Page 86 of Unveiled

Hope drains out of me almost instantly. Even if Cain can find me, we may end up in the same situation that we were in last time. I don’t want to be tortured by the possibility of his death.

All I can hope is that whoever buys me this time is at least kind to me. Well, kinder than Carlos was. Not being beaten every day would be a step up.

Now that I’m awake and alone, I can at least survey my surroundings. He’s not keeping me in the same building as last time, meaning I don’t know how many spots are on each ceiling tile. This ceiling doesn’t even have spots. It’s just a plain white ceiling; much more boring than the last one.

The walls are the same white as the ceiling, giving me no contrast to stare at all day. There aren’t even any windows for me to look out. It could still be the night I was taken, or the sun could have risen and it could be the next day for all I know.

The only piece of furniture is the bed I’ve been chained to. The chains are digging into my wrists from being tied too tightly, while the other end is locked around a wooden bed frame. Tugging on it only causes the chains to jiggle loudly and the wood to creak from the pressure.

At least there wasn’t anything for him to pull out of me this time, so I can only hope I wasn’t violated after I was knocked out. Having the tracker cut out of me was enough of a violation. As far as I can tell, my underwear is still on under my dress that’s incredibly too tight on me now.

As I wiggle around, trying to get the dress to loosen up and feel even a bit more comfortable, the chains cause the bed frame to creak once again. Only this time, the sound gives me a thought.

If I pull on these chains enough, there’s two outcomes that could happen. I could either loosen them enough to slip them off my wrists, or the wood could snap.

Either way, I could be free.

The thought is enough to give me hope, and without fully thinking it through, I yank on the chains. I use as much strength as I can muster in my weakened state, and as the wood creaks from the stress the chains are causing, more hope floods through me.

“Before you have any silly little ideas,” I hear as the door creaks open. My arms drop immediately, dangling limply from the chains instead of yanking on them, and I force my eyes to look droopy as I rest back into the headboard. By the time his eyes meet mine, the act of being close to another nap should be pretty convincing. “I found this in the warehouse, and I know how much you loved it when Carlos made you listen.”

“Cain!” I hear my voice call out as he taps his phone, starting the video he already had pulled up.

No, no, no.

“Ainsley,” I hear him say, relief filling his voice. I don’t know how long I’ve been here, if it’s even been a full twenty-four hours, but I already miss the sound of his voice. “Ainsley!”

The sickening thud of my head against the SUV fills the room, causing my head to ache more than it did when I woke up.

“He’s dead, pet. Nobody is going to save you from me.”

The voice sends a chill down my spine as the memory of every time he laid a hand on me floods my mind, repressed from months of denial. I pushed all of this to the back of my mind, determined to forget it. Even when Cain pulled me back into his life, I never fully let myself relive the trauma to heal. And now, here it is, slapping me in the face and reminding me I can’t escape.

A car door slams as a former version of myself is shoved inside. As my eyes shut, trying to hold back tears, I see Cain on his knees with a gun pointed at his head as I’m driven away, convinced I’ll never see him again.

“Any last words?”

“I love you, Ainsley.”

Bang. Bang.

Chapter 35

The Monster

“Do you have any contacts through your time with Carlos? That’s where we need to start. My rivals are going to be the ones he goes after, because they’ll do whatever it takes to hurt me,” I explain to Jonah as soon as I burst through the door and find him waiting for me.

That was his thinking when he sold her to Carlos, and I know that’s exactly what his plan will be this time, too. I just don’t know who’s next on his list.

I tracked Ainsley for as long as I could, hoping the tracker would save her this time. But when I was stopped on the side of the road with nothing around for miles, it became clear he had cut it out of her.

The image of Ainsley stuck in a car with a man that’s caused her nothing but harm is imprinted on my mind. She’s screaming while he slices into her neck to keep me from following them, and I can’t help her. I wasn’t there to help her.

Jonah was the first call I made. He was still wide awake and beat me to the house, ready to do whatever it takes to get Ainsley back. And that is why I hired him. It may piss me off at times, but he puts Ainsley before everyone else, just like I do, and that’s exactly what I need right now.

“I was not involved in his business affairs,” Jonah tells me with a frown. “I was merely a guard at his home, and he never conducted business there.”

“FUCK!” I scream as I slam the door shut, rattling the hinges on the door frame as they threaten to give out and let the door bounce back at me.

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