Page 78 of Obsession

But I didn’t know that. I believed Nathan would find us. Save us. But what her brothers had already done would never leave her.

“You have no idea.” Craig smirked before his gaze focused on me. Icy fear ran down my spine. It chilled my lungs as he crossed the room.

My mind screamed at me to flee. To scurry back against the wall. I knew it would be useless. It would only make me look weak.

Men like this prayed on weakness. It fueled them. Fed their sick tendencies.

So I wouldn’t let them see it. I couldn’t. Even as my body shook in terror.

“Time to get the show started.” He said it like a joke as he opened my cage. Or maybe it wasn’t a joke to him. This was their entertainment.

“No!” Violet screamed as he gripped my arm, yanking me up. My bare feet slapped the concrete as he dragged me to where Aaron stood in the center of the room with a chair.

It looked like a cheap dining chair. Wood and plain, with slats on the back and simple arms. Except there were metal cuffs on the armrests. And stains on the wooden seat.

Fear gripped my stomach, making it roll again. I struggled against him. Twisting and turning, trying to pull my arm from his grasp. But his fingers dug into my flesh, holding me tighter.

I swallowed down my whimper of pain as he shoved me into the chair. Before I could attempt another escape, they had the metal latched. It bit into my wrists, cutting off my circulation. Within minutes, my hands became numb.

My jaw clenched as I jerked my head back. Trying to look tough even as bile rose in my throat. “What the fuck do you want?”

An evil smile curled Aaron’s lips. But neither of them answered as Craig grabbed a phone from his pocket. He typed in a number before putting it on speaker.

The stone walls magnified the ringing. It seemed to go on forever. My heart rate ratcheting up with each tone, exploding when the line clicked.

“We have your girlfriend.” Craig’s cold gaze flicked to mine.

But not even his stare could stop my heart from soaring. They were calling Nathan. He’d rescue me. He’d hack the phone or some other genius stuff and find me. Save us. He’ll come for me.

“Lark?”

My hope shattered. Shards stabbed into my chest. “Brad?”

“Scream for him, honey.”

My eyes widened, but I only had a moment to brace before Aaron’s fist connected with my face. Pain exploded across my cheekbone, radiating down my jaw. I rolled my lips together, swallowing the groan. I wouldn’t give them the satisfaction.

My tongue ran along my teeth, checking for breaks. Aaron’s gaze darkened as I refused to let them see a reaction.

“Lark? Are you okay?” Brad’s frantic voice came from the phone. Hearing him helped me put the puzzle pieces together. Everything finally made sense.

The pictures I’d seen on his computer weren’t girls he’d met on dating sites. They were women Aaron and Craig had trafficked. And my ex was a client. Abusing them. My stomach rolled with a fresh bout of nausea.

“Let’s try that again.” Aaron flicked a knife open. My body tensed, but I had nowhere to go as he drove the blade into my bicep. “I told you to scream.”

I did. The sound pulled from deep inside as he ripped the knife down my arm, slicing into my flesh. Warm blood coated my skin, dripped onto the chair and floor. I suddenly knew what the stains were.

“No! No!” Violet yelled. The cage rattled as she tried to get to me. “Stop!”

“You can be here in an hour with our money or we can take your pretty little girlfriend as payment.” Craig’s face was neutral as he spoke to Brad, ignoring my agony and his sister’s frantic shouts.

“I’m not with him anymore.” I panted as the pain coursed through my body. My limbs shook hard from the adrenaline. It dulled the throbbing. I breathed through my nose, trying to focus.

“Then let’s hope he still has a conscience.”

Silence followed. Only the sound of my blood dripping on the floor and Violet’s quiet whimpers. The pressure of it built as Brad said nothing. The man who’d begged me a few weeks ago to take him back. I waited for him to decide my fate.

“Brad?”

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