Chapter 5
5
ROWAN
“ A lright, Jace. He’s had enough; don't kill him now,” Walker ordered, waving him away.
Jason removed the mask from my face and returned it to the table. My whole body shuddered at the sudden allowance of available air and sweat ran down my body. I can’t take much more, but I have to try. I’d been tortured by Jason before, and based on my past experiences, all I needed to do was disassociate from myself when he was hurting me. It worked before, and it could work again.
Walker stood in front of me, this time keeping his distance. Smart man.
“I can’t believe you were stupid enough to fall for the Bennett girl. You had to have known this was coming,” he said.
I hung my head, exhausted and dizzy from having the air ripped from my lungs repeatedly. I closed my eyes and tried hard to focus on my breathing instead of his words when I felt a presence behind me. Quickly trying to turn my head, I heard the whirr of electricity as a familiar piece of equipment came to life.
Walker continued talking. “You know very well that women are meant to submit to men and nothing more. And yet, you choose the woman who is about to defy all men, including her own father, by taking his place as head of the Bennett Family. You’re setting yourself up for disaster, and all I’m doing is saving your skin.”
I smirked. If only he knew I dropped to my knees and crawled to her. I couldn’t believe the bastard was trying to justify his actions against me, against Charlotte, and against every woman he hurt and sold to other men to be forced into compliance. The shock came quickly to me and left a burning sensation in my back.
All those women I couldn’t save.
Shock.
The ones I was forced to give to Walker in order to save my own life.
Shock.
I was so disgusted with myself, and I had to remind myself that Charlotte made everything okay. She couldn’t take away the pain of the past, but she had been so encouraging and uplifting. When I told her everything, it reminded me that I was not the monster I thought I was, and I’d tried so hard not to become what Walker wanted. I wanted to atone for what I’d done.
Shock.
“F-fuc-king stooop!”? I pleaded with Jason.
“You spent a lot of your time trying to convince me that what I do is wrong, but all I’m trying to do is teach these women their place,” Walker said.
I looked at him, disgust hanging plainly on my face. “No, Richard. You can’t force people to bend to your will. The only thing you do is rape, murder, and destroy lives. And then you sell them to be further humiliated and scarred. You’re not a saint, and I’m not going to treat you like one,” I spat.
This time, I flinched waiting for the shock, but I was given rest for now.
Walker laughed, and I was about to throw an insult directed toward him, when I heard the most animalistic, pained scream I’ve ever heard, and I knew that it was Charlotte.
My eyes widened in realization.
Shock.
They are trying to recondition me.
Shock.
They wanted her down here for a reason.
Shock.
They are using her too… Shock.
I wanted to scream but it would be useless, the burning across my back was spreading to other extremities and I gritted my teeth to try and stop them from chattering against each other.
Walker cocked his head to one side and smiled. “Ah, there she is now. Being broken to better suit your needs,” he said smugly. “You should be thanking me.”
I lunged against my restraints as the last shock drove my emotions into overstimulation.
“Stop!” I screamed, trying desperately to shake myself free. “You have me. You have me!”
I couldn’t stand that sound. It pierced my heart and threatened to shred whatever was left of my soul. My instincts to protect her kicked into overdrive. I had to break free against all reason. Walker and Jason both laughed as I struggled between the pain from my own torture and the pain in my heart, knowing just down the hall they were doing unimaginable things to the love of my life.
After a moment, Charlotte’s scream faded, and my heart raced.
“What did you do to her? Tell me!” I growled, lunging against my restraints again. Her screams echoed in my head, and I closed my eyes to quiet my mind.
Walker smirked. “You think I’m going to tell you that? Why would I do anything to help you out? You couldn’t even do your job, Rowan.”
“Mother fucker, tell me what you’re doing, or I swear to God I’ll kill you.”
Shock.
Richard looked amused, and it led me to wonder what happened in his life that was so terrible he made it his life's mission to hurt people. It stirred something deep within me, and all I could do was laugh. It was haunting and deep. They had succeeded, not in the way they thought, but they snapped something within me today.
He walked toward the door, and it opened with a creak.? “I don’t think that will happen.”
Anger stilled me and I called out his name. His real name. “Richard!” He turned slowly, his cold eyes meeting my darkened ones.
“At some point, you had to have a shred of humanity, let her go. Please.”
He leaned against the doorframe stroking his beard, acting as if he was pondering before taking a long deep breath. “I think you of all people know the world is a cruel place, and it’s about time she learns that lesson.”
I screamed for Walker as the door latched behind him. There was no saving her. He was going to take what he wanted, and it would be far worse than what she endured earlier. With a deep breath, I continued to fight against the restraint, until I felt one loosening. Come on, just a bit more.
“Shit.” I heard from behind me as one of the shackles released from the wall, but in the recoil, I was pushed into the back wall, and Jason moved fast, striking me across the face with the device.
Still weak, I fell to the floor, and he buried it into my chest, holding it there, for what seemed like forever. I felt like every beat of my heart was slower and further apart. Still, I smiled, laughing at him as blood pooled from my nose and mouth.
“You all want a monster.” I laughed in his direction. “You fucking got one.” I spit at his face, missing him by a few inches.
He knew what it meant and faltered for a split second. I weakly moved to grab the device, but the numbness and burning were too much. I’m so close.
I thought I saw a speck of fear show as he swallowed nervously, but then it was gone. He shook his head and clenched his jaw, pressing the device firmly into my skin. My eyes rolled back and my body shook violently.
“She’s going to pay for your indiscretion today,” he said.
“Everything you do to her, I will return tenfold,” I whispered. I was too weak to fight, and darkness consumed me.