Rosalind
ROSALIND
TWO WEEKS LATER
I blinked awake, consciousness slapping me in the face. One minute, in our bed, the next here. Hunter had been called out on an emergency warehouse issue… but where the fuck was Marco ? Where the fuck am I ? The chill of the concrete floor bit into my bare skin as I shifted, every muscle screaming in protest.
The room reeked of piss and mold, a stink so thick it coated my tongue. My eyes watered, but not from the stench. No , that was the least of it. Grimy walls closed in on me. I was in a cell of some kind.
A sliver of light mocked me from high above—a barred window too small, too damn high to offer anything but a tease of freedom. There might as well be no window at all. I was trapped, an animal caged, left to rot in the belly of some godforsaken place.
" Fuck ," I muttered. I shoulda figured something like this would happen. Having killed my dad, it would make sense for them to make a move. I just figured it wouldn’t have been me. We got too complacent.
I lost track of time. It all blurred down here. Every inch of me was a canvas of black and blues—a masterpiece of pain. My stomach hollowed to the point where I could count each rib, an emaciated ghost of the girl who used to dance in the sunlight. The reflection in a shard of broken mirror in the cell next to mine didn't lie; it showed a creature with haunted dark eyes and sunken cheeks, barely recognizable beneath the swelling and bruising.
" Christ ," I whispered, the word scraping against my parched throat. I looked and felt a complete fucking mess.
The door creaked open, wrenching me from my silent inventory of wounds. He strolled in— Angelo , the motherfucker who took over for my dad. So much for familial loyalty. Satisfaction oozed from his pores as his gaze swept over me, drinking in the sight like a fine wine.
" Look at you," he purred. " Once Daddy's little princess, now nothin' but a fuckin' rag doll."
I squared my shoulders, refusing the urge to recoil from him. I was a goddamn Thorn . We didn’t cower. His presence suffocated, thicker than the grime on the walls, heavier than the chains they'd clamped around my wrists. Angelo thrived on this—the power, the dominance. It dripped from him, a toxic aura that left no room for mercy.
" Still got that fire, huh?" He leaned close, his breath hot against my bruised skin. " Hunter sure picked a wild one. Too bad he ain't comin' for ya. Been two weeks, little girl. I wonder when your fucked up asshole will figure out you’re missing? Maybe he’s too busy with some other pussy that’s not a blown-out hole. Oh ? You didn’t think I knew he shared you with that beast? Oh . I know everything, . Everything ."
His laugh, a cruel and jagged sound, echoed off the walls, promising nightmares. But I held his gaze, letting the embers of defiance glow bright in my eyes. Thorn would not be snuffed out—not by him, not by anyone.
" Fuck you," I spat. Angelo's grin only widened as he leaned in .
" Spicy ," he mocked, stepping back with a flourish. " But we'll see how long that lasts."
He turned on his heel, leaving me locked in the grip of shadows that whispered of darker torments to come. Alone , I let the mask fall for a moment, allowing the tremors of fear and exhaustion to shake my frame before I composed myself once more.
Remember who you are. Grim determination settled like armor over my battered body. Survive . For Hunter . For Marco . For yourself For vengeance.
And with that, I swallowed the lump of terror in my throat, steeled my spine, and prepared for whatever hell they planned to unleash next.
T he door creaked open, a harbinger of fresh hell. Angelo's shadow spilled across the filthy concrete floor, his presence a malignant force that choked the air from the room. The guards looked up, pausing before they finished unlocking my cell.
" Boys ," he said with a raised eyebrow. " Remind our little rose here of her thorns. "
Steel -toed boots clomped ominously closer, the sound sinking claws of dread into my gut. I tensed, every bruise and cut screaming in silent protest. The first blow landed, knuckles to the flesh, a sickening crunch that echoed through the grimy walls.
" Fuck !" I hissed, pain flaring bright, searing through my beaten body. Another fist connected with my side, a rib bending under the force, threatening to snap.
