and arms twisted, matted hair covering parts of her already bruised face. Now it’s bleeding.
“Put her on the table,” Evan orders the kid who brought her into the room while he walks over to the Lord. “Mr. Reeves. What a surprise.”
Garrett shakes his hand while he watches the kid arrange an unconscious Eve on the table. “Still as stubborn as ever, I see,” he says, referring to his daughter.
Evan squares his shoulders as if offended, and I get a sickening feeling. “It takes time, sir, but I assure you, she will submit.”
“I’ll be the judge of that.” Garrett crosses his arms over his chest.
Evan turns and walks over to the counter while the kid prepares Eve. Arms out to her sides and strapped down to the table, palms up. A thick belt around her chest, stomach, and upper thighs, along with her ankles.
All I can think is at least her legs are closed. They’re not going to rape her. But if not that, then what? Why did Evan want her in this room to begin with, and why is her father here? He tossed her away like trash. Why does he care about her progress?
Everett groans in pain as she starts to come around, arching her neck.
I run a hand through my hair. Goddammit, Eve. At least she’s alive. I just keep reminding myself that they don’t want her dead.
Evan starts opening and slamming cabinets, and my stomach knots. He’s changing his plan. Now he’s going to prove a point to Garrett at Eve’s expense.
“Here.” Evan wads up what looks like black fabric that has a belt connected to it. “Put this on her,” he orders the kid.
The Lord-in-training starts to softly push Eve’s hair off her bruised and bloody face.
“Give me that,” Garrett snaps, yanking what I now see is a hood from the kid’s hands.
He shoves it over Eve’s head and face, not caring about being gentle as he stretches it.
The fabric is tight, showing off the hollowness in her eye sockets, the curve of her nose, her sunken-in cheekbones, and her chin before he pulls it down to cover her neck.
It has a thick belt that Garrett pulls tight and buckles in the front.
Eve moves once more. “Wh-at?” The only part of her face that can be seen is her mouth. She licks her busted lips, smearing the blood across them.
“This as well.” Evan tosses something else to Garrett.
He snatches it midair and then grips Eve’s cheeks painfully, making a cry ring out in the quiet room. He shoves the black rubber into her mouth. It resembles a mouthpiece with a hole in the center for her to breathe out of. He pushes her head up, fastens it, and then drops it to the metal table.
She can no longer see or speak. It’s probably also hard for her to hear. She’s helpless. At their mercy.
Her hands fist, and she starts to fight the restraints. She’s coming around now, and I shift in my seat. “Hold on, angel,” I whisper to my phone. Whatever it is, it can’t last forever. She’s in bed right behind me. This isn’t the end for her.
Bill finds her and pulls her out of this hell. He saves her.
Evan pushes a tray over to her side and starts an IV in the crook of her arm, then hangs a banana bag on a hook.
“What the fuck is that for?” Garrett demands.
“Epinephrine,” Evan answers, and Garrett arches a brow in question. “Adrenaline. There are higher risks when administering it this way, but…”
“Give me a syringe and I’ll stab her in the heart with it,” Garrett interrupts him.
Evan looks nervous for a second. “A shot of adrenaline straight to the heart will only last maybe twenty minutes before she passes out. I’m diluting it some and giving her less this way, but it will last longer.”
“Fuck,” I growl, shifting in the seat again.
“Hmm.” Garrett nods his approval.
Evan grabs a piece of sandpaper and walks over to Eve. He starts to rub it over her right hip. She comes alive, thrashing on the table as much as she can. Mumbled cries and screams fill the room, and spit flies from the hole in the mouthpiece.
Evan scrubs and scrubs until he’s rubbed the area raw. When it starts bleeding, he’s satisfied and tosses it to the floor, then picks up a knife.
I put my free hand over my mouth when he starts to cut three lines vertically over her hip. Blood pours down her side and onto the table.
She shakes uncontrollably, and her muscles flex.
“What is this for?” Garrett asks, looking over the marks on her skin.
“This is her number. It’s a reminder of where she once was and where she can always be sent back to,” Evan answers. He then unscrews a lid to a white bottle that he grabbed from underneath the cabinet and pours it over her bloody skin.
She arches her back and neck, screaming through the mouthpiece.
“What was that?” Garrett demands.
“Sulfuric acid,” Evan answers, and I tense.
“Won’t that burn her?” Garrett questions. “She’ll be hard to sell if she’s got burn marks all over her skin. You’ve already rubbed it raw,” he growls.
Evan walks over to the sink and fills a cup with water. “It’s just a warning,” he states and then walks back over to a struggling Eve to flush the wound. “It’ll heal.”
Her frail body violently shakes, making the table rattle.
Once satisfied the wound is clean, he rubs salt into it before placing a large bandage over it.
I let out a shaky breath. A part of me hates to see her in pain. The other tells me that it was smart to help with infection. Either way, it should never have happened to begin with.
Evan removes the IV and picks up a roll of duct tape, tossing it to the kid. “I want her arms behind her back. Tight as you can.”
“Yes sir.” The kid nods.
He goes to work unbuckling her restraints. She immediately starts to kick and fight.
Garrett helps with the last two belts, rips her off the table, and shoves her to the floor. It wasn’t hard. The poor thing has no senses and is weak.
He pushes her onto her stomach, grabs her arms, and pins them behind her back.
He holds them up at an angle, and I bite my inner cheek, hoping he doesn’t break her fucking arms. I remember Bill and Devin telling us that she had a broken wrist that Devin had to re-break because it hadn’t healed properly.
But no one ever gave us an estimate of when it was initially broken.
Thankfully, the kid works fast, starting at the top of her arms, and wraps the tape all the way down to both wrists. He rips the tape and stands. So does Garrett.