Chapter 34
That was harder than anticipated. I definitely didn’t expect her to try and bludgeon me with a lamp. At least I didn’t retaliate…too much. She’s still breathing. Though, when Cynthia wakes up, she’s sure to have a sore throat and a few bruises.
I didn’t mean to hurt her. It was like this curtain fell between my body and mind. I wasn’t in control. I saw what I was doing, and was helpless to stop it.
Also, she hit me first.
I shouldn’t be held responsible for what happens in self-defence.
All I wanted to do was be an honourable man and end things with her amicably.
I can’t help it if my heart doesn’t beat for her anymore.
Her once alluring accent now grates on my nerves, and her warm brown eyes remind me of a steaming pile of horse shit in the early morning chill.
She’s really let herself go, despite the encouragement from Maximus.
Cynthia’s dark curls have lost their silky softness, turning into a mass of knotted frizz.
The months of blonde regrowth showing at the roots like a stripe down the back of a skunk.
Rose is the one, and I’m not going to waste my efforts on escape elsewhere. Sometimes promises have to be broken. Especially in the event of a time-crunch. I need to get Rose out immediately. Before whoever she’s set up with comes to collect her.
“Where are you off to in such a hurry?” Brad calls out from behind me, lightly jogging to catch up. “Or I guess the better question is…where have you been?” His eyes scan over my face. “Are you aware you’re bleeding?”
I wasn’t. My head throbs something awful from the lamp, but I didn’t think she broke skin.
Brad raises his hand to my face. It’s then I see that his own fingers are discoloured in dried blood.
“Who did you pay a visit to after our meeting with the boss?”
Brad smirks, not answering. “You should get some ice for that. You’ve got a hell of a goose egg forming.”
He could have gone for a quickie with any of the ones in the red wing. They prefer the more dark and dangerous kinks, and sometimes Brad just wants the release instead of expelling the energy terrorizing a woman.
Bleakcrest is a maze on a good day, on others…I swear the walls have moved on their own. A long hallway one day is a dead end the next. So there’s no real telling where Brad came from, or who he was with. However, it’s bothersome he won’t tell me.
Brad pats me on the shoulder. “Give Rose my best,” he says quietly before turning and heading toward the purple wing.
I try to move without raising suspicion.
Every inch of this place is covered by cameras.
The nervous twisting in my gut urges me to go faster.
Something happened to Rose while we were apart, and now she needs to heal.
Why couldn’t she follow instructions? I told her to behave and not do anything to get herself killed.
Once she can take it, I’m going to punish that addictive spot between her legs until she’s pleading for forgiveness.
My feet move with a mind of their own, carrying me swiftly down to Richmond’s playground.
Before my shoes even hit the bottom floor, I can hear my girl’s screams. My body wills me to move faster, but anything other than a stroll will set off a light in the security office.
It’s a warning that there could be an escapee, and the earlier the notice, the easier it is to intercept.
The closer I get, the more clear her cries become. “Brad!” she screams, voice hoarse. “Get back here! I’m sorry!” She silences, muffled coughs making their way to me through the thick metal door.
So that’s why Brad wouldn’t tell me where he was. He knew I would have punched him in the teeth. “Leave my sister alone you sick motherfucker,” Rose rasps, energy depleting.
I keep walking, past her room to an area I know is stocked with things to entice starved victims. Rich is used to extort information from opposing gang members or turn resistant citizens.
He’s so fucking convincing, over half the island works for Maximus now.
But not one fucking soul will roll over on the leader of the drug ring.
We don’t even know his real name. Rip, as he’s referred to on the street, has his pack so loyal, they gladly accept death instead of giving him up.
I don’t know if it’s from fear or respect.
Either way, they end up dead.
I guess Rip’s methods are worse than anything Richmond can come up with, and that’s…unsettling.
Returning to Rose’s cell with a bottle of water in hand, I open the door.
“Brad? Is that you?” She hangs there gloriously naked, but battered and bleeding.
No way Brad did all of this to her, he didn’t have the time.
“Do whatever you want to me, just leave Chelsea alone.” Oh, my sweet, pretty girl.
