Chapter 23
Goddamn,it’s hotter than hell in here. My eyes refuse to open, but fuck, someone needs to turn the temperature down. I kick off the blankets and my foot hits something solid.
No, not something, someone.
My eyes fly open, and I turn to see Seven and Dekker next to me in bed. What the hell are they… Aurora.
Shit! I look around and try to see where she’s at on the bed, but she’s nowhere to be found. I rub the heel of my hand into my eye as I attempt to remember what exactly happened.
You fucked your stepsister. That’s what fucking happened.
And I hadn’t even been drinking. But something feral took over me. Something inside me just couldn’t take it anymore.
Her words in Dekker’s room just lit that fuse.
There was a burning inside me, and every part of me needed to touch and taste her.
But then I came to my senses.
The trouble I caused by crossing that line, I just walked right out. And I was in the process of figuring out what I was going to do when she came barreling into my room. And all the fight I had in me disappeared.
My fists were clenched and I had to will myself to sit there and not move.
But then she went and pulled that trigger.
Watching her with Dekker and Seven, them knowing what she tasted like. What she felt like, how she sounded, fuck me.
I fucking snapped.
A man can only be so strong, and she fucking broke down every barrier I had put up. Slayed me. The entire night was beyond hot and not how I had planned on spending my evening.
And being inside her? Feeling her tight pussy wrapped around my dick? That was fucking heaven.
When I die, I want that as my heaven.
And fuck, now I’m rock hard again.
But I need to find her. We need to talk. Because this can only go sideways if things aren’t discussed in a reasonable manner. If my father ever found out, I would be a dead man walking. He loves Rory. Hell, probably more than me. He used to talk about how he wanted to have a son and a daughter. He could just never bring himself to have a child with another woman outside of my mother.
Kicking my legs out onto the floor, I slowly stand up and head into my closet to put some clothes on, slipping into jeans and a T-shirt. I next walk into my bathroom and brush my teeth, then handle morning business before turning back into my room.
As I walk over to my desk, I notice the folder from my dad’s office opened on top. My blood runs cold, as I know I had left it closed yesterday. The pictures and other pieces of paper from inside the folder are no longer neatly organized, and sitting on top is the picture of Rory here on campus.
“Hey, guys? Wake up.” I call out to the other two still sleeping. They stir but don’t make an effort to actually get out of bed. “Hey! Wake the fuck up! We have a serious problem on our hands!”
Both their eyes fly open, and they jolt up into seated positions. Seven runs a hand down his face, his red hair all over the place. “What’s going on?” he asks.
“Rory,” I answer sternly.
A smile creeps over his face, and Dekker just sits there and looks at me. “Yeah, last night was fucking awesome.” Seven smiles wider as he remembers what happened.
I blow out a frustrated breath. “She’s gone.” I shake my head.
“Rory probably went back to her dorm. Maybe she was a little embarrassed about all that happened,” Dekker pipes in with a shrug.
“I don’t think so. I think she left in a hurry in my clothes from last night because she saw what was in this folder. Unless one of you two were digging through it while we were asleep?”
The two of them stare at me and both shake their heads.
“We were passed the fuck out, Xay. What do you mean she saw?” Seven jumps out of bed and throws on the shorts he had on the night before. Dekker follows suit and gets dressed.
“I woke up, put on some clothes, and when I came out of the bathroom, I saw the folder opened and stuff lying out of it. No one’s been in this room but us. And this was not like this last night.” I rub the back of my neck, the tension starting to pile up.
Between this and last night, everything in me is wound tight.
“So… what? You think she just saw this and took off?” Dekker crosses his arms over his chest, brows furrowed.
I nod. “That’s exactly what I think. And she doesn’t know what this is. She could think?—”
“Plenty of things,” Seven finishes for me with a frown.
“Let’s go.” Dekker heads out of my room. I throw on my shoes and grab my keys and wallet.
When we make it to campus, students are already buzzing around. It’s Friday, and there aren’t many Friday classes, so there aren’t as many students up, but it’s still pretty busy. We haul ass to Rory’s dorm room and pound on the door.
“Rory! Are you in there?” I yell through the door. “Rory! Open up!” I bang on the door more until I hear a lock unlatch.
The door opens and Addy, Rory’s roommate answers. “What the hell? Dude, I’m sleeping.” She yawns.
“Where’s Rory?” I ask her.
Her eyes widen, and she scoffs. “What the fuck do you mean ‘Where’s Rory?’ Giganto behind you took her from the bar last night.” She points to Dekker accusingly. “He said he was taking care of her. I’m assuming it meant all three of you because you have been up her ass lately. So you tell me where the fuck she is!” Her voice rises on the last word.
“She was with us, but this morning she left the house. We obviously don’t know where she is, or we wouldn’t be here.” I push back the door and storm past her. Rory’s bed looks untouched. Her backpack is still sitting next to it.
“She hasn’t been here since we left.” Addy heads over to her closet and rummages through her stuff. She grabs some clothes and runs to the bathroom, slamming the door.
I look at the guys, and I can see the worry in their eyes. We yet again didn’t keep tabs on her. And she’s gone, seemingly disappeared into thin air. I pick up my phone and try calling her. It doesn’t even ring. Just goes straight to voicemail.
“Fuck. Her phone’s off.” I throw my cell phone on the bed just as Addy comes out of the bathroom.
“What are we gonna do?” She looks between the three of us, biting her lip.
“We need to find her, that’s what we are going to do.” I let out a long sigh. “Okay, Addy, you go with Seven and start walking the campus. Dekker and I are going to check the path home from our house.”
