Page 25 of Deviant

“You were smart to bring her here. She obviously needs help, and Alex could use a friend. Plus, she’s had some experience with victims.”

“Right,” he said with a nod. “Her stint at Sanctuary.”

Back when I was “dead.” Maybe reminding Alex of that time wasn’t such a good idea even if it would help someone else. But damn, if anyone could relate to a victim of sexual slavery, it was Alex.

My previous memory-loss-self would point out how Alex was still a victim, this time by my own hand. And that man would probably back down, set her free. Break her heart all over again for her own good. But the man standing in this kitchen, talking about such horrors as if they were the norm, accepted that she was born to be owned.

She was fuckingmine.

Right or wrong, I’d do with her as I saw fit.

And right or wrong, she’d get off on it.

Like this morning. After shoving her under water and scaring the ever-loving fuck out of her, she’d still been desperate to fuck me into next Sunday. And I’d let her. Not only let her, but submitted to it because I hadn’t had a choice. The little vixen had me wrapped, and I wasn’t sure she realized it.

Or maybe she did.

A door in the hallway opened, followed by the soft pad of Alex’s footsteps. I recognized them before I saw her enter the living room. The look on her face gave me pause.

“What’s wrong?”

“She’s…” Alex tilted her head toward the bedroom. “She’s on the floor, naked.”

Jax cursed under his breath. “I’ll take care of it.” He left the kitchen, and I followed, instructing Alex to keep watch over the food on the stovetop. She wanted to argue with me, but one hard look sent her into motion.

Jax pushed the door to his bedroom open, and I averted my eyes to the naked girl kneeling on the floor.

“Get up.” He strode to her, and from my periphery, I saw her jump to her feet.

“Yes, Master.”

“I’m not your goddamn master. We’ve talked about this.”

She flinched at his harsh tone. I entered the room, no longer caring about giving her privacy, and settled a hand on Jax’s shoulder.

“Let me bring Alex back in. Maybe she can talk to her.”

Jax was too frustrated to get through to Angel. The girl was obviously suffering some unspeakable torment. If it were Alex experiencing a mental break, I’d know how to handle her.

But this girl was a total stranger.

For the first time since Jax arrived with his tagalong in tow, I wondered if he were in over his head.

“Yeah,” he finally said, letting out a breath. “Maybe they can go for a walk or something after lunch.”

I didn’t like that idea, but deep down I knew I couldn’t keep Alex within sight for the rest of our lives. Eventually, she would need some freedom. And I’d have to find a way to give it to her without having a panic attack at the thought of all the fucking things that could happen to her.

This cabin was a transitional phase for both of us. A more permanent place than the cities we’d hopped through for the last few months, and not as remote as where we’d settled in to camp, just the two of us.

It was also closer tohome.

Home was a scary fucking place.

Home was too damn close to her father.

The thought of letting her go into town for work or school or whatever she might want to do after we got our lives back threatened to squeeze the air from my lungs. Sweat bathed my palms, and I had to concentrate hard to slow my breathing.

Alex would have zero fucking freedom until I knew for certain that her father posed no danger. And as for Zach…he was still a festering question mark. Jax and I had more than his stowaway to discuss.

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