Page 40 of Lorcan

“Who is it?”

“Ethan Darcy.”

I felt the name send chills down my spine. My husband. Well, the man I was forced to marry so my father could bring him into the fold. He was a malicious asshole who wanted nothing but to hurt women. He’d once threatened to use me as a bargaining chip with his allies, to tempt them into business with my body. It was not long after the first threat that I’d run.

If he was coming here, I knew it wasn’t going to be good but I also didn’t want Percy’s cover to be blown. He was doing good work here.

“It’s fine. Chain me up in a room you don’t normally use.”

“Are you sure?” Percy asked. “We can simply hide you.”

“No, he won’t buy that. He needs to see me in pain.”

Halen nodded. “Thatta girl. Come with me.”

“Wait…”

Percy came over to me and put his hands on my shoulders, forcing me to look at him. “Are you truly sure?”

I nodded, somehow. My body didn’t want to agree but I knew I had to. “Yes.”

“Can you ask Ebony to come and see me?”

Percy frowned, probably unsure why but he didn’t need to know.

Halen took me down a hallway and into a room I’d not been in before. It was sparse, with a few boxes off to the side.

“I’ll get Ebony and some handcuffs.”

“Chains,” I corrected him. “I need to be chained so I can’t move.”

“He’ll demand time with you,” Halen said. “These types always do. If you can’t move, you can’t rebuff him.”

“I’m aware,” I told him. He looked me deep in the eye for a few minutes before he nodded and left the room. I looked around to see if I could make it like I’d tried to escape but it was already a bare room, with no window. This would be where you would hold someone if you wanted to keep them hidden and out of the way.

Ebony moved into the room, and from the look in her eye, I could tell she’d been briefed. “We could kill him.”

Her response was immediate and made me smirk. “If it were that easy, I’d have done it. His death brings a lot more drama than its worth.”

“Typical male ego,” she replied. “What did you want from me?”

“I need you to beat me up,” I told her.

“What?”

“I need you to make it look like I fought and need to be chained. Nothing on the face, other than a bloody lip I guess.”

“You already have a cut on your lip,” she said. “Why me?”

“I can tell you know why I’m asking, you know the dark side of men, and honestly, women know what they need to do more than men. Percy and Halen wouldn’t do that. They won’t lay a hand on me. Ethan needs to buy that I’m in captivity and being sold off.”

Ebony nodded. “You’re a tough bitch, you know that? Sure. Where?”

“Ribs, back, legs. Wherever.”

“Get on your knees,” she said.

I did as she asked and braced myself for the assault but it never came. When I opened my eyes, I watched her fist land into my side, taking the breath from me. I tried to suck in a shocked gasp of air but it hurt too much. I leaned over to open my diaphragm.

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