Chapter 8
8
CHARLOTTE
I sobbed as the men took turns with me. They wouldn’t allow me to look away. I just wanted this to be over. If I looked away they would hurt me, and it felt like every group was worse than the before. I’d been beaten and whipped, items were inserted into me, and now they were resorting to the use of sharp objects and that scared me.
At this point, if Walker wanted me to, I would dig my own grave and lie in it. A breath of relief left me when they stopped. Being pushed to the brink, I was about ready to give up, especially with the way I heard Rowan's screams a short while ago. It made me think that maybe he was already dead.
I thought back to everything Roe and I had been through in the amount of time we had known each other, and one memory came to mind. The first time we kissed. Whether we liked it or not, that night opened a whole new door for us.
It was a beautiful night outside, and I opted to lay out in the yard and watch the moon constantly change positions in the sky. As the night poured on, eventually bright headlights flooded the house and a car pulled in the driveway. A few moments later two doors slammed shut, signaling Jason and Rowan were home.
But I didn’t move, I was too entranced in the app on my phone showing me where each planet was located on the horizon.
The grass shifted underneath me and a warm tuft of air rested in the crook of my neck. “Anything interesting tonight, new life perhaps?”
I giggled. “No sadly, but I saw a few satellites. I always wondered what it's like up there.”
“Peace and quiet, just you and the universe, literally.” He said with a sigh. “Nikki told me your date didn’t go so well. What happened?”
I was embarrassed to admit how upset it made me and even thought about making up some story like I wasn't interested, or he was an asshole.
“He stood me up” I said, wiping the stay tear away from my face hoping he wouldn’t notice. “I mean I’m not as pretty as Nikki, or outgoing, or ? —.”
“Woah,” He stopped me, propping himself up on his elbow. “You don’t need to be any of those things. There's only one of you, and quite frankly that should be enough for anyone. It’s his loss in my opinion.”
“Do you mean that?” Even in the darkness, I could see the glimmer in his eyes as he spoke.
“Lottie, you know so many useless facts it’s astonishing, and you have these little quirks that someone would have to be paying close attention to catch them. Like when you smile, I know when it’s real, and when it’s a load of bullshit.”
“How?” I questioned with a laugh.
“Well,” he said, bringing his thumb to the corner of my eyes. “There’s these little crinkles, three of them to be exact, that form when your smile touches your eyes, and you just glow; like when you tell me about a new book you have, or when I ask you to read to me.”
This was probably a mistake, I've never seen Roe even bring somebody home, but I saw an opening and took it. I traced my finger gently along his jawline feeling the rough stubble on it, before?I wrapped my arm around his neck, lowering his face to mine. His fingers danced nervously at my waist as our lips connected. It was soft and gentle, yet need was prevalent in both of us as our mouths molded together. He was the first to pull away.
“We shouldn't have done that Lottie,” He groaned, pressing his forehead against mine.
“You don’t even realize what you do to me.”
His sweetness was contagious, and the way he touched me always had me wanting more. He was so many things—a gentleman, down-to-earth, loving, compassionate— even though he was also hard-headed, possessive, and stubborn.
He’d let me see a side of him that nobody had seen before, and I craved his presence. I’d give anything to hear him tell me everything was going to be okay, in that sweet voice of his.
It’s been a while now since I had heard Rowan's screams. Listening in agony as he faced his own torture. They got quieter and quieter until I heard nothing at all. The thought of that man being wiped from the face of the earth, never having the life we wanted to have, had me holding back a different kind of sob, an angry one.
What I did know, was if Rowan was in fact gone, I'd be following him. Richard Walker could have the family name, but not before I killed everyone that man ever loved. A frustrated growl erupted from deep within me as I continued to twist my hands around the restraints, until I heard the door creak open and my whole body tensed.
The men were still touching me, but I was grateful the blindfold was returned to my eyes. I didn’t have to watch anymore, but I didn’t want Walker to intervene and make things worse. Struggling against my restraints, I sensed someone step between my legs and I whimpered, I resolved to not give up, but right now I was so sore.
“Please, stop,” I tried, but my words were lost around the gag. “Hurts.”
