Chapter Eight
Beth (18)
I slowly start to come too, my blurry eyes struggling to stay open. It’s pitch black, so dark I’m not entirely sure my eyes are even open. I wiggle back and forth trying to assess what’s going on. My brain is fuzzy and it feels like I’m slipping in and out of consciousness. It’s then I notice my arms are bound behind my back and there is tape over my mouth. I let out a soft grunt, memories threatening to take over… No…no… not again. I can’t. Not again, god no.
My body tremors as everything I thought I’d managed to escape sucks me back in, dragging me under the weight of my past. My breathes go shallow as I struggle to hold back the fear threatening to suffocate me.
Breathe…come on Beth, breathe. Tears run down my cheeks, dripping into my ears as I relive the worst moment of my life. Suddenly I’m back there. A little girl, thrown in the trunk, Danes soft voice chanting in the front seat as he played classical music. “Birdy, birdy, give me a chirp.” He’d singsong, using the nickname he’d given me during our special time. I’d been bound and trapped that day too. I didn’t understand, I’d always done everything he asked, always wanting to make him proud of me.
Steady Beth. If you survived this once you can do it again. You’re older now… wiser.
I take deep breaths trying to settle my nerves so I can fucking think. It takes a bit and my body still shakes slightly under the fear but it’s enough to notice the vibrations under me and the rough carpeting of a trunk.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
The car comes to an abrupt stop. Causing me to slam into the trunk door. A moment later the driver’s side door slams and the trunk lifts, his face coming into view. A malicious grin on his face, promising nothing good is to come.
“Oh, how I’ve missed you, birdy.” He purrs, calling me by the name he used too. Sending shivers down my spine and vomit to rise in my throat. No. I won’t allow myself to drift back there, I need to keep my shit together or there’s no way I’ll make it out of this.
I may be nowhere near healed, but I had somehow managed to put most of my pieces back together. I won’t let him take me apart again. I’m not the little girl that was easily manipulated by a man she was meant to trust. I know better now. “Come on, birdy. Let’s play.” He smiles, showing all his teeth as he lifts me out of the trunk and places me on my feet, his grip tight on my arm, allowing me no room to take off. Those words! The same ones he would always use before he took me to his playroom and used me.
He pulls me toward a cabin I’ve never seen before. I have no clue now long we’ve been driving since I’d been knocked out first. My body instinctively tightens, and I can feel the panic begging to take over, the desire to slip back into my safe space the darkness of my own despair. To go somewhere else, so I don’t have to go through this all over again. It would be so easy to give in, to let go and just let him finally kill me. End my miserable life. I’ve lost my family and even Bones. He’ll never love me like I love him.
My eyes close as something deep inside me begs me to fight, not to give up. I need to avoid the abuse by slipping back into that role, a role I’ve played for so long I know all the rules.
“Don’t really feel like playing today.” I grumble under the tape, and I doubt he understand me, which is probably for the best because I know that would earn me a few lashings with his belt.
He yanks me to a stop and rips the tape suddenly off my face, causing me to hiss at the sting. “Couldn’t hear you, birdy. What’d you say?” His tone implies innocence, but I hear the anger bleeding into it. He may not have understood my words, but he knew it wasn’t the “yes sir” he was expecting.
“I said, I won’t play with you.” I growl out, my teeth grinding together as I work to control my anger and fear as well as brace for the impending hit. I won’t be his birdy anymore.
A slimy smile slips onto his face, and he yanks me into his chest. “You will pay for that, little girl. I will forgive you this one time for old times’ sake. It seems you are out of practice.” He grunts before he shoves me forward toward the front door of the cabin, causing me to trip over my own feet at the sudden speed. My legs almost giving out. I want to make a run for it, but I can feel his heavy presence right on my heels. By the time I reach the door his front is pressed flush to my back, my hands trapped between us over his already rigid cock. “I’ve missed our play times, little bird.” He whispers in my ear, his voice husky not even bothering to hide his arousal.
“I figured I’m too old for you now. Isn’t that why you got rid of me. No longer fun when they bleed.” I spit, hating my body for reacting to his despite all he’s done to me. The years of conditioning causing a response that I can’t control. I close my eyes trying to cover the hurt, the pain. Why does he do this to me. He is the catalyst to everything bad that’s ever happened to me. He’s the devil himself in an Armani suit. I know better now, know how fucked up the whole thing was. I can feel the tear slip down my face, but I can’t even wipe it away, and that pisses me off even more. He doesn’t deserve my goddamn tears. I brace myself. You’re not the same girl anymore Beth, you’re stronger, smarter.
