Page 68 of Her Dark Obsession

Passing the bar, I scoop up a bottle of Jameson, remove the cap, and take a huge swig of the amber liquid. I was going to go and join my father’s meeting, but maybe finding somewhere to be alone with this bottle would be better.

“It won’t help, you know.”

I turn at the sound of my uncle’s voice. “It might,” I say, taking another swig.

“If I thought for a second it would, I’d be joining you,” he grunts.

Guilt eats at me. He just lost his son because of me and he doesn’t even know it. “You’re the future of this, Connor. Becoming a raging alcoholic isn’t in the cards for you.” He takes the bottle from my hands.

I don’t say anything. Because, well, what the fuck can I say? Nothing is going to make a difference right now.

“We have plans to hit them tonight. I expect you to be there. For your cousin,” he tells me.

“I’ll be there,” I agree. “What’s the plan exactly?”

“The Albanians had a royal wedding today, one of the boss’s daughters. We’re going to make sure she has a honeymoon she’ll never forget. Or survive,” he says.

And this is exactly why I didn’t give up Aurora. As much as I hate her right now, I know I couldn’t stand back and watch her be tortured and killed. Is it fair to let an innocent woman take the brunt of my family’s wrath?

No, but if it’s between a stranger and Aurora, well, just like my last name, it’s not much of a choice.

She’s going to haunt me forever. I’m never going to be free of the hold she has on me. Hate and love… it’s a fucking fine line.

“Stay close,” my father tells me.

I look at him. He has never shown concern for my welfare, and that wholestay closething is an oddly concerning thing for him to say. “Okay?” I question.

“We just lost one kid, Connor. I do not want to be burying another.”

“Don’t worry, Da. I’m not going anywhere,” I reply with a smirk.

My stomach is rolling, and it’s taking everything in me not to fucking throw up right now. We make our way into the hotel, and a minute later, we’re pushing our way inside the honeymoon suite. The naked couple in bed blissfully unaware of the horrors they’re about to encounter.

If I were a better person, I’d call this off, tell my family I made a mistake. That it wasn’t the Albanians who killed Kenny…

Her face pops into my mind. Aurora. If I don’t give them someone to target, someone to blame, they won’t stop looking until they find the person responsible. And I know they will. They’ll find her, and it’ll be Aurora being grabbed. It’ll beherscreams in my ears.

“I’m going to fucking kill you,” the guy two of my father’s soldiers just dragged out of bed yells.

“That will be a bit hard, lad, considering you won’t be alive too much longer,” my father says.

“What the fuck do you want? Don’t touch her.” The poor guy focuses on his new bride, who is being tied down, spread-eagle on the bed, completely naked. Tears fall down the side of her face, and my uncle shoves a piece of cloth in her mouth, muting her cries for help.

“You took something from me. Well, your family did. And you are going to be the one to pay for it. First…” My uncle stands from the bed. He starts undoing his belt, slowly dragging it out of the loops of his trousers. “I’m going to make you watch as I take the thing you love most in the world.” He then brings the leather belt down onto the woman’s stomach, and screams fill the room. Her body writhes on the mattress but there is nowhere for her to go.

Everything blurs. Her face is replaced with Aurora’s, her body one I know so well. And I watch as the belt rains down on her, hitting her thighs, her arms, her breasts.

Closing my eyes, I inhale.It’s not Aurora. It’s not her.

When I open them again, I steel my expression and force myself to watch. This is my fucking fault too. There is no one to blame for these people enduring my family’s cruelty but myself.

“Stop! I’ll give you whatever you want. Just stop,” the guy cries out.

My uncle laughs. “There isn’t anything you have that we want.”

My father walks behind the man, grabbing hold of his hair and forcing his face up. “Watch… The fun part’s about to happen,” he says and then nods towards one of his soldiers. “You first.”

The sick bastard smiles like he just won a prize. “Thanks, boss,” he says, unbuttoning his pants. My gaze goes from the guyin the chair to the woman in the bed. I try to think about what I would do if I were in this situation.

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