Chapter 18
SHELBY
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
The next night, after my date with Dom, we gather in the living room.
It takes a few shows before I’m able to gather the courage to stand and turn off the TV. “I want this done, so you might want to grab a drink. God knows I need one.”
I grab the bottle of Jack and pour myself a shot before I shoot it back. I then pour myself another one and toss it back, as well.
Sam and Paige stand. “We’ll let you guys have your talk.”
They move to go upstairs.
I hold my hand out to stop them. “You can stay if you want to. I think of you as family, but I need to warn you. What I’m about to tell everyone isn’t pretty, and it might change your mind about how you think about me.”
“Shelby, nothing you can say would ever make me do that.” Paige sits down on the sectional.
Sam sits down beside Paige. “I’m with Paige. You’re pretty awesome in my book. I’ll stay as long as you’re okay with it.”
I pace back and forth, trying to work out where to start. I stop pace and fiddle with my hands.
“Did you hear about the houses that were broken into around town?” I ask.
Everyone nods.
I run my hands down my legs. “Well, that was me. Roger used my iPod to hypnotize me. He made me break into peoples’ houses and steal jewelry, money, important documents, and whatever he told me to grab. But the memories from that time are hazy, so I forgot anything happened until he boasted about it after Hannah escaped. I have no idea if I left any evidence behind or not.”
“I wouldn’t think Roger would want any evidence because that might lead the police back to him,” Nick says.
I glance down at my knotted hands. “When I was at Dom and Mav’s house, he wore gloves, but didn’t give me any.”
Paige leans forward on the couch. “We would have heard if the police suspected anyone.”
“If any evidence is uncovered, we’ll deal with it, but we didn’t report the break-in to the police,” Dom says.
I pace. “You should all know how Cam and Hannah got out of the basement, but I’ll start at the beginning, so we’re on the same page.”
I let out a breath. “When I woke up in the basement, Cam was lying on a cot, injured, but he was out of my reach. He lied and said it was a cut.”
I glare at him. “That bastard Roger stabbed him, and after being in the damp, moldy basement without treatment, the wound became infected. Cam noticed I was wearing Nick’s jacket and told me a tracking device was hidden. But when no one showed up after the first day, we figured something blocked it. Despite that, I never took it off when I was in the first basement, hoping whatever was blocking the signal would be shut off or move far enough away.”
“He argued with himself and called himself Randell, Roger’s twin,” Cam says.
Nick pushed up his glass as he shakes his head. “I searched everywhere but could not find a twin.”
“He made the twin up. He hoped it would keep you busy.” I rub my eyes. “It made no sense to me.”
“It worked for a bit, then we thought that might have been his plan. Even if he were a twin, we would still be searching for where they were,” Nick says.
I tuck my hair behind my ear. “On my second full day, Cam wouldn’t wake up. Hannah was close enough to check on him. He was running a high fever, his breathing was shallow, and his wound was seeping. He needed to escape.”
A tear slides down my cheek as I glance at Cam, his eyes echoing the sad truth of what his freedom meant for me. “The next time Roger came to the basement, I traded myself for Cam.” I kick the ground.
“Traded yourself?” Luke asks.
I roll my shoulders back. I did the right thing, but when I glance at them, I expect anger. Instead, I find pride.
“Yes, I told Roger I wouldn’t fight him, no matter what.”
Mav shifts, his hand closing around Cam’s fist.
“Once he agreed to free Cam, he released Hannah’s ankle tie and demanded she carry Cam out of the basement.”
Nick scoffs. “Hannah’s not strong enough, full health or not.”
“Exactly. She could barely shift him. Her lack of strength disgusted Roger, so he picked Cam up and carried him out. Since she forgot to reconnect Hannah’s restraint, I helped her escape while Roger was gone. She promised to tell Nick where we were.” I pour myself some more whiskey, but this time, I sip it.
“I knew the minute Roger saw the broken window that he’d move me. He’d be furious when he returned and figured out Hannah was gone. He was so much more.” I shiver at the memory.
“He beat the shit out of me before he left. He was gone for several hours before he returned with a sandwich and water. I should have known better. But I hadn’t eaten since the night before Roger took me. I was halfway through the food before the drugs he laced everything with kicked in, and I blacked out.” I go to take another drink, but Luke stops me.
He hands me a bottle of water and ushers me into a chair. “You need some water. You’re drinking too much whiskey and swaying.”
Luke sits down beside me and runs his hand down my hair.
I take a drink of water. “When I came to, I was dangling from a chain tied to a beam in the ceiling of a different basement.” I take another sip of my water. “Naked.”
A collective intake of breath fills the air before my guys and Nick swear. Dom stands up and grabs the whiskey, pouring himself some and shooting it before refilling his glass. I set the water on the floor and run my hands up and down my leg.
If he thinks this is bad, he should wait.
