Page 72 of Mine, Forever

“Ready?”

I nodded cocking my gun into position as we entered the foyer. We both looked around at the abandoned house, cobwebs hanging in every corner, and a musty smell invaded my nostrils.

“Sounds empty,” York said.

It did, but I had to be sure. I’d been fooled by my father too many times to count, and it wasn’t going to happen again. I ran upstairs while York checked out downstairs. When I came to my room at the end, I paused. Was it fear I felt? Surely not. I was a fucking sadistic killer. How could I fear what I would find in this room? As I opened the door, I knew my worst fear was about to come true.

I had no idea how long I had been standing there, but York came up behind me, gasping at what he saw.

“Jesus. He’s been planning this for ages, hasn’t he?”

I looked around at my once-bare walls taking in all the surveillance photos of Ebony. The four walls were covered with different photos from floor to ceiling.

How hadn’t I known she was being followed?

“We need to find her.”

That was a fucking understatement. But fuck, I had no words, and to be honest, I wasn’t ready for York to know what kind of man, or father, John Lambert had been.

I only hoped I wasn’t too late for my Ebony.

EBONY

My eyes shot open as cold water splashed all over me. I coughed out as much of it as possible when it went up my nose and in my mouth. My body was shivering as I took in my surroundings. My arms were tied with something hard and cold above my head as I dangled on the ground. Bare feet were on a cold, hard cement floor.

John stood in front of me, a smug expression on his face. His arms crossed over his chest. I hadn’t seen him in years. An old friend of my mother’s, he’d always been super sweet to me, always paid attention to me, and at that point, I loved it because he was the only one who did that to me. Everyone else was always about Bree and Taleah, but John showed me attention which I had coveted.

It got to the point where I wondered why he treated me so kindly until he’d been given permission by my mother to have his way with me. He hadn’t though. Instead, he’d taken photos of me and handed me around to his friends for them to enjoy. Although I knew it had been wrong, I allowed him to do it. I allowed them to do what they wanted with me because John had told me he loved me, and that they all wanted me because I was special.

I’d believed him.

I was fifteen by the time I had my first cock shoved into my throat causing me to hurl by reflex. By sixteen, I knew how to deep throat without a problem, which was what John liked because he could ask for more money. I was only allowed to dress up in a schoolgirl outfit while I was ‘on show,’ and if I allowed more than one man on any particular night, John would lavish me with gifts for days.

That’s when things had changed. John hadn’t come around anymore because I’d started to do drugs and drink. That was the only way I could escape the horror of my life. He hated that I was poisoning my body, and not because he’d allowed it, but because I chose to do it for myself. He’d lost control of me, and that had made him mad. It wasn’t long afterward that he disappeared. I’d thought him dead, as had everyone else, but I guess a girl could never be that lucky.

John had made me feel dirty and worthless, broken, which only got worse as time went on. I’d felt that way for most of my adult life.

Until Jett.

“What do you want?”

“I’m just claiming what’s mine.”

He looked down at my body. I followed his gaze to see why I was shivering so much.

I was fucking naked. Rolling my eyes, I muttered the word, “perve,” under my breath.

“Yes, I am.”

Shit, when did he get so close to me? He moved around me keeping me on edge. I flinched away from him, making the chains above, holding my hands, jangle in protest.

“Jett will kill you for touching me.”

John laughed. “Jetthasn’t been able to kill me yet. What makes you think he would do it for you?”

His words confused me because the way he said Jett told me he knew him better than I had expected him to. How the hell did he know my Jett?

“Why would Jett want to kill you before now?”

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