“If you don’t admit that it was me in those videos with you, he is going to destroy you until you give him a name.” It almostsounds like he regrets that I am the one who is going to bear the brunt of the punishment for our crime.
“So what? I don’t care. Use your friendship with him to get me what I want and I will never tell him it was you.”
“You know what that means, right?” I sigh and nod even though he can’t see me.
“You and your band of bitches go back to making my life hell, well, good luck with that one, Voxy boy, because this time I’m fighting back and I’ll make sure I fucking leave a mark on all of you.”
“Game on, witch.”
I scoff. “Show me what ya got, dick bag.”
I’m sitting at the breakfast bench, spinning my phone round and round on the counter as I wait for Nexus. I haven’t left the house all day. I know they are watching me and I’m scared to step a single foot out of line in case they take it out on my mom. Just thinking of her and the image of her strapped to that bed has tears springing to my eyes.
I’ll make this right, Mom,I vow to her silently.
I won’t let these assholes take her from me, I just need to buy myself some time to figure out what it is that they want from me. The instant I hear his car pull into the driveway, I force myself to remain calm and appear relaxed as I start scrolling through my phone. I know they can check the cameras but I’m doing this more for my satisfaction than his. When the front door opens, I brace myself and wait for the dreaded encounter.
“Aww, what a good piggy, waiting to greet me.” I grit my teeth and don’t acknowledge him until I feel him stand behindme. I stop scrolling and wait for the bastard to make his next move. I shudder in revulsion when he brushes my back, exposing the side of my neck. He rests his chin on my shoulder and wraps his arms around my waist. My breaths are coming in rapid pants, it may be irrational but I feel fear surging inside me and my flight or fight instincts are kicking in. “You want to get off, piggy, you find me hot not that mask-wearing bitch.” I jerk out of his hold and climb to my feet facing him, the sinister look in his eyes and the cruel smile sends dread pooling inside me.
“I may not be able to do anything to you?—”
“That’s right, you are mine to do with as I please. You fuck up and all it would take to end that bitch is a single phone call.” My bottom lip begins to tremble but I refuse to allow him to see me cry. “When I call, you come. When I tell you to kneel, you fucking kneel!”
I stare at him in disgust, I knew he was a bastard but I never thought him or Thomas would be cold-blooded killers. I feel tears burning the backs of my eyes as the weight of the whole situation crashes down on me—I’m living with killers and they have my mom as a hostage!
“Ahhhh, now you’re starting to get it,” he coos smugly.
“Get what?” I force out.
“That you are nothing, you are worthless and nothing more than a toy I get to play with until Dad calls you into action. Two more months, Nova, and then you will be mine to do with as I please. In my world your pussy makes you weak. You will learn to live beneath me and under me.” Bile rushes up my throat at his insinuation.
“What happens in two months?”
“Well, your birthday of course, piggy!”
“I’m not a toy!” I scream at him. I tense when he stalks toward me, smiling. I grind my teeth when he grips the back of my neck and pulls me in close.
“You have no idea who the fuck you are and by the time you figure it out, it will be too late.” Before either of us can say more, the front door opens and I hear footfalls enter the kitchen behind us. The second the hairs on the back of my neck prickle with awareness I know exactly who it is. Nexus flicks his gaze over my head and I see his upper lip twitch in a snarl before he quickly masks his features and plasters a smile on his face, then spins me around so my back is to his chest. Vox, Ezekiel, Hayze and Archer all stand there staring at us with masks of indifference in place. “What’s up guys?”
Try as he might, Vox can’t hide his loathing for my stepbrother. I never noticed it before but I see it now in the way his eyes darken as he stares at Nexus.
“Nothing, bro, just saw your car and thought we’d come say what’s up and see how your trip went?” Hayze says easily as he strolls into the kitchen and helps himself to the fruit bowl on the counter like nothing is amiss. Archer and Ezekiel follow his lead but Vox doesn’t budge from his spot or take his eyes off me and Nexus.
Worried he will give us away and destroy my only chance of getting my mom back, I play along. “I'll leave you idiots to it then, I have shit to catch up on,” I say in a bored tone. As I attempt to free myself from Nexus’ hold, he places a kiss to the side of my head that sends disgust surging inside me.
“I’ll see you soon, piggy,” he says as I snatch my phone off the counter and brush past Vox without sparing him a second glance. Once I’m safely inside the confines of my room I finally breathe a little easier, until I see the black envelope on my bed. My heart pounds in my chest as I grab it and turn it over to see the same seal with a T in gold. I sigh and pull the letter out hoping that it will offer some form of help, if not this long lost uncle is as useless as tits on a bull.
Nova-Scotia,
You should have run!
Bring the masked men and meet at the same spot you met them.
I will be there at the stroke of midnight on Saturday night.
Conform to their rules, Thomas is hunting me so I can’t get to you sooner.
Be strong, do whatever it takes to survive.