A gentle hand touched my clit and rubbed circles around me gently, and my body responded instantly, arching against the table. The hand played its way up my torso, brushing against my nipple, and pulled at the collar that remained at the base of my neck. The warm body leaned over me and latched onto my neck, sucking sensuously on the sensitive skin.
Those touches felt different than the others. They hinted at care and respect, and I couldn’t help but remember Rowan touching me in a similar manner. The thought of him threatened to spill tears again and my lip quivered.
Then I heard it.
“Don’t cry Princess, I'm here now, just a little bit longer,” he encouraged reaching behind me to loosen the straps of the gag and carefully pull it from my mouth, and the blindfold slid from my eyes.
I struggled to adjust, and once my eyes focused, I could see that it was Roe on top of me. I melted against the table, relieved to see his familiar eyes behind the mask he was wearing. The other three men surrounded us, and it didn’t look as though they recognized who he was.
“Roe,” I whispered. He nodded and placed a finger to the lips of the mask.
He was such a welcome sight, but I couldn’t help feeling ashamed at the way I was splayed out for everyone to see, having a collar around my neck like an animal. He swept a lock of hair out of my eyes and wiped my tears before dismounting and walking over to a table in the corner.
Picking up the metal rod, he turned on the blow torch and heated it up. Once it glowed red, he touched it to his hand and watched as the smoke rose from it.
I stared at him in confusion, his eyes were closed, and a grunt left his lips. Setting everything down and lifting his head to face the room, I saw then that he was missing a finger, and he’d cauterized it to stop the bleeding. Rowan lifted his mask as the others turned to face him, and a smirk crossed his blood-covered face. The sight of him brought a sob to the surface. What did they do to him?
Rowan
Each man held a look of shock on their faces as they realized who I was. The first man stepped forward, and I grinned, sticking Lacey’s knife into his stomach, driving the blade roughly upward; relishing the feel of his blood as it spilled onto my hands. Feeling every tear and cut through his chest cavity was riveting, and I pushed him roughly to the side as he sputtered, falling to the floor, clamping his hands around his open wound in a desperate attempt to hold his intestines in place.
Wrapping my hand around his throat. I picked him up effortlessly, watching as his insides made an appearance, dropping to the floor in squishes. I laughed as the dagger flipped around in my hand and landed right into his jugular. He had three minutes. If that.
The next man looked angry; perhaps I’d just killed his brother or best friend. I really didn’t care. He stepped up and took a swing at me which I promptly dodged before pushing him into the table behind him hard, and the clanking of instruments rang in my ears as they fell.
As he slid to the floor, I landed a few punches to his gut, taking his breath away so I could pummel his face in. I grabbed a hammer from the floor and blow after blow, his face became more unidentifiable. Finally, I heard a crack, and his head looked severely dented in at the forehead and nose, there was no face at all, bludgeoned in by the weapon. Yup he’s dead . Moving on.
I stood and faced the last man standing right beside Lottie.
‘Did you cut her? Or was it one of them?”
Fear gave him away as he dropped to his hands and knees. “Please, don’t kill me. I’m only doing what they made me do,” he begged.
“Stand up and take off your shirt.” I ordered calmly. Quickly, he obeyed, like it was going to save his life and I inspected his torso. There it was, sitting right on his left peck, the Walker crest. The difference between the shoulder and the upper chest was that one wanted this life, wanted to hurt people, and one had no choice.
I reached into my pocket and pulled out the length of rope I’d found earlier and tied his hands behind his back, pulling him to his feet, and shoving him so he fell over Charlotte. Stepping away for a moment, I left him quaking, wondering what was going to happen next.
When I returned to him, I yanked his head upward so he could look Charlotte in the eyes. What came next was a shock to them both.
“Wrong answer. Now say you're sorry.”
As the man bent over the table, face pressed into Charlotte's abdomen, I shoved the red-hot pole up his ass grinning as his inhuman shriek filled the room. I met Charlotte’s eyes and saw the fear in them. I never wanted her to see me like this, but right now it wasn't a choice. She’d never seen me this angry before and I didn’t blame her for being scared, but I wasn’t going to let these men get off easy for what they did to her.
He wasn’t dead, and I wanted to shove it so far up his ass that it came out of his mouth; time was precious though. I shoved him to the floor, not even bothering to give him the mercy of ripping the object out. Stepping over him , I loosened Charlotte’s binds, giving her a moment to rub some feeling back into her wrists. I was exhausted after taking care of those men, and the camera was still live. Walker would be furious when he saw the video, if he wasn't already watching.
