Page 27 of Vendetta

“We might have thrown her around a little.” The blond guy joked, seemingly proud of himself. Cashton’s expression remained impassive, not revealing any emotion as he remained silent.

“What do you say we take her out to play?” Blondie asked, a cruel smile widening on his face as he looked towards Cashton. Cashton’s eyes never left mine, and I could only imagine he was reveling in the fear that must have passed across my gaze at those words. I silently pleaded with him, praying that he wasn’t truly evil enough to let them do anything to me.

It was impossible to read what was going on in his mind, his eyes cold and expressionless. He wouldn’t seriously let them fuck with me, right? I mean, I know that he hated me and all, but he had to have limits on what he would allow. And if not for me, for the sake of his friendship with Olivia.

“Maybe later.” He finally answered, standing up and making his way over to the double-door fridge and grabbing a bottle of Dos Equis before taking a swig. Maybe later? So hewasn’t in my corner after all. I was well and truly fucked. The blond guy stayed a moment longer, taunting me through the bars like I was some caged animal.

“Connor.” Cashton demanded, calling off blondie like he was his dog. Connor re-joined the group in the kitchen, seeming to whisper something to the dark-haired male who I had overheard being called Levi, both of them shooting a glance back over to me. A chill went down my spine, goosebumps spreading across my arms. For the first time all night, I felt safer behind these bars. Anything to keep me away from them.

They kept drinking for what seemed like the next hour, the girls both using any opportunity to get their hands all over Cashton. I don’t know why it made my stomach churn, but something about it made the blood boil inside of it. He was the last person I should crave any attention from, but there was something inside of me that had shifted the night at the lake. Or maybe I could just blame it on his arrogance as he sat out there, probably feeling like a god as I sat in the corner like a kid in timeout. He didn’t spare me a single glance, not leaving his spot leaned back against the counter the entire time.

The only sliver of attention I had gotten from Cashton was when he had come to unlock my crate, letting the girls escort me to the bathroom before locking me back in and shoving the key back into his hoodie pocket. Natalia and Jasmine, I had gathered, thankfully didn’t seem too bad. I wouldn’t call them nice by any means, but they also didn’t treat me like absolute dog shit either. They were excited about the successful abduction though, that much was clear.

Something they were cooking smelled delicious, my rumbling stomach reminding me that I had skipped lunch. As if overhearing the sound, Levi shot his gaze my way.

“Oh, I’m sorry sweetheart, we completely forgot to offer you some. The rules do state that we need to feed you, after all. Let me whip something up for ya.” He mocked, the group breaking out into chuckles with the exception of Cashton who looked unimpressed. “Let’s see, I’m sure Cashton has something around here that I could make you.” He started to look through cabinets until he found what he was looking for.

So, this was Cashton’s place then. I didn’t know he owned a penthouse in the city, but I guess I didn’t know much about him in the first place.

I watched as Levi snagged a bag of ramen noodles, boiling them for me while chattering with the rest of the group, alcohol still flowing freely and the group getting louder. With the exception of Cashton, of course, though he did still nurse his drink and join into conversation every once in a while.

I closed my eyes, starting to drift off until I heard the rattle of my cage door and looked up to find Levi placing my dinner in front of me. He locked the crate door back in place before throwing the key back to Cashton.

The entire group broke out into laughter, everybody besides Cashton looking amused as I stared down at the ramen noodles. They had served them to me in a fucking dog bowl. Tears pricked at the back of my eyes and I had to physically force my lips together to keep them from quivering.

This was the most mortified that I had ever felt in my entire life. I wanted to throw up. And to top it all off, they hadn’t even given me any damn utensils, probably hoping to watch meattempt to eat it with my hands. I curled my legs tighter into me, wrapping my arms around myself.

“You guys are assholes.” I bit out, hoping that they couldn’t hear the tremble in my voice. I felt completely and utterly defeated as I laid my forehead down on my knees, squeezing my eyes shut to keep the tears from falling.

Fuck them.

I leaned against the side of the crate touching the wall, still curled into myself as I forced my mind to tune out their voices, drifted off to sleep as I tried to keep myself from crumbling.

CHAPTER 14

CASHTON

I whipped my Chevelle into the parking lot before shutting it off and heading into the downtown office of my step-father’s architecture firm. This is where I had been earlier when I had gotten the notification that Landry had sent out some texts, having checked my phone to see that she had asked two of her teammates to accompany her to the shelter. Both of them had replied, not that she knew though.

Kaptan had been able to hack into her phone, using some software to alert him if she received any texts. He could then approve or decline if he wanted her to receive them. He had also been the one to hack into whatever programs or servers that the Gamemakers used to make sure that my team received Landry’s team as our target.

I was beginning to understand Landry well enough to know that one way or another, she would be going to the shelter. She loved swooping in to save the day.

I had already been in the city, sending the rest of the team after her since they were closer to campus and the shelter, though I wish I had been there to oversee the abduction myself.

My blood had gone cold as I had taken in the shape she was in, the scrapes down her arms and legs along with the angry red marks around her wrists. I had told them to scare her, not fucking hurt her. I wasn’t a monster. The abduction would have been traumatizing enough for her.

The dog crate had been my idea though, I had to admit. I had reveled in the thought of her quaking as I kept her caged in my penthouse like a little pet that I could use at my disposal. The image of her sitting there flashed through my mind, those baby blues shooting straight daggers at me as she sat in nothing but those tiny sleep shorts and see-through tank top that left nothing to the imagination. My dick hardened instantaneously.

The way her golden hair cascaded down her bare shoulders, all messed up from the scuffle, and those long tan legs that were begging me to run my hands up the smooth skin. The fact that I knew she was still up there in her cage right now sent a shock of excitement through me.

I shook the image out of my mind, reminding myself why I had left the penthouse in the first place. I had been reading through a new proposal earlier that my dad had sent to review for the opera house plans. I had been halfway through reading it when I had gotten the notification that the penthouse elevator was being used, letting me know that the team had made it there.

My stepfather had made me a partner in the firm last year as a reward for all of my years of putting in the work. My mom had married David Astor when I was in middle school, and I had eventually chosen to adopt his name for myself since hehad been more of a father to me than my real dad had ever been. Considering the fact that I had never met my biological father, it hadn’t taken much for David to surpass him as father of the year.

I liked David, though. He had treated my sister and I as his own, and it was evident how much he genuinely loved my mother. She deserved her happy ending, given the cards she had been dealt early in life.

David had done everything he could to make sure we had all felt at home from that very first day, and I can still remember the tears in his eyes when I had turned twelve and asked him if I could start calling him dad instead of David.

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