42. Evil
FORTY-TWO
Evil
MELISSA
An unrelenting drumbeat banged away inside Melissa’s chest. Combined with the electric charge running over her skin, her entire body vibrated with the need to run. To fight. To do something. But she couldn’t move. Melissa was trapped by chains, and cuffs, and the prison of her captor’s arms. She tried chasing away her fear, but the man standing before her made her blood run cold.
Scott had found her.
Breathing became a struggle, one she was losing, and she couldn’t pull enough air. The hammering of her pulse deafened her and raced past her ears in one terrifying roar. With a blink, she tried to force the blackness shrouding her vision away, but the smothering weight of Scott’s presence made that impossible.
She kicked against her bonds, a futile effort. Pierce had her trussed up so well she could barely move.
“My, my, Pierce Channing,” Scott said with a taunting smile, “as I live and breathe, you have brought me the perfect get-out-of-jail gift.”
She squeezed her legs together and drew inward, trying to hide from Scott’s view. Panic had a hold of her, setting her stomach to churning and bringing whimpers to her throat. Her heartbeat wavered, a weak fluttering thing and a scream struggled to be free. But she smothered the sound.
Why hadn’t she listened to CJ and kept that damn door shut?
Scott crossed his arms and gave one of his cruel smiles. His gaze drifted over her body, moving with measured purpose and traveling at a languid pace from her feet to her breasts, finally to settle on her face.
She met his stare with as much strength as she could muster, but her determination to meet him head-on skittered away.
Pierce adjusted his grip, hefting her in his arms, and shifting her ever so slightly away from Scott. Such an odd embrace. She should be frightened by her kidnapper but found herself burrowing against his chest—anything to get away from her ex-husband.
A deep groan rumbled outward from Scott, needful, raw, possessive, and terrifying. His masculine jaw was set with purpose, and there was no confusion about what he wanted.
There had once been a time when she had believed him to be a handsome man. Power, wealth, and a raw beauty had drawn her to him. In many ways, he had been her Prince Charming.
Until he became a brutal killer.
Now, she cringed, desperate to flee. All she could see was the hardness of his eyes and the depravity of the psychopath he’d become.
A sharptick-tick-tockgrated on her nerves. A grandfather clock sat in the hall and announced the time with three long peals of its bells. She twitched with the noise, jumping with each beat.
Pierce shifted, taking another step back. “Should I be surprised you’re inmyhome?” Her captor’s voice wavered between anger and awe.
“In the flesh.” Scott spread his arms. Light glinted off his thousand-dollar smile.
“Risky coming here.” Recrimination floated in the unusual timbre of his tone.
Held by Pierce, Melissa couldn’t move. Even if he put her down, she was bound in chains. Her gaze cut from Pierce to Scott and back again, feeling every bit trapped.
“I needed a place to stay, and I couldn’t think of a better person who understood me.” A devilish smile spread across his lips.
Melissa’s muscles ached from her contorted position. The pain settled into an unrelenting throb.
Scott closed the distance, the ticking of the clock, the strike of his heels against the floor, her ragged breathing, they all combined into one thunderous roar. She’d never forget the sound of his distinctive walk. Seeking protection in her kidnapper’s arms made no sense, but she tucked her head against Pierce’s chest and felt his ribcage expand with a sharp pull of his breath. He held it for a beat, then expelled it in a rush.
Seeking protection from her kidnapper? She had gone mad.
Scott approached and brushed her chin, his fingers rough and calloused, nothing like the smooth manicure he’d once sported.
Their gazes locked. His stare promised retribution, and she wanted nothing more than to disappear.
Pierce stood rock steady when all she wanted was for him to yank her away from her ex-husband. The two men exchanged a glance, more of a glare: two predators and only one prey.
She jerked her chin out of Scott’s grasp, turning again toward Pierce. She didn’t know his brand of crazy, but Scott’s was undeniable.
Scott reached out and pinched her chin, increasing the pressure until she had no choice but to turn and face him.
Pierce still hadn’t moved, and he let Scott paw at her. The depth of her kidnapper’s breathing intensified, and the beat of his heart pounded against her chest. He didn’t appear happy having a serial killer in his home, but he wasn’t making a move to get rid of Scott.
“My beautiful bride, how I have missed you.” Scott kissed her with a light brush of his lips.
Melissa bucked, thrashing in her captor’s arms.
