Page 193 of Savage Brothers MC: Tennessee Chapter

“You don’t get a choice in this, Rory,” he growls.

He grabs me by the hair and pulls me to the table, slamming my face down into the glass.I can hear Ryan in the background, but his voice sounds so far away.My head is cloudy, I’m more than just dazed and I can’t seem to clear it.I hear the ripping sound of my dress.Then, I feel the harsh leather burning against my back, the blows so forceful my body jerks with each hit.I can feel the metal of the buckle lacerate into my skin.I close my eyes and pray it’s over soon.I pray for protection over my child.I pray that Ryan has somehow managed to hide his face.

I just pray.

Each hit is more painful than the last, each hit makes me lose touch with reality a little more.I almost feel like I could float off in a shroud of misery and pain.I don’t fight it.I don’t want to stop it.It’s better to be out of my head and I embrace that.I let it happen.

Then, the hits stop…

I sink to the floor, my legs not strong enough to hold me.I’m still lost somewhere in the haze of pain and that was my mistake, because that’s when King kicks me.

Not once.

Not twice.

Repeatedly.

I wrap my arms around my stomach and curl, but inside… inside I know…

It’s much too late.

Chapter8

Rory

“Rory!Wake up!You have to wake up!”

Ryan’s voice pulls me out of the fog.I scrunch my face as the pain begins to register.My head feels so heavy it hurts to move it.Carefully I open my eyes, the bright light almost blinding.Pain thrusts behind my eyes like a sharp slash of a blade.I close them again, just by reflex.I take a breath—which hurts just as bad—and then finally open them.Everything around me is kind of blurry.I can’t seem to focus.Ryan cries out in relief as I carefully pull my body up…from the floor.

I catch him and I can’t stop the whimper of pain his body colliding with mine causes.I wrap my arms around him and I don’t think Ryan understands that he caused me pain, his relief that I’m awake so tangible that I can feel it surround me.

“I’m okay,” I tell him, mostly lying, but willing to do anything to help him calm down.

“You wouldn’t wake up.I was so scared.”

“I’m okay now, Ryan.Are you okay?King didn’t hurt you, did he?”I ask, worried my brother would have done something while I was out of it.

“No.He just threw me into the room with you.He hurt you bad, Rory,” he tells me, something I already knew, but I wish Ryan hadn’t seen it.

“I’m okay,” I tell him again—lying.

“But your back,” he argues.

“Honey, I’m okay,” I tell him, cupping the side of his face and trying to look at him, despite my vision still being blurry.My mouth is dry too.I look around the room and even that slight movement causes my body to scream in protest.

“Are you sure?”Ryan asks, his voice sounding almost hopeful instead of panicked.

“I’m sure,” I lie—again.“How long was I out?”

“All night and then today too.I was scared.I put a blanket over you,” Ryan answers, barely taking a breath between each sentence.

“Thank you,” I whisper, swallowing.“I’ll see if I can take a shower and get dressed.We’ll try and get us something to eat.Have you had anything?”

“No… but the door is locked,” he whispers.

“Maybe it will be unlocked by the time I get out of the shower.I don’t want to leave you alone.Do you think you could sit on the floor in the bathroom until I’m out?”I ask him.I will be hidden from view in the shower, not that he could see through the frosted glass really.I don’t want to leave him out of my reach…just in case.

“Yeah,” he whispers.

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