Page 40 of Bound By Secrets

“I’m glad one of you has it relatively easy, but that must still be painful and horrible for you,” Kat says softly. She reaches across the table and tentatively places her hand on Connor’s closed fist, squeezing it before pulling her hand away again. Then her eyes fall on me and I can already see the tears starting to form again.

I look away from her but instantly regret it when my gaze catches on two sets of eyes, one pair a chocolatey brown and the other a swirling deep green.

I guess by now, they’ve all realised that I surely have it the worst at home, and I can only assume that all three of them are coming up with different conclusions as I watch each of their expressions increasingly turn worried.

“Callie?” Nate’s voice breaks as he says my name and my stomach plummets at the sound of it. “W-what’s the worst that’shappened to you?” he asks. I grimace at the thought of telling them all. Nate’s eyes dart to both my brothers as I stay silent, trying to think about how to tell them all about Fraser.

Brad moves from his seat and makes his way over to me. When he reaches my side, he crouches and waits to speak until I’m facing him.

“Callie, it’s okay if you don’t want to tell us. It’s completely up to you. We just want to try to help in any way we can. We want you all to be free from the torturous things that you’ve all had to go through.” He cups my face in both his hands and leans in to gently place a kiss on my forehead. “Do you think you’re able to tell us? Or would you rather leave it for now and tell us at a later date?”

I mash my lips together as I contemplate telling them. I look over to Kat and she offers me an encouraging smile. I nod my head and wipe my clammy hands against my legs.

“Yeah, I think I can tell you.” Brad kisses my cheek and then retreats to the chair he was previously sitting on. Everyone seems to move inwards, tucking themselves under the table, prepared and ready to listen.

So, for the next thirty minutes, I tell them everything. I tell them about the first time I was told that I’d be expected to give myself to Fraser, and I explain a few of the worst beatings that I’ve received over the years, like when I was lashed with a horsewhip because I hadn’t hidden my bruises well enough. I also tell them about the times that I’ve woken up in the basement and been taunted by my brothers' voices being played through the speakers. When I speak about the first time Fraser raped me, Nate leaves the room with Callum following him, and Kat holds me tight against her as tears fall from both of our eyes.

“The last time anything happened was only the other morning…” I pause when Connor bolts out of his chair and strides through to the living room. Brad and Kat watch him goand then turn back to face me. “Fraser turned up for breakfast, and he forcefully fingered me at the table. My father, Derek, made the twins stay there while it happened. The worst part of it all was the fact that my eldest brother, Cameron, was sitting there enjoying it, pleasuring himself whilst he watched it all go down.” Brad cringes and looks away from me to try and stop me from catching his reaction.

“Oh, Callie, I’m so sorry you’ve had to go through all of this,” Kat sobs, tears now cascading down her face as she pulls me tighter against her side.

“We’re going to help. We’re going to make sure these sick bastards go down for everything that they’ve done to you all.” Brad’s voice is firm and laced with confidence when he speaks. It warms my heart to see that they care even though we haven’t known each other for long.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Ryker

"You want me to tell you all about it?” he asks, smirking at me. “You want to hear about how sopping wet she was every time I drove my dick into her?” I glare at him over my shoulder, trying my hardest to ignore his taunting words as I wait for Johnny to arrive home. I pull my eyes from his bruised face and stare out through the open doorway, hoping that if I stare at the back of Johnny’s house hard enough, then it might make him appear quicker.

I’ve only met this pervert once before. It was two weeks after Callie’s father had made the sickening deal with him, unbeknownst to me at the time.

He’d put a bad taste in my mouth back then, the way his eyes lingered on Callie whenever he thought I wasn’t paying attention and when his hands were pressed tightly into her lower back when he hugged her goodbye. I guess it makes sense now after what I’ve learned, and it sickens me to know that I just stood there, watching it happen.

Fraser smacks his lips together before speaking again. “Oh, I know. You want to hear about the first time I got my hands onher?” I clench my hands into fists and take deep breaths, trying to calm the simmering anger threatening to erupt out of me. The urge to knock him out again so that he’ll stop talking is strong, but I resist as I hear tyres crunching over gravel.

Finally, Johnny’s here.

Fraser goes silent behind me. I peer over at him and see that his eyes are wide and wary as he attempts to look past my hulking form to see who’s here.

“Looks like things are about to get interesting,” I murmur, watching Johnny stride out his back door. He’s wearing a quizzical expression as he crosses the grass towards me.

“What’s going on in there?” he asks, nodding towards the shed. My lips tilt up as I step to the side, giving him a view of Fraser strapped down with rope to the metal chair. Johnny’s face stays neutral as he assesses Fraser’s purpling swollen eyes and split lip.

He steps back, out of Fraser’s view and raises a questioning brow. “Why the fuck have you got Fraser tied up here? What are you thinking?” he whisper-shouts. “Do you not understand how stupid this is?”

I push him back a step so that I can move out of the way and close the door of the shed, concealing a shell-shocked Fraser inside.

“Uh yeah, so, long story short, I saw Callie last night, and we had a little heart-to-heart discussion about what happened during the time that I was gone.” I huff out a breath and avert my gaze. I can’t look him in the eye when I tell him this. “Derek made a deal with Fraser years ago...” Johnny crosses his arms and his brows draw down, shadowing his eyes.

“Get to the point, kid,” he growls. I wipe my hands against my jeans, suddenly feeling sweaty with Johnny towering over me, a scowl slowly forming on his face. I straighten my form so thatwe’re the same height, hoping to feel less intimidated. It doesn’t help, he’s still intimidating as hell.

“Derek offered for Fraser to, uh, use Callie.”

Within the blink of an eye, Johnny is ripping the door of the shed open and storming over to Fraser. Fraser starts stuttering and his feet scamper against the floor, trying to push himself backwards and failing miserably. Johnny is on top of him in the next second, the chair falling back as his fists plough into Fraser’s face and body, over and over again. Roars of anger escaping him with every hit.

I let him get a few more hits in before I rush over and attempt to pull Johnny off. He elbows me, trying to shove me away so that he can continue his assault, but I grapple his arms, yanking him back.

“We can’t kill him. We need him alive, Johnny!” I shout.

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