“Be still.” Pierce’s grip tightened.
Why didn’t he step back and pull her away? Her mind screamed, one long piercing wail confined to the inside of her skull. She was going to die. She didn’t want to die. Not when she’d found CJ.
CJ! Please. Find me. Save me. Don’t let him hurt me.
A growl sounded low in Scott’s throat, then he leaned forward, invading her space to give one of his punishing kisses, the ones he saved when he wanted her to feel pain. He pulled back, leaving her lower lip bruised and pulsing.
“Have you missed me?” He sneered.
Her lower lip quivered, and her limbs trembled. Nothing of the man she had once loved remained in the person standing before her now.
Scott believed in a wife’s duty to love, honor, and obey. Even more than her duty, he believed in his right to ensure her obedience by any means he saw fit, by the cruelty of his words, by the absence of his affection, but more often by his hand or belt.
She sucked in a deep lungful of air. He always made her feel small.
He turned his attention to Pierce. “You did extend an invitation.”
Pierce had the strength of steel because he showed no signs of tiring, holding her in his arms. He brushed her temple with a kiss of his own. The tenderness in his lips sent a shiver down her spine because it had been protective, possessive, and terrifying.
Scott’s eyes narrowed.
“My invitation was forifyou were ever released. You weren’t released. You escaped.” Pierce measured his words. “I’m not interested in helping a fugitive.”
Scott’s eyes flared. “An act of God set me free. Besides, I knew you’d be collecting my bride. I couldn’t imagine leaving town without seeing my Sissy one last time.”
Melissa’s breath caught in her throat. His nickname had never been one she liked. It used to grate on her nerves, but now? Now, it portended her death. One last time?
“She belongs to me now.” Pierce ground out. “You gave her to me.”
The warning in Pierce’s tone was unmistakable. The possession undeniable.
Melissa stilled in Pierce’s arms. He was the only thing keeping her away from Scott and his twisted desires. She pressed her cheek against Pierce’s chest and felt his breathing hitch.
Scott shrugged and gave a dismissive wave. “Of course, she’s yours now.” He tried to appear nonchalant, but Melissa knew he’d never give her away, at least not while he still pulled breath.
Had that been it? How long had these two been in communication, and how horrible for Scott to have seen to her future after his death? The twisted bastard would’ve done something like this.
“Do I need to remind you she’s still my wife?”
“You gave her to me.” The confidence in Pierce’s voice faded.
“Technically, I had no choice.” A slick smile spread across Scott’s face. He held his hands out. “Look, we need not argue.” A snicker filled Scott’s voice, “She’ll be your Queen. I don’t want her anymore. I only ask for one last night, and I’m sure you won’t mind.”
If Scott was done with her…a shiver worked down her spine and shot to her fingertips.
“She’s no good dead,” Pierce ground out. The air crackled with the intensity of these two men squaring off against each other.
Melissa cringed. If Pierce gave her to Scott, she wouldn’t survive the night. As much as the idea made her gut churn, she had to play Pierce against Scott. But how?
“I have no intention of killing her, but she needs to pay.” There was a hitch in Scott’s voice that turned her stomach.
“I’m serious. I want her alive.”
Scott took a few steps back. “After everything I taught you, you owe me this much!”
Melissa struggled to breathe. She lifted her bound hands as best she could and clutched at the fabric of Pierce’s shirt. He was her only hope. A whimper escaped her throat.
Pierce hugged her tight and kissed the top of her head. She found the act oddly comforting.
Pierce whispered into her ear. “I’ll keep you safe, my Queen. I promise.”
“Please,” she whispered. “Don’t let him have me.”
Scott pointed an accusatory finger at Pierce. “After everything I taught you, after helping you build your collection, you owe me. It takes one phone call to bring this all down.”
Pierce’s voice dropped an octave, ice coating his words, turning them hard and brittle. “Exactly. Only one phone call to end it all.”
A phone! That’s what she needed. If she could only find a phone, get out of Pierce’s arms, and do what? Crawl?
She wouldn’t be able to reach a phone. Hers had been left in the hotel. She prayed CJ found it. Until then, she needed to stall for time and give CJ a chance.
She pressed her cheek against Pierce’s chest. “P-please. Don’t let him touch me.”
He pressed his lips to the top of her head. His low murmur made her skin crawl. “My dearest Queen, have faith in your King.”
