Chapter 10
Elise
Ididn’t know how long I’d been in the basement when I heard the door to the top of the stairs open.
Pushing off the bed, I opened the worthless door and looked to see who was joining me.
The expensive shoes were visible at first, and I exhaled as Bradon came into view.
Not that he was any better than Kendra, but throughout the night, I kept seeing visions of her and Devlin together, laughing at me, and making plans to take my sons from me, and I’d want to claw her eyes out.
So, I was positive I would have an attitude with her, which would probably get me killed. Chuck’s training kept rolling though my brain and I did everything I could to remain calm so I could gather information.
Bradon was empty handed, and I worried I wasn’t going to get fed, but he offered a smile to me as he spoke. “Kendra had to run out, so I thought you’d like to eat upstairs.”
I looked up the stairs to the open door, and nodded before saying, “Thank you.”
He pointed beside him and, like an obedient pet, I went to where he indicated and waited. This seemed to please him and if I could use that to escape, then I would be as obedient as I needed to be. Even if I wanted to kick him in the balls for the condescending smirk on his face.
“Good girl,” he remarked and snapped his fingers as he turned and started walking up the stairs.
Halfway up, he turned and pointed beside him, so I hurried up the stairs behind him. We walked up the rest of the stairs and into the kitchen and I looked around, seeing the sun starting to come up through the window over the sink.
“What time is it?” I asked and he looked at his expensive watch.
“Just after eight,” he answered and pointed at the table, “Sit.”
I walked over to the table and took a seat, keeping him in my line of sight as he pulled something out of the oven and walked over to me. Placing it on the table, I saw it was the same thing I’d eaten last and internally shrugged. Whatever it was, I needed to keep my strength up.
I looked up at him and asked, “May I start?”
The smile he gave me started scratching at the same memory that had eluded me all night. “Eat.”
He took a seat across from me as I picked up the fork and began to eat, trying not to inhale the food. His phone chimed and he pulled it from a pocket in his dress pants and read the message before he spoke.
“Kendra’s going to be away for a few hours.” I raised my eyebrows at his statement as I chewed another bite of sausage from the plate. “If you think you can behave, I’ll let you have some fresh air in the back yard.”
I nodded, hoping to see where we were so I could formulate a plan. “I’ll be good,” I remarked and took another bite.
Before long, the food was gone, and I placed my fork onto the plate and waited for him to acknowledge me.
So far, the only one who had laid hands on me was Kendra, so I had to believe that he wasn’t violent like she seemed to be.
But I’d lived and maneuvered around men who’d killed for the last five years, so I wasn’t stupid.
Sometimes the most dangerous people were the ones you’d least expect violence from. Bradon looked like he hadn’t done a hard day’s work in his life, but that didn’t mean anything. He could be as dangerous as Devlin, so I had to tread carefully.
“Take your plate to the sink and we’ll take a stroll,” he said, and I stood, carrying the plate to the sink on the other side of the kitchen.
On the counter, I saw a knife, but feeling his eyes on me, I walked away, leaving the weapon in plain view. If he thought I was docile, he might let his guard down, so I played the part but was ready for anything.
Bradon stood and pushed his phone into his pocket before he walked to a door on the far side of the kitchen.
I followed him, and when he opened the door and the rush of fresh air hit my face, I closed my eyes for a moment, savoring the freedom.
The sun was pushing up over the trees, so I was able to determine what direction east was, but without knowing exactly where I was, that wasn’t useful information.
With each step around the opulent yard, I made mental notes of the noises filtering through the dense trees around the yard. I could hear someone laughing and the smell of a grill close by, so I questioned how far away from safety I was.
“Did you go to school around here?” I inquired as we started the second circle around the large yard.
He shook his head and remarked, “I was sent to a boarding school when I was eight and lived there until I graduated.”
I nodded, not adding anything to the conversation as we strolled through the green grass.
I was still wearing the same clothes I’d put on for my dinner with Devlin, what I can only assume was day before yesterday, which meant I had two days to get Bradon to think I was going to give into him, or I risked being offered up to the highest bidder.
“Can I . . .” I paused and didn’t expound, hoping he would inquire about my question.
“Can you what?” he finally asked as we started out third lap around the yard.
The leaves were changing colors, turning the greens into beautiful oranges and yellows. I reached over and picked a fallen leaf off the ground without losing a step and held it in my hand as we continued to move around the yard.
“Can I ask you something about Kendra and Devlin?” I asked, waiting for him to get mad.
“Of course,” he responded, and I was taken aback by his openness.
“When they . . . when they decided to get married,” I took a break, allowing my voice to crack as some of the real pain of his betrayal seeped through. “What happened to her that . . . never mind.”
He reached out and gripped onto my arm, stopping my movements. I turned to him, and he raised his eyebrows, expecting me to finish the question.
