Chapter 55
Camila
My head feels a million miles away from my body, and there’s a heavy feeling settled in my stomach. I don’t know how much we drank last night. Did we even drink? I must have overdone it.
I groan as I try and find the will to move. Even the bed feels hard. My stomach tenses as I roll on my side, nausea already making its way up my throat, ready to eject itself onto Xander’s stainless sheets.
“Oh god,” I mewl as vomit fills my mouth, and I retch.
Groggily prying my eyes open, my heart drops when I realise I can’t see anything. I bring my wrist weakly to my eyes, rubbing them.
I open them again, but nothing.
What time is it?
My eyes start adjusting to the darkness, the nausea slowly subsiding.
My limbs tingle as blood rushes back into them, like I’ve been lying in the same position for a long time.
There are a few bits of light peeking through the slit in between the curtains.
Specks of dust float around in the beams of morning light.
Leaning on my elbows, I don’t feel the softness of Xander’s Egyptian cotton sheets. It’s rough—like old, peeling paint.
“Xander?” My voice bounces off the walls.
A shiver runs up my bare legs, sending a shudder through my body. It’s freezing.
I pull myself to stand slowly, my stomach doing a flip. I suck in a sharp breath so as to not let anything eject from my mouth.
This isn’t right.
This isn’t Xander’s room, and it’s definitely not his mansion.
“Hello?” It feels like talking to the void; there’s nothing around me, and my voice echoes.
Panic starts to settle in, replacing the previous symptoms, realisation washing over me like a tidal wave.
Luke.
He used Xander as a trap to lure me out.
Stupid.
Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
As usual, I fell for his lies. Xander won’t even know I’m missing until he returns.
I prop myself against a wall, my head banging against metal.
I’m inside a fucking container, wearing nothing but a pair of pants and an oversized t-shirt. In the middle of November.
A manic laugh bubbles out of me.
He won. He finally caught up to me. That life I was trying to escape caught up to me.
I slide down onto the cold floor, still berating myself for fooling myself into thinking there was ever a way out of this. I tremble with slowly rising rage.
No.
I can’t fucking give up now.
Not now that I’ve come this far.
I need to get out of here.
I need to get to Xander.
I shoot up on my feet again, pressing myself against the back wall of the container, facing where I think the door is. I sprint, throwing myself into it. I connect with the door and let out a grunt as I bounce off it and onto the floor, pain shooting through my side.
The door creaks open, and the red hue from early dawn floods inside—a tall, slender, dark figure stands in the middle of the door. He closes the door behind him, shrouding us in darkness. I grit my teeth, propping myself up on my arms into a seated position, breaths swishing in and out.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you, Angel.” Luke’s voice stuffs the container.
My heart lurches into my mouth at the sound.
Not. Right. Now.
“Don’t fucking call me that,” I spit.
“Oh,” he laughs, a hint of surprise in his voice. “Did the little doe finally find her feet?”
“She bites too,” I remark, my legs gearing up to pounce on him.
For once, I don’t allow myself to feel fear around him. Just years of pent-up anger and hurt and damage. My arms tense with the urge to scratch at him, punch him—do anything to get the fuck out of here.
He inches closer, squatting down in front of me. My lips quiver as I bite them into a tight line of rage, angry tears threatening to spill.
“It’s been a while, Chicken,” he deadpans.
I’m surprised at the lack of fear within me. This isn’t how I imagined coming face to face with my abuser—but I revel in it. I revel in the anger flowing through me, using it to fuel my impending fight.
“Enjoy it while you can.” I know it’s hard to see, but I grin at him all the same.
I think he does see the confident smile on me, because the faint outline of his face turns into a scowl.
“Now, now. Behave yourself. If you make me angry, I can’t promise I won’t hurt you.
I assured my buddies they’d get the first go on you when I finally got my hands on you.
Get used to your new living arrangements, pet. ”
“Fuck you,” I snarl, every muscle in my body quivering.
His finger traces up my leg, and I suppress a disgusted whimper. “You weren’t easy to track down, I’ll give you that.”
“Guess you’re not as good as you thought you were.”
His hand connects with my cheek, throwing my head to the side and causing a sting.
He laughs again. “It was worth teaming up with Jenny. She found you in no time.”
“Who is Jenny?”
“I turned up in her crack den one night, asking for help. She built herself a name around Chelsea. She knew you immediately. She’d already tracked down Xander by then and offered to help in exchange for distracting him.
What more perfect way to do it than an ex who really wants the love of his life back?
” I can hear the smile in his voice. “We just needed to buy ourselves time. Get Xander distracted, and let you bring your guard down. There was no other way to take him down. They’re too powerful.
” He tuts as he runs his knuckles down the side of my face, where my skin is still burning with his slap.
That’s the one thing I wanted to avoid. Putting the ones I care about in danger.
But I fell in love.
And now I’m paying the price. My Xander is paying the price.
I just hope Jac is safe and that he can save Xander.
“You’re disgusting,” I grimace.
He grips my jaw roughly with his hands, bringing his face close to mine—as much as I try to jerk away, he’s too strong. “Watch your fucking mouth.”
I gather saliva in my mouth, spitting it at his face. He recoils, wiping it away and onto his jeans.
“Who is Jenny?” I repeat, slowly.
How does she know Xander, and what does she want with him?
“Xander’s bitch-ass mother,” he rumbles.
My face drops.
“Fate really did want you and Xander together. Not to be with each other, though. To bring you back to me.” He taps me on the nose with a rough finger, and I growl with a screech.
They have Xander too.
I hurl myself at his stomach, knocking him down from the surprise attack and straddling him.
I claw at his face, my shrieks piercing through the container.
He lets out a pained shout and throws me off him.