Hope chased the fear flowing in her veins. He would save her, but for what fate?
“Then we understand each other?” There was a tremor in Scott’s voice.
He’d been a successful lawyer once, a theatric player who ruled the courtroom. She used to love watching him argue his cases. Even in the most heated cases, Scott never lost his cool. It had made him seem powerful, sexy even. He never backed down, and she’d never seen another man dominate him.
Until now.
That quaver in his voice was the first time she’d heard a thread of uncertainty from him. Any man who could off-balance Scott was someone to fear, but in choosing one evil over another, was she making an even worse mistake?
“Tell me what you want.” Pierce readjusted his hold.
“I want to punish her for turning me in to the cops. I want to hear her scream. Give me that, and I’ll leave.”
“That’s all? And you’ll go?”
“Not all. Share one of your princesses. Prison makes for quite a dry spell. I’m itching to fuck a real woman.”
Wait? There were other women trapped here? Pierce had mentioned a court awaited.
“Share?” There was that pause again, a hitch in Pierce’s words.
“I’m certain we can come to some arrangement.”
“We differ in our definition of what it means tohavea woman,” Pierce warned.
“And I’ve told you that soft spot in your heart will be your undoing. If one of them ever gets out—”
“They’re never getting out.”
Melissa twitched in the steel embrace of Pierce’s arms. Confidence oozed from his pores, and if none of them could get out, what would happen to her?
“No killing. You can fuck one, but that’s it.”
“Well, notjustfuck. I know what toys you keep in that dungeon of yours. Tell me it hasn’t been your fantasy to watch me in action? We could take them together. The master and the student?”
“Our idea of fun is different.”
“Don’t worry. I’m not here to take over your little kingdom. All I want is a moment with my wife and something to fuck instead of my hand.”
She clawed at Pierce, desperate for his protection.
Pierce’s eyes narrowed.
Melissa prayed he would refuse. If he didn’t, they were both dead. Hopefully, Pierce was smart enough to figure that out.
Another brush of his lips had her skin crawling.
“Forgive me, but I must allow this,” Pierce whispered. He met Scott’s stare and firmed his voice with the power of command, one psycho attempting to dominate another. “You stop when I say stop.”
Her hopes faded with those words.
“Then what are we waiting for?” Scott rubbed his hands together, anticipation lighting his eyes.
He wanted her pain. No matter what he did, no matter how much it hurt, she would not cry. Her fear would feed the beast inside of him.
God help her if she screamed.
Melissa’s insides churned in a tight knot. Her mind screamed to flee, to fight, to get the hell out of there, but Pierce’s cuffs and chains, and the prison of his arms trapped her with no way out.
There had to be neighbors, but she kept silent. Any foolish attempt would be her last. She needed to be smart, not stupid.
Scott turned and paced the long length of the kitchen, scrubbing at his sandy blond hair. He opened the refrigerator and pulled out a cold beer.
Each time he drew near, her heart fluttered with renewed panic. As long as Pierce held her, Scott couldn’t touch her.
“Want one?” Scott acted as if he owned the place, playing host to the man whose home he’d invaded.
The bottle hissed as Scott popped the cap. The noise had Melissa cringing. He tipped the longneck back and took a pull.
“No, I’m good.” Pierce’s teeth made a grinding sound.
Scott wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “God, I’ve missed beer.” He pointed the bottle at Melissa. “What are we waiting for?”
This time, she couldn’t hold back the whimper and turned her cheek to Pierce. The move had been instinctual. She coiled inward, preparing to defend against Scott’s sadistic pleasure.
“I want to make sure we understand each other.” Pierce’s hands gripped painfully against her bruised ribs.
Melissa bit back a cry but didn’t know why she bothered. Scott meant her to pay, and she would drown in screams.
“Damn, this is good.” Scott slammed his half-empty beer on the granite counter.
Pierce Channing was a mystery she needed to crack. He kidnapped her, bound her, and there was no doubt he planned horrible things. But, he seemed protective, and she sensed he didn’t relish handing her over to Scott. There had to be a way to use that to her advantage.
She snuggled into his chest and whispered. “Please, don’t let him hurt me.”
Pierce kissed her forehead. “I can’t say no. Not to him. You must understand…”
“Understand what?” Scott asked. “What did she say?” He tipped the bottle and drained it. The refrigerator door opened again, and he pulled out a second bottle.
She placed her cheek against Pierce’s chest. “Please?”
