Chapter 40
brIELLE
I don’t recognize the woman in front of me anymore. Maybe I never did. When I was all alone, she made herself be who I needed in that moment, but it was all leading up to her selling me.
How many women before Kristie has she done this to?
The thought alone makes bile rise in my throat.
Understanding washes through me as to why Emris and the guys do this, why it’s their life goal to break this shit up.
I know there are personal reasons for each person, and maybe one day I’ll learn more, but for now, all I want to do is make Susie pay for everything she’s done.
I never imagined I’d kill someone, but letting her go free after this doesn’t feel right anymore.
So I step back and walk over to Emris’s table, my eyes dragging over all the tools and weird instruments laid out.
I have no idea how long he’s going to spend upstairs, but that logical part of my brain is gone, replaced with the need to make Susie hurt.
The way all those girls hurt. But nothing on this table feels like enough.
She deserves the worst, and my hands might be enough.
The dull light in the basement casts shadows over everything as Susie watches me step closer to her, closer than before.
“You deserve the worst. Far worse than the worst. Everything you did to however many women at this point. Death would be far too easy for you, Susie. So, for now, I’m fine with a little pain. Maybe something new every day. Which will give me the pleasure of watching you die down here slowly.”
When I’m standing in front of her, I watch fear creep into her eyes before she tries to mask it, but I saw it already. She’s scared, and she fucking should be.
I lift my boot-covered foot and slam it into her ribcage. She doesn’t scream, only grunts the first time. When she finally lets out a loud screech, I know I’ve broken something.
“You will pay for this, you dumb bitch!” Susie’s voice is shrill, and it’s as if a weight has lifted from my chest. She fucking deserves this.
“I won’t pay for fucking noth—” I stop mid-sentence as the door to the basement swings open.
Troy descends the steps one at a time, his eyes never breaking away from mine.
“Troy? What—” I begin, but he cuts me off as his feet hit the bottom step.
“Miss me, Brielle? It’s been a while since we’ve hung out. Considering that dumb fuck basically keeps you locked up.” There’s a newfound anger building in his eyes, and I don’t like it.
“Where’s Emris?” I take a step back, creating distance between us. By the look on his face, I don’t feel like he’s on my team anymore, and he confirms that with his next words.
“Knocked out in the back of my car, where you’ll soon join him.” His words hold a threat, but I can’t move past what he said. There’s no way Troy overpowered Emris. No way. But if that’s true, that means he’s not here to help me. It means his threat is real, and I’m in even more danger.
“What do you want, Troy?” I back up until my hands hit the table. I carefully wrap my hand around the handle of a knife. Troy closes the distance between us again, and this time, there’s nowhere for me to go. His strong fingers grip my chin, jerking my face back to his when I try to look away.
“You,” he says, his breath hitting my cheek, and it takes everything in me not to pull back.
“You’re all I’ve wanted since the moment I saw you.
But all that got fucked up when Peter laid eyes on you.
Now he wants you for himself,” he whispers, almost as if talking to himself and not me.
His eyes are bloodshot, and his grip on me gets tighter until I wince.
“He knows you’ll sell for a pretty penny.
But don’t worry, Brielle, I’d never let someone else beat me in a bidding war.
I will win. No matter the cost.” When he pulls away, the back of his hand runs down the side of my face.
“Then you’ll be mine.” He smiles sincerely.
I’ve never given him a reason to think I was interested in him, but I don’t think he cares.
“I’ll never want you, Troy,” I seethe in his direction. The smile he was wearing is now replaced with venom as he smacks me across the face.
“I don’t care what you want, Brielle. Just you wait. You’ll see.” When he leans down and tries to press his lips to mine, I take the distraction to bring the knife up. I stab him in the shoulder, and he screams, pulling away from me.
“You fucking stabbed me!” he yells, his body radiating with rage.
“Well, good job stating the obvious.” I roll my eyes, realizing this isn’t the time or place, but who states they were stabbed right after being stabbed?
Troy charges me, but I turn at the right time. He crashes into the table, and I take the chance to run up the stairs, but I don’t get far enough. Something wraps around my ankle, and I trip, my face smacking against the wooden steps, and blood begins pouring down my face.
Troy pulls me down past the last step until I’m on my back under him. “You’re going to pay for that.” He glares down at me, and my eyes land on the needle in his hand.
No.
No. No. No!
Troy presses down, his hand wrapping around my throat.
My airway closes as his grip tightens, and I try to buck my legs up to get him away, but I’m not strong enough.
As my vision begins to swim, my knee connects with junk and he stumbles, but not enough to free me completely.
Only enough so I’m able to get air back into my lungs, even if it’s just for a few seconds.
Troy shoves the needle in my neck, and it fucking stings as the drugs invade my body. He tosses the empty syringe to the side and releases my throat. I cough, turning onto my side. But as I try to get up, my hands give out.
This is bad.
Really fucking bad.
I can’t call for help since my phone is upstairs, and I have no idea where the hell Carson is, but he’s clearly not in the house or he’d be here in a heartbeat.
Turning my head to the side, I watch as Troy unlocks Susie from the wall. She rubs her wrists, trying to soothe the pain from the cuffs.
“Hurry and get the bitch in the car. It’s time to get this shit over with.” Susie walks by me and stops. “Told you you’d pay.” Her foot connects with my side, taking the rest of the air in my lungs. Next thing I know, I’m being lifted from the ground and flung over Troy’s shoulder.
Everything is blurry. I can’t feel my body. It’s as if whatever drugs he’s given me have completely immobilized me.
Dread builds in my stomach as I fight consciousness. I don’t know what to do. Where is everyone?
The sound of a car starting is all I can focus on before the door is pulled open.
My body hits the seat with a thud. Troy wasn’t lying about Emris.
He used the same move he did on me and drugged him, which explains how Troy managed to overpower him in the first place. Emris didn’t go down without a fight.
Emris is passed out, his head leaning backward on the seat.
My breathing picks up at the gravity of the situation.
I reach over and grab his hand with whatever strength I have left.
Which isn’t much. I can’t fight the drugs anymore as everything goes dark.
But at least for now, I don’t have to think about what will happen.