Page 78 of Darkness Falls

"I let you come with us, did I not?"

"Do you even hear yourself? Youletme."

He pauses for a moment, allowing my words to sink in. I don't think he's ever had to take a moment to sit back and actually consider letting someone else take the lead. Kyler isn't the type to want to be upfront and control the narrative, and Barrett is usually busy behind the scenes making sure everything is running without a hitch.

"What I did came with risk, but I knew what I was doing. I need you to trust me sometimes, even if it means we don't discuss how that's going to look first."

He sighs and runs his fingers through his hair before grabbing a fistful. "Fuck. I'm trying, Callie. This is how I keep my life in check. The control that you're trying so hard to take is my security. When I pull back, bad things happen."

"Bad things still happen even when you feel like you have control."

He clenches his jaw and strides across the room, closing the space between the two of us. I glance up at him and see the moment something snaps. He reaches his hand out and grips my throat, pushing me back into the filing cabinet. When I make contact, my mouth parts, and I groan.

"I'll make you a deal, trouble." He leans in to whisper in my ear. "I'll let you take the lead more often as long as you agree to pay for it."

I lean into him, not able to stop my body from heating up. "Oh yeah? And how exactly will I be doing that?"

"By being the perfect little fuck toy and letting me use you however I want," he says while nipping at my ear.

Chills spread through me, and I can't deny how much the idea of that sets me ablaze. "Do it," I taunt, and his fingers squeeze my throat tighter.

His other hand trails down my body, groping my breast and twisting my nipple before moving further south. He is just about to slide it into the waistband of my pants when my phone rings. He freezes.

There aren’t very many people who have this number, so my phone doesn’t ring often. I reach into my back pocket to see that it's Avery calling. Now probably isn't the best time to answer, but I haven't talked to her in a few days, and I need to make sure she's okay before I tell her I'll call her back later.

I push Seb off of me and press the answer button. "Hello?"

"Well, there she is.My lovely wife."

When I hear the voice on the other end, my entire body goes rigid. What the hell is going on? "Don't fucking call me that." My jaw clenches, and Sebastian focuses intently on me. He furrows his brow and tilts his head, but I ignore him. I push my way out of the room to find Barrett and Kyler, hoping Seb will follow me as Damien continues on.

"I've got a question for you. How much do you care for Avery? Would you like her back in one piece, or would you prefer if I send her in bits at a time?" I almost drop the phone from my hand as I enter the kitchen.

My men look up at me with concern on their faces just as I place the phone on speaker and pull out one of the four chairs to sit in.

"I swear if you touch her, I'll kill you," I finally grit out.

"Now, now. That's not any way for a wife to speak to her husband. It certainly doesn't encourage me to play nice, either. You should be nice, Callie. Your best friend’s life depends on it."

Kyler walks around the table, ready to come to my defense, but I hold my hand up. I need to handle this on my own. The guys getting involved could only make things worse. I suck up my pride and decide to do what he says, no matter how hard it is.

A message comes through the phone. It's a picture of Avery in what looks like the same cell my father kept me in before the wedding. Seeing her down there, alone and dirty, breaks myheart. I don't want anyone else I love to have to hurt because of me.

"Please don't hurt her, Damien."

A sadistic chuckle leaves him. "That's a little better. You see, I'm a generous man. I'm willing to make you an offer."

"What do you want?" I ask, but I already know the answer. He wants me.

"It's simple, you will come back to Rogue so you can be placed on trial for your father's murder. The council has called for it, and you will be present."

"A trial?" I gasp.

There hasn't been a need for a trial in a long time. To my knowledge, there was only one other one held in the entirety of Rogue's existence. It was the excuse they needed to feel good about their decision to kill a council member. This can't be good for me. If I go to trial, the outcome will likely be my ordered death. I didn't come this far to die, but I can't let Avery get hurt, either.

"You have no proof," I say with a dangerous sense of arrogance.

"That's true, but I have no intention of convincing them to find you guilty. I'm hoping for the opposite, actually. I'm not done using you for my own personal needs. We never did get to finish our wedding night, wife."

---