“Don’t worry, my Queen. I will stop him if he goes too far.”
No. She needed him not to allow it at all.
She needed an ally, and right now, her kidnapper was her best bet for making it through this alive. There was no doubt in her mind what would happen if Pierce left her alone with Scott.
“Beer and sex,” Scott said. “Two things you don’t get in prison. I’m ready to see this dungeon of yours. I want to see how you improved on my design. Show me your kingdom.”
Melissa startled. How close did the similarities go between these two? Had Scott been coaching Pierce from prison?
Bile rose in her throat, but she swallowed it down.
Pierce gestured to the second beer. “If you’re going to punish my Queen, you’ll do it with a clear head.”
He spoke about her impending torture with a calmness she found chilling, reminding her that he too was a predator—a man she should fear, not an ally against her ex-husband.
“She’s lousy in bed. I’m just warning you. Lays there like a limp fish. Why do you think I had to find my princesses? I know why you want her, and as honored as I am by that, I have to wonder why?”
Lousy? He’d been the one who relegated her to one sexual position, who refused to let her touch him with her hands or mouth. Ugh, the thought of anything sexual regarding Scott brought a vile taste to her mouth.
He’d been her first, and until recently, her only sexual experience. He’d been the one who had stunted her sexual awakening.
Lousy? Scott had been the most selfish of lovers.
Pierce’s jaw clenched again. “I enjoy the challenge of breaking them and training them. She’ll serve me well when I’m done.”
Pierce would never have a chance because Scott would kill her first. She wasn’t sure which of them was the most repugnant, the kidnapper or the killer.
Scott tilted his head. “Never understood why you keep them around. Huge liability. I say have your fun and get rid of them. Make it clean and neat.”
Pierce chuckled. “Look where that got you.”
Scott’s eyes flickered with an unsettled emotion. He finished his beer and tossed it in the trash.
“Are we going to chitchat all day? I’m horny as hell and tired of doing all the work.” He fisted his hand and jerked it over his crotch, pumping in and out.
He’d never been so crude. Prison had changed him.
His actions nearly had her vomiting in her mouth. Would he want to have sex with her? But he hadn’t asked Pierce’s permission for that.
A shudder rolled through her body.
“I get the picture.” Pierce smiled, not a kind smile, but something much darker. “And you only cane this one ten times.”
“She deserves a hundred!”
“Ten.”
“Fifty.”
“Ten.” Pierce insisted.
Scott’s eyes narrowed.
Like a piece of meat at an auction house, her fate was being argued by the insane. She may not have long to live, but she’d be damned if she’d die like a piece of cattle.
“You don’t deserve to touch me.” A bold and stupid thing to say, but she couldn’t remain silent.
“Twenty,” her husband said with a glower. “And you’ll feel every strike, my dear.”
Pierce shook his head. “I’ve seen what you can do with a cane. Ten strikes.”
Testosterone surged in the air, swirling with festering depravity as two psychopaths puffed out their chests.
She expected Scott to win. He always did.
“Please.” She turned to Pierce. “He doesn’t deserve me.”
“I’ve earned this,” her husband screamed. His face turned beet-red, and he advanced with his arm upraised.
Pierce turned, shifting her away. “Be careful. My terms are non-negotiable. She’s no good to me a cripple.” He angled his face down to look at her. “I would suggest silence, my Queen.” His muscles tensed.
A sharp ache knifed in her chest. Caught between Crazy and Crazier, she gave a slight nod and acquiesced.
“As you wish. Ten, but I can use my hand as much as I want.” Scott gave a grunt of displeasure, but he had caved to Pierce’s demands.
Melissa breathed a sigh of relief. As crazy as it seemed, she had an ally in Pierce.
She was lifted a few inches as Pierce shrugged. “Stay away from her face.”
Scott came close once again. Exhaling a fume of hops, his fetid breath overwhelmed her. He yanked on the collar around her throat, forcing her head off Pierce’s shoulder.
“You have been disobedient, Sissy. You should have protected your husband as I protected you.”
“You never protected me.” The urge to add ‘you crazy bastard’had been hard to suppress, but Melissa wasn’t a complete fool.
He placed a finger over her lips. “Don’t speak. It’s just a waste of breath. You’re not going to change what happens next.” He took a step back. “Show me your dungeon, my padawan.”
Pierce headed for a door off the kitchen.