His hand slides around my waist, the subtle movement causing my skin to prickle as he slips the key into the lock clicking it over.
I won’t allow myself to feel this way, I can’t. I know what real love is and this ain’t it. It’s what I feel for Bones. It’s how the guys take care of each other, like family, like brothers. It’s King and Elana. He’s never felt anything for me, and I refused to feel anything back for him other than rage. I won’t allow myself to get sucked back into this, I’m finally getting better. I won’t allow myself to be so easily manipulated again. My thoughts drift back to Bones, how he made me feel the night we slept together, the night I told him I loved him. I know I fucked up and I could tell he was panicking but before that I saw the look in his eyes, the way he studied me, learning my body. He may not love me like I love him, but he at least cares about me, and that’s more than this man has ever done even when he claimed to love me.
Dane uses his other arm to force me past the threshold and into the cabin. The small open space boosts a cozy living room, a kitchenette and bedroom combo. The only thing that seems to be in a separate room is the bathroom. It’s your stereotypical cabin, leather couch and a fireplace. It would actually be pretty nice if it weren’t for the monster currently following in behind me.
He closed the door behind us, and I hear the click of locks engaging before he’s flipping on a light switch. “Are you thirsty?” His tone takes on a gentle caring edge and immediately my hackles raise. Something isn’t right, I mean this whole situation is fucked three ways from Sunday, but he hasn’t spoken to me like this since he first started grooming me. It’s his training voice.
“I’m fine,” I say curtly, not wanting to fall into whatever trap he’s trying to lay, but he just smiles and nods before pouring himself a glass from a filter in the fridge.
I stand utterly still, unsure about where he’s going with this or what he’s going to do with me now that he’s got me. Kill me, I’m sure. I can only hope I can at least get some answers before he does.
“Why? Why take me again? Why sell me in the first place? J-just why?” My head lowers as I say the last word, ashamed and angry, unable to keep the questions in. The answers I’ve wondered for so long may finally get answered. My curiosity and need to understand outweighing my need to protect myself in this situation. He tilts his head back toward the ceiling and laughs, a full out belly laugh that has his eyes creasing and his chest bouncing. My eyes widen in shock surprised by his reaction. How is any of this fucking funny. Fury rises in my chest, dissolving my fear like magma clearing a path of destruction.
“You haven’t figured it out yet?” He shakes his head like he’s disappointed in me. “I remember you being so much more intelligent. The others must have tainted you.” His lip curls up in disgust, but he still doesn’t answer my questions. When I just continue to glare at him, waiting for a response he blows out a tired breath. “I’m going to do what I should have done a long time ago. I’m going to make sure no one finds you, ever.” His eyes light up in delight and his smile turns from placating to malevolent. “I’m going to kill you, Bethany. Chop up your body into little pieces and scatter you across my property so that you’ll always be trapped here. Right where you belong.” He steps forward, his hand gripping my chin as he studies my face, wanting, no needing a reaction. One I will never give him.
I fight the shiver, that’s trying to force its way out of my body from the force of his words. There isn’t a hint of remorse in his words, he means it. And suddenly all I can hear is my blood rushing through my veins, the pounding in my ears as it rushes from my face to my feet. My mouth goes dry as I fight the fear that starts to take over. I beg my subconscious to let me slip into the darkness. To feel it’s warm embrace.
“I’m going to take my time, draw this out, enjoy taking everything from you again…” He licks his lips like he’s imagining me sprawled out underneath him on a table, like some sort of sick buffet. He takes a step toward me, the sound menacing as his boots clomp against the hardwood floors. My feet are moving before I’m even aware of it, stepping backward until my ass hits the back of the couch. “No one’s coming to get you, Bethie. No one even knows you’re still alive.” He laughs, but not in the funny way. That nickname. I know now why it always sounded so familiar, it’s what my father used to call me, his business partner, and best friend. I gulp as I swallow down the bile that’s rising in my throat.
“Just kill me. Unless you’re scared?” I toss out flippantly, as if I couldn’t give a fuck. Hoping he’ll make it quick. In actuality, I’m scared out of my mind, but I’ll be damned if I die showing him my fear, he’s taken enough of me. He doesn’t deserve it and I know that’s what he wants from me. Me to beg for my life. Well, fuck him.
