Page 56 of Cruel Vows

“And then?” He stops in front of me, his foot pressing down over mine. He’s not pressing hard enough to break anything, but I’m starting to lose the feeling in my foot from the compression.

At least part of me will be numb when he continues with whatever the hell this sick torture is.

“And then when he found out that we were getting married, he said that he was going to kill Sean. They got into a bad fight. I had to beg him not to kill Sean. He told me that if I married him, he wouldn’t speak to either of us again.”

The man makes a noise in the back of his throat.

I can’t tell if he believes me or not, but it’s the story that’s been told to everyone in our lives.

Even the people who were at the wedding were fed that story.

I watch him as he heads to the terrace doors, looking out over the yard.

The way his body stiffens makes me think that somebody is out there. Now would be the time to scream, but I haven’t forgotten about the gun tucked into his waistband.

He could kill me before anyone could get up here to save me.

With his attention off me, I keep writhing against the ropes, but they still don’t seem to be getting looser, even with the blood they’re starting to absorb from cutting through my skin.

He turns back to me. “They have no clue that I’m up here with you.”

“I know.”

His chuckle sends another shiver down my spine. “Your husband really must not care that much for you if he’s away in the middle of the night and doesn’t have security stationed in the house for you.”

“I don’t see why you care about Sean in the first place. You’re here for me, aren’t you?”

He shrugs, placing the edge of the knife against my throat, pushing against the vein until I start to feel lightheaded. Stars are just starting to dance across my vision when he pulls the knife away.

The man keeps his face away from me as he leans down, drawing anotherXon my thigh. “I think it’s interesting that you would start a fight with your brother when your family is on the verge of a war.”

He places anotherXon my other thigh before dragging the knife up my arm. He nicks the rope, but it’s nowhere near enough to cut through them.

When his leather-covered fingers grip my shoulder, holding me in place, bile rises in my throat.

“Who the hell do you think you’re going to save?” he asks as the knife slips beneath the thin straps of my camisole, cutting them free.

“You’re going to die for this.”

He laughs, the tip of the knife digging so deep into my shoulder that I can’t help but yelp with pain. “You’re going to be branded for the rest of your life, Ellie. These cuts aren’t going to go away like the others. You’re going to wear Noah’s initials for the rest of your damn life.”

The knife drags into my skin, carvingNRinto my skin.

My head spins, the stars back in my vision. I strain, trying to get away from the knife, but he keeps me there, carving the letters a second time.

The blood runs down my back, sticky and hot.

Tears roll down my cheeks as I bite down so hard against the pain that I’m sure I’m going to break a tooth.

It’s only when he steps away that I take a ragged breath, but this is a kind of pain I haven’t experienced in years.

I barely register what he’s doing as he cuts away the ropes.

He takes my chin in his hand. “Tell your husband that Noah is going to kill him too.”

The man leaves as I slump from the chair to the floor. The pain in my shoulder feels like fire coursing through my body as I drag myself to the bathroom.

As I slump against the cool tub, reaching for a towel to dab at the blood, I know that there is no point in trying to find my phone to call Sean.

---