“I’m not sure if he did anything other than remove my clothes and tie me up. He tried to hypnotize me again, and despite what I told him about not fighting, I still resisted. When his hypnosis didn’t work, it enraged him. He beat me to near unconsciousness. Before he left, he mentioned someone wanted to say hi but didn’t say who.
“Afterward, he left me alone for… well, I’m not sure for how long, exactly.” I stand because I need to pace. “Being alone, cold, hurt, and hungry, my mind went to a dark place.”
I shiver at those memories. “By the time he showed back up again, I was too tired to fight anymore. My attempts to block his hypnosis didn’t work. But, for some reason, it was different this time. My body wasn’t my own, but I was conscious of my actions and knew what was happening.” I glance at Mav and Dom. “He took me to your house.”
I explained everything to them, including why I couldn’t stay.
I grind out through my teeth harshly, sucking a breath in through my nose to calm myself. “Roger was pissed I botched the raid at your place. He punished me, beating me until I thought I wouldn’t make it. But I’d rather take a beating every day than what he planned for me. Two days after he beat me, Evan showed up.”
I lower my head as I jam my toe against the tan carpet. Tears fill my eyes.
I sniffle, take a deep breath in, and let it out. “The first thing Evan told me— No, he boasted about Cam being dead.”
My chest tightens, and I bend over and gasp for a breath. I crumble to the floor in sobs.
“I’ve got her.” Luke slides off his chair and over to me.
He holds me as I look at Cam and sob. “I thought I killed you. The one person who loved me for me, and I killed you.
“Evan showed me texts on his phone of his friends asking if he heard Cam died.” I hang my head and sniffle. “While I know that was a lie now, at the time, I stopped wanting to live after that.”
Cin hands me a box of tissues.
I take two and blow my nose. “Evan jacked himself off to my pain, telling me it was only a matter of time before he killed everyone else I love. He also taunted me, saying Roger wouldn’t let him touch me yet before he finished all over my face.”
My eyes close, and my whole body shivers.
I pull out of Luke’s arms. I can’t have him hold me when I tell them the next part. “Evan showed up two or three times a week. Sometimes, he brought me food. Which, most of the time, was laced with some drug. I think it was ecstasy, but I’m not sure. At that point, I didn’t care what was in the food. You have to understand, I was starving.” I press my palm to my stomach.
“You don’t need to explain.” Love fills Cam’s blue eyes. “We understand, Shelby.”
I nod and take another drink of water, the buzz long gone.
Mav comes over to hug me, but I stop him. “I can’t have you hug me right now. I’m sorry.”
Hurt flashes across his face before the reason registers, and he pales.
“The drugs running through me fucked with my inhibitions. It was like my body craved something, craved him.” I swallow the bile rising in the back of my throat. “He’d make me earn my food. I’d have to masturbate in front of him or let him get me off.”
Tears pour down my cheeks. “I’m sorry.”
“Hey, Shelby, you have nothing to be sorry for. Do you hear me?” Luke says. “Nothing.”
My hands shake, so I sit on them but keep going. “Evan visited every few days. In between, Roger would take me to a house to steal from them. The last time he took me out, I was so weak I couldn’t do what he wanted me to do. That night, Evan came over, but something was different.”
I swallow the lump in my throat as tears continue to run down my face. “I was lying on the basement floor when the door opened, and Roger said Evan had ‘free rein’ before Roger drove away. Evan came down into the basement and unlocked my leg shackles. I was so tired. He taunted me about how he was going to tell you everything he did to me as he took off his clothes. I tried to stop him.”
I sob.
A collective intake of breath comes from everyone.
“He got down on the floor with me. I tried to slap him or kick him, but I was so weak that he overpowered me. He kissed my neck and ground himself against me, but I never stopped fighting, no matter how weak my attempts were. I tried so hard.”
I run my hand over my hair. “When he felt how dry I was, he slapped me across my face, yelling at me. The slap dazed me. He was in between my legs, and my fight was gone. I wanted to die.”
I suck in a deep, shaky breath. “I resigned myself to what was about to happen. I dropped my hand to my side, and my fingers touched this wooden stick I found while I searched the boxes in the basement on my first day. I snapped off the head of a duster and sharpened it on the brick wall. I wrapped my fingers around it. Evan was thrusting against me, grunting out how amazing he’d make me feel, ready to rape me when I sat up and stabbed him in the jugular.”
I can still remember the feeling of the tip sinking into him. “He fell off and to the side of me, which was a good thing because I don’t think I could have pushed him off me. I didn’t glance his way. I crawled up the steps of the basement and out of the house, where I passed out. I’m not sure how long I was out, but when I came to, Roger hadn’t caught me, so I escaped. I ran. When my body gave out, I buried myself in a pile of leaves in the woods. And that’s where Nick found me.”
My sobs cease, and I’m numb once again.
