Page 14 of Revenge

“Don’t know. He didn’t say. My guess is he’ll probably be a while.” Zane takes another hit of his cigarette and shrugs.

“Let me know when he gets back. I want to pay Benny a visit and show him these photos soon.” I wipe my hand down my face and do my best to shake off the stupidity that is my youngest brother. It doesn’t matter to me where he sticks his dick as long as none of it comes back on me.

“Axel knows how important this is to you, Ash. He won’t do anything to jeopardize it. He’s just reaping the rewards of being the helpful brother.” He pats me on the back and walks out, leaving me to my thoughts.

I attempt to glance over the files once more, but I can’t get Zane’s earlier words out of my head. He’s right; this isn’t just about what happened to me. It’s about all of us. I wasn’t the only one to be affected. Losing our parents while I was locked up only added to the shit storm. Movement catches my eye, dragging my attention back to the monitor.

Charlee’s finally starting to stir and anticipation churns in my gut. Someone’s going to pay, but it won’t be me. Not this time. I have the devil’s daughter at my door and it’s time to play.

Chapter Eight

Charlee

Sunlight beats down on my face. My head pounds as I struggle to sit up. The inside of my mouth feels like sandpaper. I attempt to swallow, but it does little to help this feeling go away. I’m tucked in on my side, taking in the room. There’s a wooden door to my left that has no knob, and I’m surrounded by bare white walls. Across from the bed, there’s a doorway that leads to what looks like a small bathroom.

At the foot of the bed, there’s a floor to ceiling window. I push off my elbows to a sitting position and swing my legs down until the tips of my toes almost touch the floor. I hop down and do my best to walk, but the room spins. My hands reach out and brace against the mattress until my vision comes back into focus. It takes me a couple of tries to gain a sense of balance before I can stand all the way upright and not fall over.

Air hits my skin and my blood runs cold. I glance down to find that my dress is gone. I’m in nothing but my black lace bra and matching thong panties. My eyes squeeze shut as tears pool in my eyes. My mom’s bracelet is gone. The bastards took everything from me and left me almost completely naked. It kills me, but the need to escape takes over and all else is forgotten. I focus back on the window and getting the hell out of here.

The cold wooden floor is like thousands of tiny needles stabbing the bottoms of my bare feet as I stumble toward it. Each step is harder than the last. Every muscle in my body feels sore and exhausted. It takes everything I have to keep going, but just a little further and I’m there.

My hands press up against the glass, letting the coolness wash over me, and I take a minute to gain my balance. There’s nothing but trees as far as I can see. An anxious feeling settles in the bottom of my stomach like a lead weight. Being so far away from civilization can mean only one thing. This was planned. Even if I somehow managed to escape, I could get lost and die from the elements. Images of my rotting corpse being feasted on by flies floods my mind, causing a shiver to wrack through me. It’s not a pleasant thought, but it’s still a chance I’m willing to take. I slam my hands against the window with everything I have trying to break through.

“That glass is over an inch thick.” I jump and spin around at the sound of a deep voice vibrating through the room behind me.

Leaning against the open door is my captor. He’s tall, well over six feet, and towers over my five-foot-two frame, with the looks of a damn model. His prominent nose is slightly crooked, like it’s been broken more than a few times. He has a head of dark hair that’s shaved close to his head. Tattoos cover him from the neck down and there’s a light dusting of dark stubble along his perfectly chiseled jaw. His arms are crossed over his chest, drawing my eyes to the huge bulge of muscle on his biceps. He could snap me in half with one finger and not even break a sweat. His eyes travel down my body, assessing me without an ounce of emotion. Inside I’m trembling, but on the outside, I am my father’s daughter. To show weakness is a loss of power and I won’t give him the satisfaction of having that type of control over me.

His attention drifts elsewhere and I take full advantage of the distraction. I run past him toward the open doorway—toward freedom, but he’s much faster. His hand strikes out and grabs me by the throat. Before I can blink, he has me shoved up against the wall, so high that my feet dangle above the floor. My head jerks back with a loud thump from the brute force and his fingers squeeze down, biting into the flesh along the sides of my neck. A wince escapes me at the sudden burst of pain, but I breathe through it. Both of my hands are trapped between our bodies, rendering me helpless. I can’t move an inch. He has me completely caged in.

My chest heaves as we stare each other down. Up close, he’s even more frightening. There’s a hard, rough edge to his features—one that’s etched into every line of his skin. He’s so close that I can see every scar on his face, every indent that gives away part of his story. The warmth of his breath—a mixture of whiskey and tobacco—brushes against my cheek. Our gazes lock, and all of the air is sucked out of the room. The blue pools of fire reflect back at me with a void, a darkness I’ve only seen on one other man—my father.

The roughness of his jeans digs into my legs, reminding me that I’m in nothing but my underwear. “Where are my clothes? And where the fuck is my bracelet?”

A corner of his mouth lifts into a sneer. He looks down on me as if I’m nothing more than an annoyance—a nuisance to be toyed with at his leisure. Anger flares up inside of me. I swing my leg forward and attempt to kick him in his balls, but he blocks it with his free hand.

His fingers squeeze around my throat a fraction tighter, cutting off my air supply; a reminder that he’s in charge. “Time for the rules, Princess.” He spits out that nickname like it’s poison on his tongue. “Anything you want, you have to earn. Misbehave and you will be punished. And make no mistake, I can take anything I want from you. You don’t eat, sleep, or even breathe without my say so.”

I lose all sanity. It’s the only explanation as to why I spit in his face. His jaw clenches, but that’s the only sign I’m given that he’s affected by this. He drags his hand across his cheek to wipe it away. Never breaking eye contact, he sucks my saliva from his tattooed fingers. My eyes linger on the ink that disappears inside his mouth as his cheeks hollow out from the suction.

“That was your one and only free pass. I own you now.” His thumb traces along the side of my neck, over my racing pulse, as his hand clamps down even harder. The pressure increases until my vision starts to fade into a cloud of black.

Panic takes over and I fight back with everything I have. My nails dig into the exposed skin of his chest, but my efforts are in vain. He’s too strong.

His face leans in until I can feel the tiny hairs on his cheek scraping against mine. “Remember that.” He loosens his grip but doesn’t release me. His body stays snugly pressed up against mine.

I suck in a gust of air so deep my lungs burn, but I never break eye contact. “My father will come for me.”

He flinches at the mention of my father. It’s a slight one, but it’s there nonetheless. He releases me from his grasp and my feet slam down against the floor so hard that I have to brace my hands against the wall to keep from falling over. He steps away, putting some much needed distance between us.

“I’m counting on it.” His eyes do one last assessing glance over me before he turns and walks away.

I’m braced against the wall, rubbing at my aching throat and fighting the panic that wants to overtake me. I’ve woken up in a living nightmare.

The slamming of the door knocks me out of my shock. I run toward it, but I’m too late. The deadbolt clicks from the outside, locking me back in my cage.

I pound against the door until my knuckles crack and bleed. Splinters cover my skin, but I keep at it until I lose my voice. The need to escape is greater than the pain ricocheting up my arm. It’s just too bad that my efforts are in vain. He never comes back. No one does. I’m forgotten, left here all alone to suffer an unknown fate.

My legs buckle from the exertion. I slide down the door onto the floor and hug my knees tightly to my chest. Tears spill down my dirty cheeks, over my knees. It’s finally happened. The sins of my father have fallen on to me.

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