Page 95 of Cruel Vows

With each word, he adds a letter to the name on her back. Rinaldo is half-spelled, and Ellie looks like she is on the verge of passing out along with Aiden.

The door to the room opens and a stream of men come in, taking the weapons that hang on the wall and leaving with them.

Once all the weapons are pulled from the room, Noah nods to Jace.

Jace takes the knife and cuts the rope from Aiden and Ellie.

Aiden’s body tips forward and Ellie flies out of her chair to catch him before his head bounces off the ground. She cradles him close and helps him lower to the ground, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Noah heads for the door, Jace trailing behind him. “Don’t bother trying to escape. Your time is coming, Sean, and by the next time I see you, you better be ready to cooperate.”

Another man steps into the room before the door closes, slamming shut, the heavy thud of a lock twisting in place like a lead weight dragging me to the bottom of the ocean.

I take a deep breath and look over at Ellie. “Can you untie me?”

She nods, her bottom lip quivering as she gets to her feet.

Each step she takes is met with a limp, and there’s something about the way she holds herself that makes me think Noah did more to her before he brought her back to me.

Ellie’s fingers shake as she works at the knot, tugging it loose and letting the rope fall to the ground.

The moment I’m free, I pull her into a tight hug.

She loops her arms around my waist, holding on as her tears soak my shirt. “We have to figure out how to get out of here. I don’t think Aiden is going to survive another beating.”

I glance over the top of her head at Aiden, knowing that she’s right.

Though I don’t know how long Noah had Aiden for, he seems to have done quite the number on Aiden in that time.

With a staggering breath, Ellie pulls away from me and kneels down on the ground beside Aiden, smoothing his hair away from his face to get a better look at the damage.

“We’re going to get through this,” I say as I crouch down beside her, wishing that I could take away her pain. “He’s going to pay for every mark he’s put on both of you.”

Ellie nods, her jaw tight. “I know.”

I don’t know when I’m going to have the chance to kill Noah, but I do know he’s going to die at my hands.

Although, that might be harder to do if he starts to beat me down next.

Ellie’s shoulders slump forward as she looks around. There are a few rags that have been left near the sink, but none of the medical supplies she would need to patch Aiden up.

She gets to her feet and grabs the rags anyway, wetting them while I stay beside him.

The door to the room creaks open and Jace steps in, crossing the room to me with two other men flanking him. Jace heads straight past me to Ellie, taking her by the hair and slamming her against the wall.

Her eyes roll to the back of her head, her body crumpling on the ground as I charge him.

The other two are ready, restraining me before I have a chance to lay a finger on Jace.

I’m dragged from the room, blood boiling as Jace follows. “You’re all going to fucking die for this.”

These bastards could kill her without a second thought.

My heart jumps into my throat, choking me as blood trickles down the side of her face.

Please let her survive this.

27

---