Chapter 18 Summer
Chapter Eighteen
SUMMER
I want to hit something until my hand aches and my knuckles bleed. I want to scream into the void like it's going to fix the shitshow that is my life.
Or I could kill Noah. He's probably sleeping in the spare room like he has been for the last week and a half since he dragged me back here.
It'd be easy to slip into his room. I'd have to figure out the best weapon, the one that's going to be easy enough to hide. Sink a knife into his throat. Find a gun and a silencer.
Hell, I could choke him out just for something to do. At this point, I feel like I'll go insane if I don't have anything to do. Even catching up on schoolwork isn't keeping me entertained for long, but no matter how hard I try, I can't get around the blocks Noah put in place.
Maybe I should be happy to have something to do at all, but I'm not.
I want out of this hellhole, but so far none of the guards I've seen have been ones who worked with my family. There shouldn't be any way Noah found out who they were already, but he might have.
And then there's the phone. I've been messaging Aiden once a day to let him know I'm still alive, but other than that, I've been keeping it hidden in the same cupboard I found the gun.
If they find the phone, I'm dead. There's no escaping it at that point.
I send Aiden the daily message, the same as the last few days.
I'm alive. Not planning on dying today.
It's not much, but it's the most I'm going to manage. It's the only goal for getting through the day.
Groaning, I change into some shorts and a sports bra, tying my hair back before wandering through the house until I find the gym. I head straight for the punching bag, stretching out and then wrapping my hands.
I bounce on my feet from side to side, imagining Noah's face as I slam a right hook into the side of the bag.
It barely moves.
I grunt and do it again and again, tossing in an uppercut at the end.
"Stupid fucking idiot."
More punches. A knee to the bag.
Sweat drips down my face.
I throw more punches, wishing with each one that it'd be enough to get me out of here. I hope that it's going to be enough to see my family, to finally get to talk to someone other than Zoe after weeks of being trapped in this nightmare.
I throw one hook and then another, switching sides before starting to kick the bag hard.
Arms wrap around my waist, and I'm thrown, the ground colliding with my shoulder hard, pain blossoming.
My heart seizes in my chest, the hair on the back of my neck rising.
I'm in danger, and there's no denying it.
I wince, Robert standing in front of me.
He grins, dressed in a pair of shorts and a loose shirt. "Thought you might want to use someone to spar with. It looks like the bag is taking a hell of a beating."
I sit up, the black mats sticking to the backs of my thighs, sweat forming a disgusting glue that makes me feel like I'm peeling off a layer of skin as I stand up.
I should punch the smile right off his face.
I move past him, starting to punch the bag again. "You're a dick. I should've known that everything about you was a setup from the beginning, but no. On the one night I thought I could let loose just a little, you show up, and I should've known shit was going to go sideways."
He laughs and spreads his arms wide. "What can I say? I at least have a vision for how all of this should be going. I can only imagine how dealing with Noah has been for you."
I stop punching the bag and look at him, wiping some sweat from my forehead with the back of my hand. "What the fuck do you know about anything? From what I can see, you're nothing more than someone he's sidelining in everything that's happening."
Robert's jaw clenches, anger flashing in his eyes. "You're clueless in all of this."
"Am I?" I taunt, even though I know provoking him is likely a horrible idea.
After all, he did try to buy me from that auction. He was talking about all the things he was going to do to me.
And Noah is out for meetings all day. I'm alone with Robert, and he's looking at me like I'm a piece of meat.
I need to tread carefully.
Robert's fist flashes out, swinging for the side of my head.
I duck quickly, slamming a punch low into the side of his ribs.
He coughs and moves to the side, getting his fists up in front of his face.
I get my hands up, circling with him.
This is what he wants. I can see it in his eyes.
He moves closer, like he's testing me, and I take a step on my back foot, putting more distance between us.
We're surrounded by mirrors and walls of windows.
It's going to be hard to win against him if he can see my every move the second I decide to make it.
Robert smirks as he tests me again, feinting forward like he's going to catch me with a hook. "You know, I didn't want to take you in the first place. This was never my plan."
"Imagine that. Not your plan, and yet you're so far off the radar I didn't even know you were tied to the Rinaldo family."
