Page 26 of Behind the Mask

My hands trembled beneath the ropes. The mayor was a cold, heartless man. He was a ruthless politician and did everything in his power to make sure he remained at the top of the food chain in our small town. And that man was holding me prisoner.

My breath quickened as I stared at the man. He was heavier now than he was in the past, and in some ways, he looked even scarier than he was back then. He had the same gunmetal eyes as his son. The brown hair he had previously was almost gray, and wrinkles scattered his face. He did not age well.

My mouth opened as I began to talk, but he placed duct tape over my mouth. "I'm not in the mood to hear your voice, pet," he smirked. "Sorry."

All I wanted to do was scream, but I couldn't. No one would hear me. The mayor had threatened me. His son raped me, made me lose my baby, and ruined my life. They made me lie to my family, to Axel.

He paced in front of me but didn't even glance in my direction. "What should I do with you? Hmm? My son has some weird fascination with you, and I don't like it."

He turned to look at me and gave a muffled sound of disgust. "He wants to have you by his side when he takes the position of mayor. He thinks your pretty little face will keep him occupied, but you'd just be a little stepford wife while he goes and fucks whoever he wants in this town. I've done it and so will he."

I sucked in a breath and somehow tasted the tape. I despised him.

"I don't know what those boys see in you. If anything, you're a little slut who couldn't keep your legs closed. You're a secret that needs to be demolished, and if my boy won't do it, I guess I'll have to."

I started struggling against the ropes when his assistant gave him a sedative. He smiled maliciously before he put the shot into my neck.

"Don't worry, this won't hurt a bit."

And everything went black.

Chapter Twenty-One

Axel

There's been only two times in my life when I've felt fear. The first time was when Olivia left me, the second was right now. She walked out of here pale and crying. When I saw her tears mixed with fear, I knew something was wrong, but I couldn't figure out what.

I didn't care that I was supposed to fight. I didn't care that I was supposed to be making a comeback in the MMA world. The only thing that mattered was her, and I'd be damned if I let her disappear again. I'd be damned if I let something happen to her when I was supposed to be protecting her.

As I followed Lindsey into the crowded hallway, I heard Mason calling out after me. "Kade! Where the hell are you going?"

I ignored him and kept on after Lindsey. She was frantically searching for Olivia, and I truly felt scared something happened. As I reached Lindsey, I grabbed her arm, turning her around to face me.

"What's going on?"

She looked at me with her tear-stained cheeks. "I feel so stupid for not even thinking. I should have gone with her; it should have registered with me sooner."

My brows furrowed. My emotions went into a frenzy. "What should have registered with you sooner?"

I released her arm as she paced in front of me, the crowd moving all around us, not knowing what happened or that something had changed. I heard Mason's ragged breaths behind me as he joined us, probably fixing to bite my head off.

"Brad. When she saw it was him, she took off. He's the one, Axel. He's the one that took everything away from you two."

When my mind finally registered what she said, my teeth molded together. My hands curled at my sides. I saw red. He was the one that took everything. My woman, my unborn child, our life together. He was behind it all. He must have swooped in as soon as we broke up and used it as an opportunity to get close to her. But instead of gaining her trust, he took it and everything along with it.

Wilson’s voice boomed in the hallway, "Kade! Are you planning on finishing this fight or are you going to forfeit? I mean it was going to be an easy fight to begin with, but hell, I'll take you bowing down like a little pussy!"

I heard him approach me and the crowd forming around us, I turned around and punched him in the face, knocking him to the ground. Roughly, I grabbed his shirt pulling him up so he was right in my face.

My voice was low, dangerous. "I swear to God, if you had anything to do with her disappearance,I will kill you, Wilson. You think your daddy scares me? You think you scare me? Well, you have another thing coming. If one hair on Olivia's pretty head is harmed, you will wish you'd never been born. Do you understand?"

Rendering him speechless, he nodded. I dropped him to the ground and grabbed Lindsey's hand dragging her to the locker room, as Mason followed in behind locking the door behind us. As I went over to my locker, I hurriedly rushed to get dressed not caring that Lindsey was in the room as well.

"What are we going to do, Axel? I can't get a hold of her, and her parents are supposed to be returning today. We can't just tell them they've lost their daughter again when they just got her back!"

I heard Mason let out a few curse words behind me as I sat on the bench untying my shoes. After putting them on, I grabbed my phone and keys, noticing I had several missed calls and messages from Vanessa. I eagerly put the phone in my back pocket and ignored the knowing feeling in my chest. I had no time to deal with her. Running a hand over my scruff, I looked at Mason and Lindsey not sure of what to do or where to start. I knew Wilson had something to do with this, but I had no idea how deeply he was involved.

Getting an idea, my gaze met Lindsey's. "Go to the sheriff's office and report her missing, then call her parents. Let them know what happened."

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