Page 23 of Bleeding Blackheart

He shakes his head, smirking. “Maybe I did. Maybe I didn’t. Not like you could do anything about it if I did, so don’t worry about it. Hurry up. I need you to get dressed and help me feed the girls before Dallas gets here. Then we need to hit the road.”

Dallas?I don’t know who the hell that is, and I’m not sure I want to know. He can’t possibly keep good company. Only two more nights of his torture and then I’ll be free. I can do this. I bring the mug to my lips slowly, and I take a small sip to check if it’s too hot. When I confirmit’s not, I drink it quickly while he pulls the blanket off me and grabs the medical supplies from my bedside table.

Blackheart doesn’t look at me while he cleans my wounds and changes the bandages on my arms and legs, but he handles me carefully. I look at my wrist and see the handcuffs are gone too. He must’ve taken them off when he changed the bandage on my head. He’s just as gentle with me as he is with his pride and joy, Willow. How can a man be this slow and gentle, and then turn around and beat my ass while I cry? I just don’t know why he hates me so much. Or why he’s bothering to take care of me in the first place.

I think about our trip and try to get his attention. “If we’re on the road by seven, we’ll probably get there a little after midnight on Sunday morning. Not including breaks of course.”

He looks up at me with a raised brow. “We’re not getting there by midnight, Montana.”

“But I thought you said you wanted the money by Monday.”

He stands up, looking down at me. “I did. Originally. But I’m not driving sixteen-plus hours with no rest. We’ll get there on Monday. Tuesday at the latest.”

Tuesday? That means I have to sleep with this man for three more nights. Over seventy-two hours with this barbarian. “I can drive.”

He licks his plump lips. “With what ID?”

My ID. I don’t have a fucking ID. My purse is still at Charlotte’s apartment in Colorado. Probably in her bathroom. My father told me he got rid of the bodies and cleaned up the place so it looked like nothing happened. The families of Charlotte’s friends just think they went missing. Her mom and dad think she just ran off. There will never be justice for any of them.

I get a flash of my enemy’s face in my mind, and I start to sweat. “What about my father?”

He shrugs his shoulders. “What about him?”

I clench my eyes shut so I don’t roll them. My ass is still tender, and I don’t want to start my morning with another spanking. “You’re supposed to be working for my father, Blackheart. You told me I had to be dead and returned to him by Monday morning. When I’m not, he’s going to come for you and me both. We won’t stand a chance.”

This is why I wanted to get him the money before then. Not so he could run, but so I could. It’ll only make it too easy on Mason Barnes if he’s hunting for me and Blackheart and finds out we’re still together. Two birds with one stone and all that.

He smiles like I just told a joke. “I’m not scared of your daddy, little girl. I’ll handle him when and if necessary.”

Idiot. The stupidest man I’ve ever met. The man has a ranch and a makeshift hospital, but he can’t see the trouble he’s walking right into. “You have to protect me. We made a deal. I get you the money, you don’t let him find me. That means I’ll need a little to get me going once we break up.”

He looks at me stoically with his hands at his sides. “You have my word. Get me my money, and I’ll make sure you’re set.”

For the first time in the past week, I feel like I can let out a tiny breath. Not a big enough one to make me relax, but one that makes me feel like Blackheart might not kill me as long as I do what he wants.

“Thank you.”

He doesn’t answer me. Instead he gazes lecherously at my body. He looks at me like a man who hasn’t seen a woman in lingerie in ten years. I let my eyes follow his stare to see what he’s so focused on, and when I look down and see my right nipple peeking out of the top of my lace cup, I shove it back in and glower at him. “Don’t you watch porn?” I don’t see a TV in his room but I know he has to have one. I don’t know why I’m his new addiction when he could just get off to anything online.

He chuckles and adjusts his hat. “Yeah. But it’s nothing like the real thing, is it?”

I wouldn’t know, but I’d rather not tell him that. “I guess not.”

The tension only thickens between us while we stare at each other. His jaw tightens and his eyebrows draw together, and I’m the first to look away.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, he snaps his fingers at me like I’m one of his mares. “Use the bathroom, get changed, then we’ll go out to the stables.”

I stand up slowly, feeling my heavy pad and the second day pain from my cramps. “I only have dresses.”

He nods his head. “I know. So get to it and put one of them on. We don’t have all day, Montana. And my girls are hungry.” I’m hungry too, thanks for asking.

Walking slowly to my belongings, I see he has my toiletries packed, but my clothes are all laid out on the dresser for me to pick what I want. I hate that he chose clothes for me to wear, but I’m glad that he got me bras and panties. Even if he’s a bigger fan of them than I am.

The feel of his gaze stays on me while I grab my things and when I go in the bathroom, I see he’s looking inside. Not at me, but in the room. He puts his headphones in without me asking, and it makes me so happy thatI almost want to cry. Except I don’t because I realize I’m getting the lowest of low treatment still.

I get a fresh washcloth from the linen closet when he barks at me. “The hell are you doing?”

“I need to freshen up.” I look back at him for him to protest, but when he doesn’t, I face forward in the mirror and dampen the cloth to quickly wipe between my thighs. I get dressed quickly in a brown lace bra with matching panties and a pink sundress with white flowers. This dress is exactly like something Charlotte would’ve worn. I push her face out of my mind while I brush out my hair and head back into the bedroom.

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