I hit the side of the container. A bone cracks in my arm, and I yell out in pain, curling into myself.
“Fuck,” I whimper.
“Stupid bitch. I told you not to try me,” he snarls and forces my back down to the floor, pinning my hands over my head with one and fiddling with the belt of his jeans with the other. I howl in pain as he moves my arm.
“No,” I scream, kicking my legs, trying to throw him off me, heart thrashing against my chest, hair tangling over my face. “Get the fuck off me.”
Never again.
I will not let him do this to me again. Never submit again.
He whacks the side of my cheek, his grip on my hands loosening at the same time. I use this as an opportunity to reach over with my good arm and dig my nails into his exposed dick.
He lets out a harrowing scream as I feel skin breaking beneath my nails and blood dripping down my fingers. My arm is shrieking in pain, but I need to get out of here.
“Fuck you… Luke. You piece…of shit,” I wheeze.
I need to get to Xander.
I need to tell him I love him. I need him to know that. And how sorry I am for putting him in danger.
I say a silent prayer in my head that he’s still alive. That he might even be on his way to me.
Luke curls into himself, and I bend my knee, kicking it into his dick again. He howls and rolls off me and onto the floor.
“I’m not fucking dying to you,” I huff as I roll onto my side, watching as his freckled face scrunches with more of the morning light slipping in.
I have nothing to defend myself with, but if I can get to his belt, maybe I can—
A foot collides with my stomach, making me slump into myself.
“Fucking whore,” Luke pants. I hear him shuffling on the floor, then his hand is around my throat, squeezing hard.
I rake at his arm with my only good hand, but it’s no use. My chest is tight, my eyes feeling like they’re bulging out of my face. I attempt to shove my foot under him, but I can’t fully control my movement. I can feel myself slipping.
Not. Right. Now.
Running out of options, I close my eyes and stop the struggle to breathe, going slack on the floor. He lets go immediately—and with everything I have in me, I will my body to stay still.
He sighs, coming off me.
“Fuck. You fucking whore. You’re better off dead anyway. Just like your cunt of a mother,” he mumbles to himself, hissing between each word. “Fuck!”
I finally let myself pull in a breath, and I swing my leg, connecting with the side of his neck. The movement catches him off guard, and he falls to the floor.
The door to the container opens, and I’m up on my feet again, rushing at whoever might’ve walked through the door.
“Woah, woah, woah, little Angel, slow down,” a female voice taunts. I’m assuming Jenny, as two guards grab me under the shoulders and lift me so I’m floating in the air.
I let out a tormenting scream. “My arm!”
“Shit. Put her down.”
I’m swiftly placed on the floor, the two guards stepping away as I scream in pain.
The woman approaches and kneels in front of me. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know about your arm.”
I breathe through my teeth, tears spilling down my face from the pain.
“Nova?” I pant.
“Tie him up,” she orders one of the men.
I drag my eyes to the woman in front of me, wearing an all-black catsuit showing off all her curves, with a black jean jacket, armed for dear life. “Where’s Xander?”
“He’s at DL. I’ll take you to him, but we need to deal with that”—she jerks her chin towards a struggling Luke—“first.”
“Is he alive?”
She pauses. “There’s a lot of them. I lost comms. I don’t know, Camila.”
Adrenaline quickly starts taking over my body, and the pain seems to subside. Sweat beads down my forehead and my spine.
She tilts her lips up in a small smile as she stands.
She pulls something out of her leg pocket and holds it out towards me. I flinch on instinct, but I realise it’s a knife, and she’s holding it by the blade, handing it to me. She nods pointedly towards Luke.
Before Xander, I never would’ve done this. I probably would have submitted to Luke again. Let him take me.
Luke destroyed the very core of who I was, who I wanted to be.
Xander took those broken pieces and rebuilt me. Helped me heal. Made me realise who I was. Made me realise that it’s okay to bear the scars and heal in the only way I knew how. And he helped me. Those scars and cracks will always be there, but they’re held together by Xander.
And Luke threatened him.
He threatened a piece of my heart. My safety pin.
I reach for the knife, and Nova helps me up by my good hand.
I look over at Luke, whose face is already swelling. A pang of sadness hits me at the fact that I missed him getting his ass handed to him by a furious-looking Axel who’s glaring at Luke.
I approach slowly, like a predator stalking its prey. He looks comical tied up with his dick hanging out. An image of the things he made me do all those years ago.
“You really fucked me up, Luke,” I start. “How do you like the shoe being on the other foot?”
“Slut,” he spits, his eyes squeezing in pain.
A slow grin spreads over my lips.
“You ruined my fucking life. It was painful. Slow. For years, you were breaking me apart bit by bit. You vowed that you’d break me so thoroughly that I’d never be able to escape you.
” I crouch in front of him. “Well, guess what? I found someone who put those pieces back together. So now, it’s time for you to die a slow and painful death. ”
I grin, my eyes widening as I slice the knife through the air, right across his dick. He screams out in pain, pathetically whimpering. His decapitated penis rolls across the floor as he wails.
“I could drag this out… But I have somewhere more important to be.” I slice the knife across his neck, blood spraying everywhere and covering me in crimson.
I laugh as he gurgles, his eyes staring at me, life already draining from them.
He chokes and starts slowly sliding to the ground.
“Burn in hell. I’ll see you there when it’s my time. ”
Axel chuckles next to him before he kicks him to the ground, saving him a trip. “Dickhead.”
“The world could do with less of those,” Nova yawns, lazily gesturing towards a convulsing Luke.
The dark cloud that’s been raining on me for years finally stops.
But I need to find Xander.
I stab the knife into Luke’s thigh and stand. Turning, I walk out into the morning light.