“What happened that made it so she couldn’t have children?”
His face fell but he released my arm as he started walking again. I kept up, waiting for his response.
“Kendra got pregnant with their child, but she miscarried a few weeks into the pregnancy and that’s when they discovered she wouldn’t ever be able to carry to term.
Some genetic issue that rendered her unable to deliver,” He shrugged, like her losing a baby and finding out it was never going to happen, seemed cold.
“Is she your sister?” I asked, and he snapped his eyes at me.
“No,” he bellowed. “She’s not my sister.”
“I’m . . . I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to pry.” I glanced up to see his face relax some.
As we got closer to the house, I kept my eyes moving, trying to map out a way to get away from this shitshow before things turned dangerous, but he stayed right by my side, not allowing me space to run.
The back door opened, and we both turned to see who was there. Kendra stormed out, and Bradon seemed to flinch as she approached us. She reached out and grabbed my hair, causing a few strands to be ripped out at the root.
“Why is the misfit outside? Someone could see her,” she hissed.
“I needed some fresh air and brought her with me,” he remarked, and Kendra’s face turned red.
She turned, not releasing my hair as she stormed back to the house, dragging me behind her. As she shoved me into the kitchen, the door closed behind us, and I turned to see Bradon walk in and secure the door.
Kendra pushed me away as she released her hold on my hair and turned to Bradon. “You had one job to do today and you couldn’t even get that right. Damn, how stupid can you be?”
Spinning on her feet, she addressed me like I was some kind of master manipulator.
“What the hell is it about you that makes men lose their fucking minds? You’re not that pretty, you’re not that skinny, and from what I’ve heard, you’re not that smart.
So, tell me. Is your pussy golden, or are you a siren, calling men to their demise? ”
“I don’t know,” I returned honestly, and she rolled her eyes.
An evil smile broke out on her face as she looked at Bradon. “It’s time to get her ready.”
I looked between them, wanting to ask what I was getting ready for, but all Bradon did was nod at her remark and watch as she started laughing as she walked out of the room. When I met his eyes, he seemed resolved to whatever I was expected to do.
I was waiting for him to take me back to the basement but was curious when he grabbed my arm and started to drag me across the kitchen and into the living room.
There were cameras set up in a circle and Kendra was checking one after another as Bradon pushed me into the middle.
I spun around, looking at each one, fearful of what was about to happen.
A noise from behind me drew my attention, and I turned just in time to see Bradon, dressed in bright green from head-to-toe, step into the circle of cameras and swing his fist, landing it directly in the center of my face.
The pain in my face and eyes was instant and blinding as I staggered, feeling blood dripping down my lips and chin. I tried to deflect the attack on me, but he was faster than I was, and I couldn’t dodge the next blow to my cheek.
Kendra stood outside the circle in the shadows as Bradon continued to punch and kick me once I fell to the floor. The pain was radiating everywhere as I felt something inside of me shut down.
The beating lasted for another few minutes, and when he was done, I was left a bleeding, broken heap on the floor of a multi-million-dollar house. Kendra walked from camera to camera, pressing something, not speaking until she was finished.
I could barely see through my swollen eye as I attempted to push myself off the floor, only to collapse back into a pile as the pain from my beating began to overtake me. She stepped into the circle and squatted in front of me as she taunted, “Just wait until he sees his precious little woman.”
“Fuck you,” I managed to mutter before she stood.
A kick out of nowhere into my side caused something to snap, and I felt an excruciating pain in my side. Kendra stepped away from me and declared, “Take her to the basement and get busy on your work. We have videos to get edited.”
Her laughter filled the empty room as someone stepped into the circle. I tried to shield myself from another attack, only to be carefully lifted off the ground and guided through blurry and swollen eyes back into the kitchen.
The climb down the stairs into the basement was a test of my ability to stay on my feet. Every step caused nauseating pain to erupt across my entire body. Bradon helped me down to the bottom and guided me into the bedroom off to the side.
Placing me onto the bed, he brushed some hair stuck to my face off and whispered, “Don’t keep making her mad. She’s dangerous.”
I tried to nod, but the pain I my head was extreme as he started to walk away. “I’ll be back with some pain killers and water in a bit.”
The door closed and I could hear his footsteps going up the stairs as the tears flooded my eyes. The salt burned the cuts where I was beaten and as hard as I tried, I couldn’t keep the self-loathing and doubt from creeping in.
How was Devlin not coming to save me yet?
Was this house where I was going to die?
Why was she so hell-bent on destroying me?
And why did Bradon do her bidding when he was so kind to me?
I couldn’t figure anything with the pain pulling me closer to the edge of unconsciousness and as the darkness began to take over my limited vision, I began to think that I wasn’t ever going to see my sons, or my husband, if he actually was my husband, again.