Trying to protect her sister, even now. Little does she know, there’s nothing she could do now to keep her sister safe.
“So Brad got here before me, did he?”
Her spine snaps to attention at the sound of my voice, pert ass bouncing. “Sam?”
“Yeah, pretty girl, it’s me.” I softly reply. A glow lights up inside my chest because she already knows the sound of my voice. “Who did you piss off to get thrown down here?”
“I don’t know,” she rasps, “probably everyone.”
Moving quickly, I round to her front. The sight before me wipes the reflection I was observing from my mind. The real thing is so much worse. “Couldn’t behave for a few hours, Rosie?”
“They took Chelsea away, I felt cornered. I-I’m sorry.”
I can understand that. Despite knowing what you should do, your body reacts of its own accord. Twisting the top off the water, I lift it to her lips. “Slow, Rosie. Don’t spill any.” Like a good girl she complies, draining the bottle.
“Do you know where Chelsea is?”
“No, unfortunately, I don’t.”
“Then why are you here? Brad’s going to hurt her. Please, go stop him.”
“Rosie, I need you to listen to me.” Her hazel eyes finally open, rocking me to the core with the myriad of colours in their depths. “You’ve been promised to someone else.” She nods. “You know?”
“Mhmm. He was brought in mid-playtime with the ghostly fuck.” There she is, brandishing that sharp tongue I can’t wait to feel against my sack again. Glad to see her spark hasn’t gone out.
“I’ve been forbidden from seeing you.” The words burn like acid, but she has to know I won’t be around as much. Rose’s eyes widen, fear taking root. “It’s not going to stop me, but I’ll be spending my time planning our escape. I’ve been put on house arrest. Your father is causing quite the uproar.”
Hope replaces the fear in her eyes, the energy around her charging in an uncomfortable way.
“He needs to stop, Rosie. If he gets too close, Maximus will kill him without hesitation.”
Fuck, I want to kiss her. Press those blood covered lips to mine and hear her moan against me.
“But if he’s looking…”
“It means he isn’t the one who sold you,” I say, finishing her thought.
She nods. “Chelsea…”
“I’ll figure out what I can.”
“Thank you,” she breathes.
I cup her cheeks, the blood flaking off them peppers my skin. I don’t care. I’d bottle it and keep it for witchcraft if I believed in that shit.
Gently, I press my starving lips to hers, swallowing her sigh of satisfaction.
Delicately she follows my lead, giving me what I need until I can see her again.
My hands have a mind of their own, travelling down her curves.
She whimpers in pain when my fingers curl into her hips, holding her firm against me.
I can taste her on my tongue, the metallic tang slides down my throat as I part our lips. “Sorry if I hurt you. I lose control when you’re near.”
“It’s okay. Everything hurts, but it’s worth it.”
What she leaves unsaid is that I’m worth it. That she’d suffer the pain to have my kiss—my touch.
I kiss her again. This time without restraint. I curl my arms around her, crushing her to me as my tongue invades her mouth. Rosie cries out, the sound muffled between our lips as she writhes against me, willingly suffering through the agony to please me.
When we part, my chest is heaving, pants straining. I know she can feel my need for her brushing against the smiley face crudely painted on her abdomen.
Later.
I can wait.
I’m not even supposed to be in here.
“I want to patch you up, but it’ll have to be after they move you to a different room, I’m sorry, Rosie.”
“Okay,” she whispers, deflating before my eyes.
Turning to the mirror, I approach. Rose’s blood stains my face and shirt.
Shit. I can’t walk through the halls like this.
Removing the dark tank top, I wipe my face until it’s clean, then flip it inside out.
“It shouldn’t be too much longer. Maximus will want you in peak condition and dressed to the nines when your buyer returns.
” Sliding my shirt back on, I turn to face her again.
“Don’t worry, we’ll be gone by then. But you should get treatment very soon. ”
Her eyes fall shut, not bothering with a response.
I peck her on the cheek, careful not to get any more blood on me before I head to my own room. “Get some rest, pretty girl. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”