Sam holds Paige, who cries on his chest. Nick’s hand is in Cin’s, whose face twists. Dom, Luke, Mav, and Cam stare anywhere but at me.
“Now, you know everything.” I turn and go over to where the whiskey is and pour myself a shot.
I throw it back before I walk off to the deck and down the steps to the beach, and no one follows me.
Unlike most nights I have been here, people pack the beach. I plop down on the side of the pathway, away from the sight of most of the beachgoers. I bring my knees up and wrap my arms around them, lowering my head, and cry.
Telling them was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, even if a weight lifted off my shoulders.
I sit for a while, sobbing my silent tears before the sand on both sides of me shifts.
I raise my head to find my guys sitting around me, facing the waves like I am. They don’t say anything, don’t touch me. They just sit with me.
They have no idea what their small gesture means to me. I rest my chin on my knees and watch the ocean until I regain control.
When I take a deep breath and sit up, Luke breaks the silence. “Can we do anything?”
“No, but thanks for asking. Being here with you helps,” I answer.
“We love you, beautiful,” Cam says, the other guys agreeing.
“I know, and I love you, too.” I bite my lip. “What happened to Evan’s body? I’ve been waiting for the police to arrest me.”
“Frank took care of it,” Dom says. “You don’t have to worry about that.”
“Won’t Evan’s dad be looking for him?” I shake my head in confusion. “I thought he was some powerful person.”
“Not powerful, princess. Just rich,” Cam scoffs. “Plus, Frank made it appear like an accident. We also have proof of his son’s involvement with you and that money was transferred from his primary account to several of Roger’s accounts. Have no doubt, he knew all about it, the sick fuck. Nick hacked Evan’s phone account after you came here. Roger messaged Evan and his dad.”
I raise an eyebrow.
“Your brother knew you were hiding something. And, with the discovery of Evan’s body and declining to take the rape test…” Cam tosses sand in front of us.
My head snaps back.
“Well, his protective big brother instincts went into overdrive. Nick wanted to find everything to keep you safe if anything came up against you regarding Evan. The texts were sent to a burner phone. The conversation detailed what he planned to do with you when he got the chance. The final message received was the same night you escaped, telling him about your disobedience and that you were all his. Evan’s response confirms your story that he planned to rape you.”
“So, needless to say, Evan’s dad will keep his mouth shut, unless he wants us to show the proof to the press and ruin his name,” Mav says.
“It would screw him if anything bad leaks again. He almost lost a lot of customers because of something his brother did years ago,” Dom adds.
My eyebrows scrunch. “Roger’s dad?”
“Yep. Roger’s dad, Harry, said our dad stole the blueprints of a secret project he was working on,” Dom clarifies. “Dad, of course, denied it. Harry tried to break into Knight technology and was caught. With an extensive trial looming, many clients pulled their orders from his company. The board members made Andrew, Evan’s dad, fire Harry.
“Andrew ended up having to put Harry into a mental institution, although the story as to why is not clear. He’s still there today. From what we found out, Roger was with his mother until he was about ten, when she died. They asked Andrew to take Roger in, but Andrew refused.”
“That’s how Roger ended up in the system.” I dig my feet into the sand. “Did Evan know?”
Luke shrugs. “We’re not sure.”
I take a deep breath as I let the information sink into my bones. Safe. I’m safe from what happened with Evan. “Thank you for telling me.”
We sit on the beach together and watch the sunset. The inky darkness of night creeps in, and a cool night breeze blows in from the ocean. Exhausted and ready to head back to the house, I stand.
“Dom, tonight is still your night if you’d like to sleep with me,” I say.
“I don’t think I’m in the right frame of mind tonight.” Dom walks to the edge of the slowly rolling tide. “I’m sorry.”
I hang my head, trying to hide the pain. “No, I understand.”
He needs to process everything.
Mav glares at his brother, who ignores him. “Cam and I will take his place.”
“Sounds good.” I turn and head up the beach path.
As we walk up to the house, something pops into my head. “I remember something else. When I broke into your house, Roger made me go for your mom’s jewelry while he went elsewhere. When I caught up to him after I bumped into you guys, he was carrying some documents and blueprints.”
Mav stops, glancing back at Dom. “Dad raised hell about stuff missing from his office. He came to us and asked if we threw a party.”
“Yeah, we told him no.” Dom nods. “We never told Dad about the break-in, because we didn’t think anything got stolen. And I’m guessing Frank didn’t either, because he realized you were hypnotized and not acting of your own free will.”
“Did he say what was missing?” I ask.
“It was some prototype for the military.” Dom’s brow pinches.
“Shit, for real? Roger took them, so you’ll have to tell your dad.” Dom’s parents aren’t going to care what condition I was in when the incident happened.
Dom shakes his head while Mav outright says, “No. Let’s see what happens.”
“If that’s what you want.” I shrug.
They know their dad the best.