Page 93 of A Heart So Savage

“Gotcha, little Ava,” Judd Vanderhorn whispered in her ear. “Nowhere for you to go now.” His arms tightened with cruel pressure until it felt as though one of her ribs cracked. Ava sucked in a scream as pain rocketed through her body. The room swam in blackness. Through watery lashes, she saw Carson stumbling toward her. Reaching her, he slapped her so hard she bit her own tongue. Blood filled her mouth.

“Are you ready to finish what we started that night so long ago?” Judd asked with a laugh, licking the tears streaming down Ava’s cheeks as she slipped away from the horror of her imprisonment. “I know I am. And I can’t fucking wait.”

ChapterThirty-Seven

From where I stood

I saw the Devil.

And his beauty was terrible.

Ava slowly swam upfrom the depths of a black, swirling sea.

Her throat hurt so bad it was difficult to swallow. When she did, the metallic taste in her mouth was a reminder that she’d bitten her tongue. Attempting a deep breath resulted in dizzying pain, her ribs throbbing as though she’d been kicked several times. And her shoulders, oh God, they ached like nothing she’d ever experienced before.

Ava glanced around the room as her vision cleared. Most of the furniture was missing, the artwork long gone, and the bar no longer held a dizzying array of liquor, but she knew where she was. It was their family den, and she was currently hanging from a rope swung over one of the ceiling’s exposed wood beams. The opposite end of the rope was tied off around the end of the bar, creating a makeshift pulley system to raise or lower her body.

Dropping her head back, Ava looked up at the ceiling. Her arms stretched far over her head as though reaching for the beam she was tethered to. Rope looped several times around her hands, and with the knee-high boots now missing, her bare feet skimmed the floor. The overcoat she’d worn was gone, but the rest of her clothing was still thankfully intact. During the struggle with Carson, her hair had come loose from the messy bun. It now hung around her face in a tangle of waves now, the strands sticking to tears that had dried on her cheeks.

Her brother sat on the sofa in front of her, his upper torso bare and a patch of white bandaging blending with the paleness of his skin. He glared at her, the hatred in his eyes so vicious that Ava hurriedly looked away, trembling with fear.

“She’s awake,” he announced, taking a long swig from the bottle of whiskey balanced between his legs. “About damn time.”

Judd stepped into Ava’s line of sight. He looked mostly the same. Harder around the eyes. Puffier in the face. Still handsome though, despite the air of dissoluteness. His dark brown hair was tousled, as though he’d run his fingers through it numerous times. The gleam in his eyes was terrifying. The spoiled, beloved son of the most prominent, well respected criminal judge in the state looked… unhinged.

She shrank away, her mind whirling with thoughts on how she might escape this nightmare.

“Hello, Ava,” he murmured. “Now that you’re awake, we can start the party.”

“You don’t have to do this. You don’t have to be like Carson.” Ava breathed through her nose in an attempt to stem a wave of nausea. The pain in her ribs pulsed along every nerve ending in her body. “You can let me go.”

“Let you go?” He laughed softly, mocking her suggestion. “After all the trouble you’ve caused? You won’t get out of this so easily, Ava.”

“You murdered my parents. I know you helped Carson,” she choked out in desperation. “I know you were in it together.”

Judd glanced at Carson, his eyes narrowed with annoyance. “Who told her?”

Her brother shrugged, answering with one word that explained everything. “Kingston.”

“Guess it doesn’t really fucking matter now. Do you know why that is, Ava? Because murder is really hard to prove. Especially in this town.” Judd gripped her chin, holding it tight so she couldn’t jerk her face away. “Getting rid of your mom and dad was so easy. When we ran them off the road, they didn’t even try their brakes. Just smashed over that embankment and into those trees until it looked like the fucking demolition derby shit you see on YouTube.”

He abruptly let her go, grabbing the bottle of whiskey from Carson and taking a swig. “I had no choice but to help Carson. You know that, right? He has the video of what we did to you that night. It would ruin me. My dad. My family’s reputation.”

“There is no more video,” Ava said softly, closing her eyes in pain as the truth of her parent’s death washed over her. “Carson has nothing else to use as blackmail, Judd, once Kingston found it. It’s been destroyed.”

Carson’s laugh ended in a racking cough and a groan of pain. “Even if that’s true, it doesn’t matter now. We’re all in this so goddamn deep. But there’s the money we can make from selling you. Not to mention the inheritance. Your portion comes to me, remember?”

“You could have killed your brother, Ava,” Juddtskedin mock disappointment when Carson coughed so violently that blood dribbled out of his mouth. “What on earth were you thinking? Stabbing him like that?”

“I wish I could do it again. I would slit his throat if given another chance. He deserves it for what he’s done,” Ava responded defiantly, her lips curling into a snarl of hatred. “You deserve it, too. You and your father.” She glanced around the room, looking for the other player in this betrayal but unable to see him. “And you, Drake.”

“Right here, baby,” Drake crooned, moving behind her. He brushed her hair off the nape of her neck and pressed a kiss to the skin there. Ava twisted her body to avoid his mouth, but it was useless.

“Yeah, my dear old Dad couldn’t make it today,” Judd said, standing in front of Ava and grabbing a hunk of her hair. He wound it tight around his hand like it was a leash. “Shot himself this morning in his study. One quick bullet to the temple and bye-bye, daddy.”

Ava blinked in confusion. Judge Vanderhorn was dead? His son did not look devastated by the news. Instead, he appeared extremely pleased by this unexpected development.

Is Kingston to thank for that? Did he kill Judd’s father as well as Jeff and Brad?

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