“I know what you are trying to do, and it won’t work, birdy. I will take my time and enjoy it. Just not as long as I had originally planned. Can’t have that fucking gang you were with peeping around now, can we?” He spits before a sadistic smile rises to his face, and I wish I could physically remove it from his face with a knife. He continues his approach, taking his time, like a hunter who knows he’s trapped his pray. He wraps his large hands around my shoulders, squeezing so tight I know there will be bruises, but I refuse to be a victim again.
While his eyes are locked on my face, feeding off the fear I’m struggling to hide; I lift my knee and slam it as hard as I physically can into his balls.
A hissed breath escapes through his clench teeth as he keels over, instinctively crunching to protect his balls from the pain. I lift my knee one more time and hear a sickening crunch as it connects with his nose.
“Fucking bitch!” He roars as I take off in an awkward run with my arms tied behind my back, but I don’t care, I just need to get the fuck away from him. I head for the door but quickly realize I won’t be able to open the handle like this and turn, struggling to wrap my hand around it knob and turn it. My hand slips twice as I use my whole body to try and force the handle free.
He recovers much faster than I had anticipated. “Fuck, fuck.” I pant as I beg whoever’s listening to work with me, to help me, just this once.
“You think you can run from me, Bethie? You think there is anywhere you could go that I wouldn’t find you? I kept track of you, you know? Of all your master’s through the years…” He pauses long enough in his monologuing to elicit a reaction out of me as my arms begin to shake. “None were quite like me though were they. Did you wish they were?” He taunts, his voice coming out rough as he speaks through his anger and pain. He rises to stand and starts to pace in front of me, not even remotely worried about me escaping as I continue to fumble with the door. Ignoring his comments altogether. “It’s really serendipitous that my daughter would run into you at that club. That after all these years you would find your way back to me, for me to be the one to see this come full circle.” The glee in his eyes is so bright I swear they sparkle. Tears start to blur my vision as I forcefully try to blink them away, needing to keep my eyes on Dane.
Just as the door finally clicks over, his head snaps up and he launches himself at me. Ripping me away from the door, dragging me towards a hidden door I hadn’t noticed during my first inspection.
I don’t even bother begging for my life. I know Dane well enough to know he won’t show me any mercy. The sweet and kind man who I used to love is no longer there; instead, all that is left is a monster who sold me and became the catalyst of all the abuse and torture I’ve endured for most of my life.
The second door opens, the smell of must and damp earth greets me like a brick wall to my face. The stairs are wooden and look rickety and steep as they lead down into endless darkness. As he uses my arm to support me, cranking my shoulder into a painful position guiding me down the stairs, the temperature dropping with every few feet.
“Welcome to your new playroom, birdy.” I can’t see it, but I can hear the smug grin in his voice, he’s won, and he knows it. I won’t be leaving the cabin in one piece.
Once we reach the bottom, he flicks a light switch and a few bulbs blink into life, flickering a few times as if they haven’t been used in a while. My body shakes and I don’t know if it’s the overwhelming fear or the cold, at this point I know we are underground, the cement walls and lack of windows confirm that.
“Fuck you!” I spit, hoping if I can anger him enough that he will cut this short and just kill me. I can’t take the mind games and torture again. I won’t survive it, I don’t think I’d want to.
“Oh, you will, my little bird.” He purrs as he drags me over to a large bed that’s placed on the far-left side, my eyes snagging on the chains that are bolted to the wall of my new prison. He forces me down into the bed and I can feel the contrast of the warm tears against my cold cheeks as they leak down my temples and into my hair. The last man to be inside me was Bones. The only man I ever chose to be inside me. And Dane…Dane is going to taint it. He’s going to force himself inside me and replace the one good memory of sex I have. I slam my eyes closed, wanting to block out everything but him. Bones. I picture his strong jaw and those beautiful gentle, gray eyes as he stared down at me. His arms holding me close to him, telling me how beautiful I am.
Using a knife that he pulled out of a sheath he must have had at his back. He cuts my clothes from my frame, not even bothering to be careful. The knife digs into my skin in certain places, forcing me to close my eyes through the pain. I take a deep breath, allowing my brain to take me to that blissfully safe place that I always use to escape to when my master’s would take me. But instead of the images of the little girl I now know as Angie, its Bones’ stormy gray eyes, and strong cheekbones that flash through my mind. His dirty blond hair and the way his lip tips up on the side after he’s made a joke like he’s trying not to laugh. Or how he runs his hands through his hair when he’s embarrassed or frustrated.
I’m not sure when or how, but at some point Bones has become my safe space. Which just makes more tears run down my face. I let myself sink into thoughts of him as Dane sinks into me.