6. Cashlynn
CHAPTER 6
CASHLYNN
I wasn’t sure how many hours I’d been down in this basement but the closed in room was starting to get to me. Nazai sent a couple men to untie me the same day he requested I marry him. I wanted to try and fight and get away but I was too weak and my bones ached from being tied in the air for so long. They refused to give me my clothes, leaving me naked and exposed. He kept the room slightly dimmed, gave me a single thin mattress to sleep on with a thin blanket to sleep under. The air had been running, leaving the stone-built room freezing. I hadn’t laid eyes on Nazai since he last left, but his men did bring me two meals a day and a single bottle of water. Based on my meal arrivals, I believe I’d been down here two days now.
I could deal with all that, growing up I learned breaking someone mentally was one of the easiest ways to get them to submit to your will. My issue was not knowing where my brother was and if he was okay. Whenever I asked one of the men about him, they ignored me. My brother had been through enough and it left me unsettled and infuriated not knowing the status of his wellbeing. I vowed to slit everyone’s throat in this house once I figured out how to get out of here.
My body was weak and I couldn’t stop shaking from the coldness. My muscles were sore and tight, even my toes had grown numb. I hadn’t been able to bathe since the day I broke in and I had a bucket in the corner for the bathroom. I was being treated worse than a dog and the thought left my blood boiling.
Currently I was laying on the mattress when the door to the basement opened. I kept my eyes closed. The cover was wrapped tightly around me as I attempted to find some warmth as my teeth chattered together.
“I think I’ve given you enough time to decide about my proposal.” My eyes snapped open at the sound of Nazai’s voice. I glared at him through tight eyes and slowly pushed the blanket off me and sat up.
Nazai stood above me with a smug expression on his handsome face. He looked clean, freshly oiled beard and cut hair. Today he wore an orange dress shirt with brown dress pants. He wasn’t overly built, but between thin and bulky. His body showed he took care of it and worked out frequently. His arms were slender but toned under his short sleeve shirt that hugged them securely. He towered over me like he was a God or something.
A heavy breath pushed out my nose and I bit the inside of my jaw.
Marriage.
I still couldn’t believe Nazai had made such a proposal to me. If anything he was lucky I didn’t have my butterfly knife or gun in hand because he would be laying in his own blood right now.
My jaw clenched and heartbeat roughly inside me while my hands balled and unballed in my lap.
He spoke again and turned to leave. “If you need more time to think, then so be it.”
As much as I wanted to hold onto my pride, I knew I couldn’t tolerate being down here anymore, not without laying eyes on my brother and making sure he was okay.
“Wait,” I called out. My voice came out strained and my throat hurt from the lack of usage in the past couple of days. I attempted to swallow my spit and cleared my throat. “I’ll do it,” I uttered.
A cocky, crooked grin formed on his face. “I thought you would see things my way. You just needed some time to yourself.”
I gritted my teeth and sank my nails into my palms. “I want to see my brother,” I demanded tightly.
Nazai tapped away on his phone, ignoring me. “Hello! Did you hear me?!”
He finished his text then lifted his eyes to me. A few seconds later the man who had been serving me my food and another one I only saw when they removed me from the ceiling appeared at his side. Neither of them spoke, but one handed him a box then the two started toward me. My heart slammed into my ribcage and my eyes bounced between the two.
The first time they came down here and saw me, I wasn’t sure how to react. Looking weak wasn’t something I was used to and being seen naked by strangers was foreign as well. I didn’t know their intentions with me and I refused to be used and raped by two silent brutes. To my surprise they barely batted an eye, even now it was as if I wasn’t sitting there with everything visible.
“What are you doing?” I asked, my voice heightening as my body tensed. I pushed back toward the wall behind me. My hands balled tighter with anticipation of swinging.
The two looked unbothered as they launched toward me. I attempted to kick and punch but my body was too weak for any real impact.
“Get off me!” I shouted, flailing in their hold. My breathing grew heavier.
Nazai walked toward me with a calm expression on his face. “I said I’d marry you, what the fuck is this?!” I shouted at him.
Ignoring me, he stepped around me. They now had me on my feet, holding me securely.
Something wrapped around my neck, causing my eyes to widen. It was leather and cool against my now warm neck. A faint click filled my ears.
Nazai soon walked back in front of me and ran his eyes down my frame. That smug grin formed on his face.
“What did you just put on me?” The guards let me go and I snatched away and brought my hand to my neck.
“A tracker.” Nazai answered.
“A what?” I shrieked.
