Page 72 of Wicked Oath

“With all due respect, how are you calm?” he asks.

“I’m not,” I say. “I’m hurt and angry, but I need to find my wife. I can’t find her if I melt down.”

“Fair enough. I’ll keep you in the loop and come by as much as I can. Let me know if you find anything and we can work together, okay?”

“I am going to kill every single motherfucking person who puts their hands on my wife, starting with Sam and Grim.”

“Keep it clean or fully disposed and I can help,” he says. “Want any updates on Cheryl?”

“No,” I say. “Is Laney going to get into trouble for this?”

“No. Not worth it. She clearly set her up,” Ned remarks.

“Well… okay,” I sigh. “I don’t really know what to do with myself right now.”

“Just go home and get ahold of anyone who can connect you to Grim’s auctions,” Ned says.

“She has a tracker in her arm,” I say, snapping my head to Jude.

“I’ve been looking at it,” Jude says. “She must be somewhere that the signal is blocked. It is tracking the flashes, but… I’m only narrowed down to the west side of the city, which is wildly unhelpful.”

“Either way, you are not fully healed,” Chris says. “Let’s go home and work the internet. That’s where most of this is going to be.”

“Right,” I say. “Ned, I’m telling you right now…. I will find my wife and I don’t care who is involved. I’ll make sure she is safe and then I’m killing all of them.”

“I know you will, buddy,” he says. “I wish I had more answers for you.”

“Come on,” Jude says gently. I nod and look down at Cheryl for a moment. Satisfied when I confirm she isn’t breathing, I turn and go back to the truck. Jude automatically switches places when I go to the passenger door.

“I don’t know what to say right now,” Adam admits with a quiet sniffle. “We shouldn’t have left her alone.”

“I don’t even want to think about what’s happening to her right now,” Tony adds.

“She knew,” I say. “She knew something was wrong, and we left anyway.”

“Guys, torturing ourselves is not helpful. We need to focus on finding out where the auctions are. If she gets sold, we find out who bought her. When we find that out, we make a plan. She won’t be killed because of her connection with you. She’s worth too much. The woman we get back will be severely traumatized and I think this is going to be a long road, but we will get her back,” Jude says. “Just one step at a time. We focus on finding the auction.”

“One step at a time,” I repeat, staring out of the window. I’m trying so hard not to focus on the negativity, but I have this overwhelming feeling that tells me I will never see my wife again. There’s one thing I know for sure, I will never love anyone other than her. Delaney is my forever, and I won’t ever give up on her.

Chapter Eighteen

Delaney

By the time thevan stops, I’ve been violently raped so many times that I ended up just lying there and taking it. None of them were finishing at first, and they were just pass me around, taking turns violating me. Grim was the only one who hasn’t but I think that’s because whatever he is going to do is going to be awful. All of it fucking sucks, but I can just tell he will be the worst.

I was taken out of the van and moved inside and down a flight of stairs. Now I’m lying on a cot. My arms are still tied, and the hood is still over my head, but I’m giving up quicker than I wanted to. I wanted to fight the entire time, but I just don’t have the energy. I know that I’m screwed, and I am quickly reverting back to that person I was when I was with Logan. I know how to be subservient and how to keep my fucking mouth shut. That might come in handy and prevent me from getting hurt. I know in my heart that Talon will never give up, but this is a dreadfulfeeling. I had a metal bracelet on that they have since taken off. I guess they assume that is where the tracker is, but it’s not. I know I am too far for it to be accurate, but it gives me a small sliver of hope.

I hear chains rattle behind me against what sounds like a wooden door. I don’t move as it opens and I hear someone walk in. It’s just one person, so I assume it’s Grim. I am suddenly dragged off the cot and up to my feet before the hood is yanked off. I blink several times to clear up the haze and the room comes into focus. It appears that I am in the basement of some sort. Everything is concrete and the room looks to be like a sad den. I am off in a corner with the cot, but there is a couch and an old TV on the other side of the room. There’s a bathroom, and a table in the center of the room with chairs around it. What catches my eye is the metal chair bolted to the floor with restraints on it. Beside it is what looks to be a spanking bench with restraints. When I am turned around, I am met by a man who looks a lot like an older Fang.

“Hello, Delaney,” he says with a sickly sweet smile. When I don’t speak, he chuckles. “Oh, I know that smart mouth of yours has something to say.”

“No matter what happens to me, Talon is going to fucking kill you,” I seethe. “So have your fun. Make whatever money you can off of me, because it’s the last fucking thing you’ll ever do.”

“We’ll see,” he says simply. “I thought about keeping you here for myself instead of putting you in the auction, but then a few people found out that I have you and have shown interest. Did you know that your starting bid is three million dollars? Whoknew being married to the ruthless Hawk would net me so much money?”

“Spend it wisely,” I say with an attitude.

“We are going to make a little video, hmm?” he says as he grabs my arm and pulls be over to the couch. “It’s only fair that we show your husband just how well we are taking care of you.”

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