Page 142 of Redeemed

“C’mon, Haven,” Lucas says. He’s practically grinning. “Make him hurt. Make him fucking cry.”

I expect Colton to make some remark, but he doesn’t. Xander would probably kill him if he did. Considering these three are best friends, there’s an odd amount of animosity between them.

Xander nudges me forward. “Go on.”

With a deep breath, I do it again, only moving my arm this time. There’s still enough force behind it to make the muscles in Colton’s back tense. When I go again, he grunts.

I wonder if Colton has ever been on this side of things, or if he’s always the one inflicting the pain. With a room so full of implements to hurt, I’m not sure. Maybe he likes both? Although, based on his reactions, I’m not so sure. I don’t think he’s enjoying this.

After a few more strikes, I move to the backs of Colton’s thighs. I want to see his skin turn bright red the way mine did. My ass and legs still burn from the sting, and I want Colton to feel it just as much as I do.

“That’s it, angel,” he says tightly. “Take it all out on me. Punish me.”

So I do. I go until some of the anguish squeezing my heart bleeds out of me, until Colton’s skin is an angry, satisfying red. When I’m done, I throw the flogger to the ground.

My heart is beating rapidly and I’m breathing hard, but I’m not crying anymore. Hurting Colton the way he hurt me brought some of my strength back. I know I’m still trapped, but I don’t feel so helpless.

“You did good.” Xander picks up the flogger and kisses me on the cheek. “Proud of you.”

“You’re not allowed to try to get back at her for this,” Lucas tells Colton harshly.

“He knows,” Xander says. “I made sure of it.”

Lucas is still glaring at Colton, but at that, the corner of his mouth tips up in a cruel smile. “Good. I hope you learned your lesson.”

“Trust me,” Colton says as Xander undoes his restraints. His gaze meets mine, and instead of the hardness I was expecting, his green eyes hold a morsel of remorse. “I did.”

Xander

NoneofustouchHaven for the rest of the day. Her panic attack waned while she was flogging Colton, and it looks like she’s doing better. I hope Aurora’s meds are working, but even more than that, I hope getting payback on Colton helped her.

He’s one of my best friends. I’ll stick with him until the day I die. But god, sometimes, I want to kill him.

After dinner, Haven disappears, and we let her. Giving her space has proven to be difficult, but we’ve all agreed it’s what she needs. Things are going to have to change—alotof things.

Colton and Lucas volunteer to do cleanup, so I head upstairs and shower. Between classes and sitting in on as much of Luc’s football practice as I could, I’m tired.

I close my eyes as the hot water falls onto my back. I’m worried. Not just about Haven, but about Lucas, too. After watching his practices for years, I’ve learned a lot about the team’s coach—mostly that he’s an asshole. He reminds me a lot of Lucas’s dad. Always angry and always looking to take it out on someone.

Thatsomeoneis often Lucas. I don’t think the coach has singled him out, but Idothink Lucas is purposefully trying to take the brunt of the abuse. It’s what he did for Rora growing up. For him, it’s not only what he thinks he’s supposed to do, but it’s also habit.

And Colt… well, I’m worried about him, too. Things have been hard lately. We’ve been working ourselves to death trying to get enough proof that Mark is unfit to lead the Glass Rooks. Colton is stressed, and I’m worried he was taking that out on Haven, whether subconsciously or not.

If that’s the case—if he hurt Haven because he needed to blow off some steam—then Lucas is going to lose his shit. Hell, I will, too, and I’ll find some way to protect Haven without having her anywhere near Colton.

I don’t want to think it’s the case. Colton has a lot of control over his emotions. But I’ve watched as things have escalated between him and his father over the years. They’re constantly at odds, and now that Colton is older, I think Mark is beginning to see him as a threat.

With a tired sigh, I place both hands on the shower wall and drop my head. Colton wants to take Mark’s place sooner than later, regardless of what his father wants. The plan is to wait until after graduation to do anything drastic.

Now that we have Haven, I’m not sure what will happen. There’s a possibility she’ll have to stay with us beyond the school year. It depends on how long that guy sticks around for. And if that’s the case, things could get messy.

I don’t want Haven getting caught up in anything to do with the Rooks, especially if a civil war breaks out. It’s a dangerous organization, and Mark is a dangerous man. Worse than that, he’s never liked Haven.

We need to be careful.

I turn the shower off and grab a towel. Leave it to me to think myself into a downspiral of worry in the fifteen minutes I’ve had alone today.

When I step out of my room, I’m turning to head for the stairs when I catch something out of the corner of my eye. Haven is at the opposite end of the hallway, sitting on a window seat and staring out into the forest behind Colt’s house.

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