I curled inward, gasping, spittle and blood painting the floor. Each hit was a hammer against my will, each grunt from them a twisted fuckery of violence. My mind reeled, dark spots dancing at the edges of my vision, but I clung to consciousness with a vice grip.
" Is that all?" I taunted through clenched teeth, tasting iron. Goad them, . Don't give them the pleasure of breaking you slowly. “ If you’re going to kill me, just do it, spineless fucks.”
Laughter , cruel and sharp, cut through the haze of blows. Their fists were relentless, but so was I —a cornered animal, wild and fierce.
" Fuckers ," I spat, defiant, the word a shard of glass on my tongue. Hunter's face flashed behind my eyelids. He’d come for me… right ?
" Come ... on..." I rasped, my voice a threadbare whisper, summoning strength from memories of sun-drenched days spent by the lake. Fight .
Angelo's boot heel ground into my hand, bones grinding together, a raw scream tearing from my throat. But even as darkness flirted at the corners of my battered spirit, I refused to yield.
" Still holding on?" Angelo sneered, looming over me, his silhouette a dark monument to cruelty.
" You again," I panted. “ Surprised you’re still around, given what a goddamn coward you are.”
My heart thrummed a warrior's rhythm in the dim light, with shadows overhead. They could beat me, starve me, leave me for dead—but they would never extinguish the fire that burned within.
“ Oh , little Rosie , the apple of Hunter’s eye. You’re going to pay dearly for his absence.”
Before I could say anything, darkness descended with the thud of his boot on my head.
T he dam inside me broke, a torrent of tears spilling hot and unchecked down my bruised cheeks. A sob clawed its way up my throat, raw and ragged, echoing off the filthy walls of my prison. The stench—sweat, blood, piss—choked me as much as the grief lodged in my chest. They’d beaten me, starved me, used me as a bathroom. The only thing they hadn’t done yet, was rape me.
Goddamn it, I hadn't wanted to cry. Not here, not in front of them, but the despair was a living thing now, gnawing at my insides, relentless. My hands shook as I wiped my face, smearing the salty wetness into the dirt that caked my skin. I wouldn’t let these bastards see me break. Couldn’t .
" Pathetic ," Angelo's voice slithered through the dark, his silhouette looming over me. I hardly had the energy to meet his gaze. " Crying for your hero? He should've been here by now. It’s been a week since we’ve had you, . Seems odd he hadn’t bothered yet."
I forced myself upright, ignoring the pain that shot through my battered body. They wouldn't get the satisfaction of seeing me crumple.
" Surprising , isn't it?" His cruel smile twisted in the dim light. " No sign of Hunter . Maybe he doesn't give a flying fuck about you. "
A laugh bubbled up from my throat. Of course, he cared. He had to. He had been changing for me. Hadn’t he?
" Or maybe..." The menace in Angelo's tone crawled under my skin. " He's just enjoying his freedom too much. That's it, huh? Without his ball and chain?"
I squeezed my eyes shut tight against his words, against the image of Hunter out there, laughing, breathing... while I withered away in this hellhole.
" Tick -tock, ." Angelo's boots scraped closer as he grabbed my hair, wrenching my head up. I stifled a cry as a chunk came out in his grip. " If he doesn't show soon, I might let the boys have their turn with you. A different kind of entertainment."
" Fuck you," I spat, my lips cracking from lack of hydration, the taste of iron thick on my tongue. I imagined the frog tattoo on Hunter's back, imagined that poison coursing through Angelo's veins. The burn he would feel before he contorted and writhed in agony.
" Such fire," he mocked. " But we'll see how long that lasts, won't we?"
Angelo's laughter chased after me as I retreated into the recesses of my mind, where dreams of waterfalls and sunlight still lived. I'd hold onto that light and clutch it tight until my knuckles turned white. Because if they thought they could snuff it out, they didn't know who the fuck they were dealing with.