Page 40 of Sinful Embers

He moves around behind me, and he forces my legs apart. I feel hard clamps lock my legs in place. The gold hard metal table pushes painfully into my belly and my hips.

My belly! My baby!

“Please, you’re hurting me,”

“Karma’s a bitch!” He laughs behind me and again it doesn’t sound familiar to me. “You hurt them and now it’s your turn to hurt and pay for what you’ve done.”

I try to turn my head, but the chin rest keeps me from doing it.

"No," I shake my head frantically. "No, it wasn’t me. I didn’t—"

No. No, no, no. This can’t be happening. Radomir said he’d keep me safe.

I struggle, my breathing ragged.

Radomir’s voice is distant, echoing around me like a cruel specter. "This is what we do to liars, thieves, and murderers in my world who kill one of our own."

Terror surges through me like a wildfire.

"No," I rasp, my throat raw. While my mind can’t grasp what he’s talking about it’s like my subconscious does as I’m racked with guilt and drowning in confusion at the same time. "Please—I didn’t—it wasn’t like you think—" I’m not sure what I’m saying or why I’m saying them, but it feels right.

"Shut up, you fucking lying, murdering whore," he snaps. He runs his hand down my naked spine, over my buttocks and rubs his pants covered cock against my exposed crack. He runs his fingers over my clit. "You’re sopping wet.” He leans over my back. “Did you enjoy it? Did it make you feel good?"

"No," I sob. "No, please, I didn’t mean to hurt anyone. I didn’t know. I swear to God, I didn’t know!"

"It’s too late for you," his voice is final. "The blood has been spilled."

Panic claws up my throat.

"I didn’t—" My voice is hoarse, shaking. "What if I’m having your baby?"

Silence.

Then—his laughter.

Cold. Mocking.

"I’ll keep the baby," he sneers. "But you’ll meet the same fate as my father, my uncle… and your mother."

"She was never my mother!" I scream, my entire body trembling. Images of a knife slicing down my top and yanking my shirt open flashes through me. I instantly know I was in danger. "She was going to hurt me. They were all going to hurt me!"

Vivienne’s voice slithers through the darkness and her face moves down to see me. "You’re still part of me, Leigh. You can never escape it. You hurt them. It was your fault. You shouldn’t have stolen from me."

"No," I whisper, but the word feels meaningless.

"Tell the truth, Leigh," Radomir’s voice commands. "You killed them."

A shadow looms in front of me.

A woman.

Judy.

Her face is pale, her expression empty, but her eyes—her eyes burn with betrayal.

"I was hurt because of you," she says, her voice eerily calm. "Tied to the table like you are now. Raped, beaten, brutalized. Because of you."

Tears choke my throat. "Judy, no. I didn’t know. I swear, I didn’t know."

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