Chapter 20 - Blossom #3
Right as I pushed the start button in my Range Rover, I felt a hand wrap around my neck as a wet cloth was pressed over my mouth and nose.
My heart felt as if it was going to jump out of my chest as I clawed and scratched at the gloved hand.
I tried my best to lift from the seat and reach for the handgun stashed in my glove compartment, but it was no use.
My limbs began to feel heavy, and my breathing slowed, causing my fight-or-flight response to weaken.
Seeing my brother at my window, I called out for him as loud as I could.
Opening my door, he reached over my extended hand and grabbed my purse from the passenger seat.
Tears ran down my cheeks, and before I knew it, my body began to slump back onto the seat as everything around me faded to black.
“Ugh,” I groaned as I tried my hardest to peel my eyes open. My head was pounding, and my body felt as if I had been hit by a freight train. “What in the world is going on? Where the hell am I?”
Looking around the room, I noticed the dim overhead light and the smell of cigarettes and cheap liquor, which alerted me that something was very wrong.
The faint sounds of music and people shouting could be heard above me.
Searching for a sign of where I might be, I began to panic when nothing gave away my location.
Screaming for help, I tried my hardest to lift from the small bed, but it was then that I realized my hands and feet were cuffed.
Tears streamed from the corners of my eyes because I didn’t understand what was happening.
“Welcome back, baby.” I snapped my head toward the doorway of the room where the voice had come from. “You’ve been knocked out for hours. I thought I was going to have to call in a doctor to see about you.”
Stepping further into the room, a potential client, who’d come to an open house a few weeks ago, came into the light, smiling.
Confusion and fear overcame me because I didn’t understand how or why I’d ended up with him.
Eyeing me like a predator, his face showed nothing but ill intentions.
Sweat began to form above my brows as my heart rate increased and I questioned myself frantically.
Why am I here? And with him? Who is this man?
“Damien, right? What’s going on?”
I pulled at the cuffs as I glanced around the room, looking for possible exits.
The twin bed I was on appeared to be placed in the middle of a room, and from the setup, I knew it had to be a basement of sorts.
There was a single sink and a toilet, but pretty much nothing else.
It was cold, dark, and smelly, proving no one frequented the space often.
None of those things helped with the anxiety that was brewing within me.
“Where am I? Why am I here? Why am I cuffed to this bed?”
“You’re home.” He smiled brightly as he stretched his arms wide, gesturing around the room.
“Granted, it won’t always be like this as long as you comply.
” His smile turned into a sneaky grin. “I’ve been wanting to get my hands on you for months, Blossom.
” He eyed me creepily as he sipped from his bottle of water.
“I had to wait for the right time. I’ve seen you around the city, here and there, but the day at your open house, being up close and personal with you, I knew you’d be mine.
” He stepped closer to the bed, and I fought not to show that I’d taken in a sharp breath.
“Patience has never been my strong point, but for you, Blossom, I didn’t mind.
Letting Rowan run up his gambling tab was a no-brainer.
I knew he would never be able to pay his debt, so when I suggested he pay up or lose his life, I knew bargaining you into the deal was a win. ”
“R-Rowan?” I croaked, still pulling at the cuffs, hoping they would somehow break and set me free. “My brother told you to take me?”
It was then that I remembered him coming to my showing as I was leaving.
The last moments before I woke up here played in my mind.
Rowan had watched as this man hemmed me up and drugged me while he took my purse and did nothing.
I knew Rowan and I had our issues, most stemming from adolescence and adulthood, but I’d never thought it would come to this.
He spoke of how my mother and I had ruined his life, but deep down, I felt Row loved me.
Hearing Damien say my brother was responsible for him taking me broke my heart in ways it had never broken before.
“He gave you up the moment he entered my gambling house, knowing he didn’t have any money for his habits.
” He climbed onto the bed, sitting between my legs, and the tears I tried to hold began to fall.
“You and Officer Hines couldn’t have ended things at a better time.
Many nights I’ve sat outside your home and watched him kiss you goodnight.
To think he’s touched you…” His words trailed as he placed his hand under my blouse, scraping my skin with his callous-tipped fingers.
“I wanted to kill him and take what’s mine.
We all know he hasn’t had you; they say it’s why he cheats. ”
His eyes slowly raked my body as his hand roamed higher while I stayed silent, only a whimper escaping my lips.
“Learning you were a virgin, Blossom, changed my original plans for you. I was going to send you to my boys in Mexico and have you make back all of the money your brother owes me. A pretty woman like you could make me a whole lot of money.” Dropping his hand, he leaned back and removed his shirt.
I turned my head away, not wanting to see this man’s body.
My repulsion didn’t stop his narration. “Fortunately for you, I decided to keep you for myself. And once I learned I wasn’t the only man watching you, I had to make my move before someone else could. ”
“What… what are you talking about? Please, stop this, Damien.” I twisted and bucked my body from side to side as I tried my best to get him away from me as he began to rub his hands up my thighs.