“I don’t trust you not to try and run before the wedding, so this is my insurance. The only way to get that off your neck is a special key only I have. If you try anything funny, not only will you not have to worry about the Rhodes being after you, but I’ll cut your brother’s body up in front of you before slitting your throat.” His smirk caused my stomach to churn. Ice crept through my veins and my jaw clenched painfully hard. “Now the smell of you is making my nose hairs burn. Luke is gonna lead you upstairs to a bathroom where your clothes are waiting for you. Go get yourself together then he’ll lead you to the living room where we’ll talk more.”
Nazai didn’t wait for me to answer. I glowered at the back of his head. Hatred filled my body and visions of blowing his brains out filled my head.
“Don’t touch me!” I snatched away from the guy when he attempted to grab my arm. I didn’t care what Nazai said, I didn’t care who his family was. I would figure out how to get this thing from around my neck and when I did, I would kill him in the most painful way possible.
____
“Cash!” Carson rushed toward me once I stepped into the living room. Relief filled my body and I dropped down to hug him, squeezing him tightly.
Laying eyes on my brother lifted a weight off me. I felt better now that I had showered and brushed my teeth. The hot water and heavy pressure felt amazing against my aching muscles. My wrists and ankles were still raw, bruised, and swollen from being tied up for so long. My book bag was waiting for me when I got out of the shower with everything in it, minus my weapons.
“Are you okay?” I asked my brother, searching him over. He looked clean and healthy. I didn’t notice any marks or wounds on him.
He nodded. “Yeah. Nazai told me you weren’t feeling good. Are you still sick?”
I glanced behind him at Nazai who was sitting on the couch, observing the two of us, then looked back at my brother.
“Yeah, I’m good.”
“Nazai told me we’re going to live with him and we’ll be safe now. Is that true?” Hesitation filled his face.
My brother had been through a lot of shit to be ten years old. While I tried to protect him from a lot of things, there were some that slipped through the cracks. He was often jumpy and didn’t like to be away from me for too long; I was happy to see he seemed to be managed well while I was locked away.
“Yeah, bud,” I said thickly.
Nazai spoke. “Carson, I need to talk to your sister. Why don’t you go grab your Switch and give us a minute.”
A worried expression formed on my brother’s face and he eyed me, waiting for my confirmation. A forced smile formed on my face.
“Go ahead, bud.” I nodded to assure him.
He didn’t move right away but eventually walked off.
Standing up, I scowled in Nazai’s direction and stomped toward the chair on the side of him.
“You look better,” he noted.
“Fuck you.”
He chuckled. “Don’t worry we’ll get to that.” His face suddenly turned serious. “I hope you’ll play nice and I don’t have to go forward with my threat.”
Blinking blankly at him, I crossed my arms over my chest. My brother was the only reason I was keeping my composure right now.
“The wedding will happen at the end of the month. You need to be pregnant within a month following that.”
My eyes grew and my brows shot up. “Hold up a second. Pregnant? You didn’t say anything about getting pregnant! I don’t want to have any damn kids,” I rushed out, sitting forward.
“Neither do I but here we are. The agreement is us getting married and me getting you pregnant by the end of the year. That gives us five months, the sooner the better.”
“I don’t want kids. So if that’s the deal; then you’re shit out of luck.” I shrugged.
A dark look blanketed Nazai’s face. “You’ll agree to these terms or I can have Jackson go put a bullet through your brother’s head right now.”
One of the men standing behind the couch, Jackson I assumed, moved to leave the room.
“Fine,” I gritted stiffly. “Whatever, just leave my fucking brother alone.” My skin was too tight. Every atom inside me was jittery. My nerves were twitchy and unsettled. Being backed into a corner wasn’t an ideal situation for me. Feeling helpless wasn’t something I took to well and the fighter in me wanted to push back.
One corner of Nazai’s mouth lifted. “I thought you would see it my way. Now, as I was saying. There’s a lot of responsibilities that come with being married to a Tavarez that I’ll go over later, for now you’re just meant to look pretty on my arm. Just know you better not try anything funny and don’t make me regret this.”
I was confused why Nazai even needed to force me into this marriage. He was an attractive guy and I’d seen multiple photos of him with different women on his arm. He had money, power, and looks.
“Just keep your end of the bargain and handle Maddox and his family and leave my brother alone and we’ll be fine.” My voice was toneless and void of emotion. Once again I was forced to play someone’s puppet, and if Nazai wasn’t careful, then the outcome would become as deadly as the first time.