"His half-brother, actually." The corner of his mouth twitches. "And I've made a point to stay hidden. It's why I don't have a target on my back and he does. Odd, though, considering our father always thought he was the smart one."
Family unrest.
I can use that. I can exploit it, turning them against each other.
Robert catches me on the side of the ribs, sending me shuffling to the side and trying to regain my balance.
Pain blossoms in my ribs, but it doesn't feel like there's anything too bruised.
Robert circles me like a predator, gaze roaming over me. "You should really think about what side of this war you want to be on."
A shiver rolls down my spine, but it's not the good kind that comes before mind-numbing orgasms. It's more like the one that travels down your spine when you know there's a killer standing right in front of you.
When the man in front of you is going to turn you into a victim for all his men. When you're going to be assaulted and slaughtered.
The alarm bells in my head are ringing.
I'm not safe right now. All I can do is hope that if something happens to me, Noah makes Robert's death slow. Painful. I hope he drags out every second of it.
I move quickly, sweeping his legs out from under him.
His body collides with the floor, and he lets out a pained groan.
After a second, he pops back onto his feet, his smile wolfish. He's coiled like a cobra ready to strike.
Robert's head tips to the side slightly. "You really think you're safe with Noah, don't you? I see the way you look at him. You think he's going to be some kind of savior. You think he's going to do the right thing in the end, but he's never been the kind of man to do the right thing."
"And what do you think the right thing is?" I dance out of the way as he tries to come at me again, circling him like he was circling me.
"Nothing he's doing. He doesn't have a vision for the family. He lost it to his desire for revenge a long time ago." Robert lunges at me, his arms going for my waist.
I drop to the ground and roll, springing back up onto my feet.
Robert shakes his head. "You know, my entire life people have seen him as the leader, but they never think about all the damage he causes. He doesn't take the rest of the family into account."
Maybe Robert is the reason Noah is so unsettled.
Hector storms into the room and heads straight for Robert. "What the fuck are you doing in here? You were told to stay the fuck away from her, so I suggest you do that right now."
Robert glowers up at Hector. "I don't know who you think you are, but—"
"Leave, before I kill you." The grin Hector gives him is anything but nice.
"I'll be speaking to Noah about this."
Hector snorts. "Good luck with that."
For a moment, the tension in the room is suffocating.
Robert looks like he's going to snap, his hands curling into fists, his face turning bright red. He's coiled tighter than he was before. But if I were him, I wouldn't want to go up against Hector either.
And Robert seems to realize that, turning and stalking out of the gym.
Hector turns to me once the door is closed, crossing his arms over his chest and looking down at me like I'm a child who did something wrong.
I drop down to sit on the ground, stretching my legs out in front of me. "Thanks for that. I don't know what his problem was."
"You should stay away from him."
The corner of my mouth twitches. "I've been told that before. Didn't want him to be in here. He snuck up on me. Tossed me to the ground."
"Get up." Hector holds out a hand to me.
I take it, and he pulls me to my feet.
"What are we doing?"
"I'm going to show you how to fight. I've been watching you in here, and you're not bad, but you don't fight against people bigger than you often, do you?"
"Not much."
"Well, we're going to fix that, but you need to stay the hell away from Robert. I'm serious."
"I know. I just don't have anyone to talk to, and I feel like I'm going insane."
"We're going to fight until you feel like you're in control again, then."
He grins and slides off his jacket, tossing it to the side. Without warning, he comes at me swinging.
I start sparring with him, punching and ducking, trying to use my size as a positive, slipping under his arms and getting out of the way as much as possible.
Hector gives one tip after another as we fight, but it still feels like I'm losing.
My clothing sticks to me, sweat dripping down my face. I suck in a sharp breath after a particularly hard hit to my ribs. It hurts, but it's nothing I can't handle.
Hector uses my hesitation to tackle me to the ground.
"Am I interrupting something here?" Noah walks into the gym, already in a pair of shorts, his shirt missing.
Inky tattoos cover his skin, his muscles flexing and making the designs look like they're dancing.
Noah arches an eyebrow as he gets closer, setting his water bottle to the side.
Hector gets up. "She sucks at fighting. Needs more training if she's going to be able to hold her own. Found Robert in here."