“Charlotte, I’m so sorry you had to see that, but we have to go,” I said wearily. She didn’t move.
“Roe, I’m so tired and hurt. I’m not sure I can,” Charlotte whispered weakly.
“Lottie, I have to get you somewhere safe. They are still here, and Walker will be returning any minute. You have to try,” I encouraged. “I would carry you, but I’m dizzy and can’t breathe; I would never forgive myself if I dropped you and hurt you more.”
I helped her sit up, and she leaned heavily against me as we maneuvered slowly around the bodies lying on the floor. I peeked around the door and checked the hallway, keeping her close. My breath caught in my throat and I whipped around with my back to the wall, holding my bloodied hand over Lottie’s mouth to keep her quiet. His booming voice echoed through the halls and I silently hoped he wouldn’t come into this room before we had a chance to escape.
“Find them! Shoot him on site. I want her.”? If Walker caught us, it would be over.
Once I knew it was safe we ducked into another empty room, and I placed her between myself and the wall, keeping alert but taking a moment to hold her close. Her arms instantly wrapped around me, and a soft cry left her.
“Rowan, you reek of sweat and blood,” she whispered. I looked down at her and smiled half-heartedly.
“Right, I'll remember to shower before coming to save your ass next time.”
“It’s okay, I stink too.”
I felt bad for snapping at her and we didn’t say anything else after that. When the voices died down, I pulled Charlotte hastily out of there and made way for the stairs, which were not far off. Stairs were difficult for Lottie, but she tried with all her might to make her legs move.
“I’m so sorry, Rowan. I’m not being very helpful,” she choked.
“You can do it Lottie, we are almost there,” I encouraged.
As we reached the top of the stairwell, I pushed the door open roughly and prepared for an ambush. But the hall was empty, so I pulled her quickly toward the doors that led from her home. We passed room after room, and the hallway seemed to get longer the faster I moved, just like in a nightmare.
She begged for us to stop, and I had to give her that. She was fighting hard to stay upright, and I always kept myself between her and the wall, protecting her from this house.
I heard a soft clicking noise and felt the barrel of a gun press against the back of my head, I froze, locking eyes with her dazed ones. They’ll have to kill me if they want to take her, because she isn't going back. But then I heard the most soothing voice I’d likely ever heard in my life at that moment.
“Rowan?” Thomas asked, stepping out from the shadows of an open doorway.
He moved the gun away from my head and hugged me tightly. Taking one look at Charlotte, he shrugged out of his suit jacket, wrapping it tightly around her. His expression was one of pity, but it quickly turned into rage.
“What the hell are you doing here, Thomas?” I asked, remembering that Walker had planned a coup and I couldn’t trust anyone.
“We came to find you,” he said gruffly. “Arthur and I were out tending to Charlie when Walker and his men took over. We almost walked right into his trap, but we were able to get away. I’m sorry it took us so long to get back in.”
“Charlie?” I asked. Last I’d heard he had joined up with the Walkers and was considered a traitor.
“Charlie himself had been kidnapped by the Walkers. I received a phone call from him a few days ago, and he wanted to meet in secret. Apparently, he’d escaped and needed to lay low until it was safe,” Thomas said.
“Oh,” It was all I could think of to say.
“You need to get Charlotte out of here,” Thomas said, pointing down the hallway to the exit.
I shook my head. “No, I have something I need to do first.”
“Okay, I’ll take Charlotte back to my place. I promise to keep her safe, get her checked out, and find a way to get this off her neck. Arthur and Charlie are around here somewhere taking care of?Walker’s men. You're not alone Rowan.”
Thomas put his arm around Charlotte, and I tightened my grip on her. I couldn’t seem to find it in me to trust him. That was what this situation had done to me. His eyes locked on mine in an attempt to calm my racing mind.
“Rowan, you’re like a brother to me. You can trust me,” he said steadily, and I knew that I could. “Find Arthur.”
I slowly released my grip on her and let Thomas pull her away. I watched, full of anxiety, as her terrified face turned to meet mine, fighting weakly against him as he ushered her out of the door.