“I don’t know what you and Rowan agreed upon, but I don’t want this.
Tell me what he owes you, and I will pay any amount!
I will double it!” At this point, I was hysterical.
“Let me call my father! He’s the governor and—”
“Do you think I care about any of that?” His words were sharp, cutting through the sliver of hope I had that money could solve this.
Placing his weight on top of me, he gripped my neck.
“It’s past the money, baby. It’s about me and what I want now.
” He nuzzled his nose against my cheek. “You, Blossom, are far more valuable to me. Now, relax.” He let my neck go, dragging his finger along my throat before he began to unbutton my top.
“The sooner you come to terms with what this is, the easier things will be for you.” His eyes were filled with lust as he reached the last button.
My red laced bra came into view as he slid my shirt off my shoulders.
“Let me get a little taste before the real fun begins.”
Jerking my head from left to right, I screamed out again, hoping someone from upstairs would hear me over the music and commotion and come save me.
Feeling his hardness on my stomach caused bile to rise in my throat.
This was it; I couldn’t fight him off of me, no matter how hard I tried to wiggle my small frame.
The cuffs on my wrists and my ankles had immobilized me.
It was inevitable that he would be having his way with me.
When I noticed a shadow move in the right corner of the room, my heart pounded even faster in my chest. Thinking he had more men to come and join us, I began to cry.
Panic set in as I hyperventilated, shaking as if I was having a minor seizure.
As the shadowy figure neared us, I could feel myself getting lightheaded.
I knew my nightmare was far from over, and passing out would probably be the best thing for me at this point.
“You don’t have to be scared of me, Blossom.” Damien gripped my cheeks and frowned. “Be the fuck still or—”
Swish!
“Ahhh!” I screamed in horror as blood squirted all over my face and chest. As Damien’s limp body fell on top of me, I watched as his head bounced off the wall with a thud. He was murdered right before my eyes, and I knew I was next.
“Please don’t hurt me!” I yelled through my cries.
“I’d die before I hurt you.”
Am I imagining things, wishing JJ was here to save me?
The voice caused chills to run down my spine, so it had to be him.
He and I weren’t even together, but I knew he would keep me safe.
Feeling Damien’s lifeless body being lifted from mine, I squeezed my eyes shut tightly, unsure if I should trust my memory of JJ.
If it wasn’t him, whoever it was could kill me too.
Refusing to open my eyes, I prayed as I heard the man’s footsteps walk toward the other side of the room.
It wasn’t long before the sound of running water filled the room before it was gone just as fast.
“Open your eyes for me, mama,” he said in a hushed tone. Feeling a cold, damp rag on my face, my breath hitched at the man’s next words. “Bloss Baby.”
Hearing JJ’s affectionate name for me made me open my eyes.
When I locked in on him, I immediately sobbed, throwing my shoulders into his body.
I didn’t know how or why he was here, or why he was always in the right place at the right time, but I was overwhelmed with gratitude.
Moving swiftly to undo the cuffs on my wrists and ankles, he pulled me into his lap and held me closely as I cried into his chest.
“Thank you for saving me, Papa.” I hiccupped as I gripped the sides of his shirt. “I-I thought he was going to—”
“Shhh, I got you.” He held me tightly, rubbing my back. “I’m sorry I didn’t get here sooner. He shouldn’t have ever been able to touch you, and I swear to you, no one will ever be able to hurt you again. Come on. Let me take you home.”
Lifting me from the bed, he tried to let me down, but I held onto him tighter than a scared child. Still seeing Damien’s headless body lying at JJ’s feet scared me, but the sight of his head, eyes wide, was something I would dream about for nights to come.
“He knew where I lived,” I said into JJ’s chest as we ascended the stairs, leaving from the basement-like room. “I don’t want to go there.”
“You don’t have to.” He kissed my temple. “I got you, Bloss Baby. I promise.”
Once at the top of the stairs, the brightness of the overhead lights caused my head to pound harder.
The hallway was dirty and lined with various boxes.
The sounds of music grew louder, but we appeared to be walking in the opposite direction of the action.
Once we reached the metal doors, I looked up just in time to see his twin brother, Jax.
“She okay?” I heard the concern in his voice as we got closer to him. Seeing my shirt still open, Jax removed his hoodie and handed it to JJ. “Put this on her.” He nodded down the hallway from which we just came. “What you wanna do?”
Making sure I was secured in the hoodie, JJ looked down at me with dark eyes full of anger mixed with something else. It scared me, but not in the way that Damien did. His eyes caused my heart to skip a beat, and my body to warm all over.
“Secure all exits and burn this bitch to the ground,” he replied to his twin through gritted teeth as he carried me into the night.
He was pissed and the danger rolling off him let me know his words were no joke.
I couldn’t help but wrap my arms around his neck and breathe in his scent.
That alone calmed my racing heart. As we neared a black truck, a door opened and JJ lifted us both inside it.
As he rubbed my back, he acknowledged someone else in the car before saying, “When I get the call to come back here, I don’t want to see shit but bones and ashes.”