With that, we all take off and head in the directions that we need to.
Dekker and I start walking back toward the house, our eyes scanning every single crevice and place that Rory could be. We go into any businesses that we find and ask if they have seen her, but we come out empty handed.
My heart is racing, and my fists are clenched so tight, I’m pretty sure my bones are ready to crack. But I have to keep looking. She can’t just disappear into thin air.
But the clock is ticking. It’s been two hours since we left our place and still no sign of her.
Seven:
Dude, we searched the library and the studio. Nothing.
Me:
Did you check the SUC? Or the science building? She has lab today.
Seven:
Heading to SUC now.
I look at Dekker. “Nothing.”
“We’re getting closer to the house. Where else would she have gone?” Dekker’s head swivels around us.
“Fuck if I know. But she saw what was there. She probably thinks we took those pics. Or that we had them taken of her and her mom.”
“Smooth move on not locking those up,” Dekker chastises, shaking his head.
“Fuck you! You know what? I don’t want to fucking hear it right now. We need to figure out what the fuck happened to her. Then we can fight about this.” My eyes spot our house, and we head over toward it.
When we walk in the door, we immediately go to my room.
And are halted in our tracks.
With her hands bound above her head, naked and dirty, Rory is lying there on my bed. What. The. Fuck.
Immediately, I slam the door shut and run to her.
Her body is covered in dirt and grime. Dropping to my knees in front of her, I swiftly take off my shirt and cover her with it.
“Rory! Come on, Princess. Rory! Open your eyes for me,” I beg her as her lifeless body lies there. Dekker works to free her from the binds.
Her eyes start to flutter open as her breathing picks up. Dekker gets her hands free just as she comes to.
“Get off me!” Her hands come flying at me, and her legs start kicking.
“Stop! Stop, Rory! It’s us! It’s Xayden and Dekker.” I watch her eyes widen as she takes in who is in front of her. She looks anxiously between me and Dek but doesn’t say a word.
“Stay with us, Angel.” Dekker rubs her wrists, trying to get the blood flow going.
I pick up my phone and dial Seven.
“Hey, did you find her?” he immediately asks upon picking up the line.
“I need you home now. She’s here. We found her in my bed. I need tape and video of anything you have. I need to know what happened to her and where she was!”
“What? Shit. Okay, on my way now.” Seven hangs up as I watch her breathing start to slow.
“Rory, talk to me. Let me know you are with me.” I try to keep my voice as calm as I can.
“Xayden… what… happened?” Her voice is rough and broken.
“You don’t remember?” I ask her.
She just numbly shakes her head at me.
I turn to Dekker. “Go get a pair of my sweatpants and blanket from my closet.” I watch Dek run off, and I turn back to her. “You’re okay now. We’ve got you.”
She sniffles. “Xayden?”
“Yeah, Rory?” I push the hair back from her face.
“I don’t remember anything.” Tears start to roll out of her eyes. “But I heard his voice.”
My body freezes as my stomach drops. “You heard who’s voice?”
“I can’t. It can’t be.” Her voice wavers as she starts to sob.
“Where were you, Angel? Where did you go? Who took you?” Dekker asks.
She says nothing, just sobs as she curls into herself. Her body bruised and broken from the beating last night, but I also see fresh marks and cuts.
And that makes me see red.
“Let us help you, Rory.” I rub her arm and then take her hand in mine. “Let me get you cleaned up. Let’s get you in the shower, and then we can talk about all this later. Sound good?”
Her eyes meet mine, and she gives me a small nod.
As carefully as I can, I help her up and we go toward my shower. I sit her on the toilet and start the water. I grab towels from the cabinet and set them on the hooks for her.
After testing the water to make sure it’s not too hot or cold, I help her stand.
“I need to ask again, are you okay with me going in there with you so I can help clean you up?” At this, she bites her lip and gives me a small nod.
Leaving my boxers on, I take off everything else and throw them to the other side of the bathroom. Then I grab her hand and lead her into the large walk-in shower. Placing her under the water, I watch as she closes her eyes and the water streams down her face and body. She begins to tremble moments later.
“Is the water too cold?” I ask tentatively.
“No,” is all I get from her.
I reach back and grab my shampoo, watching as the dirt washes off her body and down the drain, her pale, silky skin breaking through.
“Can I help you wash your hair?” I ask.
She nods and steps closer to me out of the water. I pour a bit of shampoo on my hand and begin to massage it into her raven hair. As I work the suds around, I can start to see her shoulders relax a bit.
“How are you doing, Rory?” I ask as I tilt her head back into the water and begin rinsing out the shampoo.
“This isn’t a dream,” she whispers.
“No, it’s not. This is real life. I promise you, I’m real.”
“Then why did I hear him? He was there.” She begins to shake, and I quickly shut the water off. I need to get her out of this shower and sitting down.
I grab the towels behind me and wrap her in one of them before sitting her down on the toilet. Then I reach behind me, grab the second one, and start working it through her hair to dry it.
She is staring off into space again, and my stomach sinks as I watch her fade into a dark part of her mind.
“Rory, Princess, can you tell me where you were? Where you were taken?” I cup her cheek and try to get her to look at me.
She shakes her head. “I don’t know. I couldn’t see anything. But he was there.”
“You keep saying that. Who did you hear? Who was there?”
Nothing can prepare me for the words that are about to leave her mouth.
Rory turns to look at me, her serious eyes meeting mine. “My dad.”