Chapter 33
Where's Scar Q? Axel left Fearless House in an uproar. No one knows where she's at. Rumor has it that warrants have been sent out for Brody and Jenson. If you see anything, call the local sheriff's department. Please stay safe.
Scarlett
Icy shards of fear shoot through my veins, violently latching onto my heart, making it nearly beat out of my chest. My hands begin to shake as I’m holding the knife. Begging my voice not to tremble, I whisper, "Please, don't do this. We all know how crazy Axel is. You won't get away with it."
One of them smacks their lips behind the mask and makes a tsk-tsk sound.
My very soul cringes at the sound, but I give nothing away in my expression.
One stays beside the door while the other walks up to my desk.
He takes his arm and slides the desk's contents to the floor.
I shriek from the shock and the sheer terror that hits my gut after hearing the sound that my things make as they fall. My phone was included in that.
I need to refrain from giving them any more satisfaction.
I swallow the fear down deep and adjust myself to stand more assertive toward them.
"You really shouldn't be here. Axel is coming.
" His response is a growl and is the only answer I receive before he lunges for me across my desk.
I yelp loudly, but the sound barely reaches my ears because of the adrenaline rush raging through my body.
He laughs a cold, humorless sound from deep in his throat. "Stop, asshole! It's not funny!"
He moves around to the side of my desk while I counter his move.
We stare each other down during this game of cat and mouse.
Mentally preparing myself for war, I tightly grip the sides of the desk and shove it into his stomach.
He grunts, falling to his knees, and I bolt for the door.
The other guy tries to grab me, but my knee lands on his groin before he can.
I scream, but no one can hear me. The halls are deserted, everyone is gone.
I listen to them coming up behind me. My lungs burn, and my breathing is ragged.
I don't know how much longer my feet can carry me without collapsing, but stopping is not an option. My brain fights to continue out of fear. Out of pure stubbornness. Out of my love for Axel. Tears form in my eyes as I think about him.
As I'm within reaching distance of the front door, one of them catches me by surprise. They were closer than I thought, and one of them snatches my arm so hard that I fall back, hitting my head on the solid tile floor. Stars and black dots swirl around, blurring my vision.
They hover above me, making me nauseated as I catch the one that I think is Jenson unzipping his pants. “Get off me.” I groan, my head hurts so bad.
Brody stops him. "Remember the plan. Not here." Jenson listens to him. He's not the leader, Brody is. Swallowing the panic down, I have to do something quickly. My vision starts to clear and I know I won't get too many more chances to escape. I refuse to be taken by these assholes.
Finally able to get my thoughts together, I wait until Jenson descends on me.
The smell of his vodka-infused breath turns my stomach even more.
I push my knee up with such force that a loud crack sounds as my knee lands directly on his dick.
That's for London. He groans in agony and falls to his side, but not before he lands a punch to my jaw. “You fucking bitch.”
He's writhing in pain, and I'm not okay because Brody steps into action.
I roll over and push myself up, trying to make the remaining steps to the door.
Brody grabs me and pushes me up against the wall, my head taking a hit again as my neck whips back from his aggressive push I can feel blood trickling down my back and tears sting my eyes.
I claw, kick, and scream but Brody punches me in the face, hitting the same spot as Jenson just did, causing me to slide down the wall to the floor.
Brody squats down in front of me to get in my face, hovering over my legs, I seize what is likely my only opportunity to bring my leg up and make direct contact with his dick.
He doubles over and I try to drag myself up again, but Jenson has semi recovered and drags me back down.
I start screaming, begging, crying, and praying for someone, anyone to hear me and help me.
That only makes the both of them more excited.
They are sick fucks. They are going to kill me the same way they did London.
All my thoughts go to Axel and how everyone in his life has left him.
I won’t leave him. Nothing can stop me from returning to Axel.
I kick my legs forward, almost connecting with Jenson’s chest, but he grabs them instead, yanking me toward him—a sound of victory coming from behind the Ghostface mask.
Filled with outrage, I yank his mask off, and slap his cheek with all my strength.
It's enough to make his head whip to the other side and for his saliva to fly out of his mouth.
He loses his balance and falls backwards on his ass.
Seizing the opportunity, I take the heel of my boot and kick him straight in the middle of his face.
His nose looks broken, blood drips from it and discoloration begins to form under his eyes.
There is no time to feel relief because only one is down.
On shaky legs, I stand and walk toward Brody.
My pain is excruciating, but if I don't fight, they will kill me. When I go to kick him, he's able to sweep my feet out from under me. Brody straddles my midsection and backhands me in order to slow down my struggle against him. He takes a syringe from his back pocket and injects me with a clear liquid. In a matter of seconds, my breathing slows, and my eyes become heavy. He takes his mask off and gives me a bone-chilling smile. His eyes are lifeless, like he’s a person who has chosen the dark path without one ounce of remorse. Like the devil himself lurks behind the cold, dark, calculating stare of his eyes. Before drifting off to sleep, I wonder how I never noticed this evil behind Brody’s eyes.
The medicine is strong, but I fight my way in and out of sleep.
The first time my eyes awake, I'm in the backseat of a van.
The next time, a familiar smell hits me.
They've taken me to Sully's Bar. A rope is tied around my throat and is connected to metal cuffs around my hands and ankles.
There is no escaping this. A solitary tear slips out of the corner of my eye.
A lump forms in my throat when their apparent plan comes to my mind.
They are going to kill me here in order to frame Axel.
That's the only explanation for bringing me to his bar.
Noticing that my eyes are open, Brody comes to stand over me.
His grin is so evil and I beat myself up for never noticing this about him.
How I ever thought he was beautiful is beyond me. "Wakey wakey, gorgeous."
My skull feels like someone is taking a jackhammer to it, and black dots are in my periphery. "Why are you doing this?" My words are a little muffled because of my jaw, but you can still make out the words.
He leans down. "Because you know too much, and you didn't choose me. Scarlett, I gave you every opportunity. We could have had something special."
My eyes are still heavy from whatever sedative they gave me, but I must keep engaging him in conversation. "Brody, you told me you only saw me as a friend."
He snarls. "Don't fucking turn this on me, bitch."
My body shivers with fear, and nausea rolls in my stomach. "Brody, I'm just confused."
He rubs my cheek with his bloodied hand. Brody is making my head swim with all these mood changes. "Honestly, my feelings for you were strong, but I let my vanity tell you no, Scarlett. Then London told you our dirty little secret, and when you wouldn't agree to be mine, that sealed your fate."
I am grasping at straws because I don't know what direction the conversation should go in that will equal me not dying. Apologizing will leave a sour taste in my mouth, but it's precisely what needs to happen. "Brody, I'm sorry that I didn't choose you."
Brody's body stiffens, while his face remains primarily impassive. However, there is a softness that has formed around his eyes now. "If only it were that simple, Scar. I've promised him."
My nerves rage inside my body. I know who he's talking about, but I ask anyway. "Who, Brody?"
He smiles. "You already know the answer to that."
Unfortunately, I do. "But how can you let him have me when I was supposed to be yours?"
He balls his fists at his side. "It's not something I relish in doing, but a promise is a promise, and I'll get to have you first."
Needing to stall and get more information out of him in case I survive this trap, my stupid self-walked blindly in, I integrate him further. "But you usually just watch."
Brody smiles, showing the one-sided dimple on his face.
To think I would have walked a hundred miles to earn one of his boyish smiles.
"Very perceptive. Yes, I usually just like to watch.
You're different, Scarlett. When he was fucking them, it was you who my mind thought about.
Jenson has become my brother, and we will share and then kill you together. It's kind of poetic, don't you think?”