Page 46 of Risk

The woman on the floor next to me begins to sob, and I will her to be quiet, but she doesn’t. Sean marches towards her, grabbing a fistful of her hair in his hand and yanking her head back at an awkward angle. She lets out a pained cry, her arms lurch forward as she tries to stay on her knees. Sean’s eyes lift to meet mine as he pulls her head back further, forcing her back to bow.

“This pitiful creature here is Tammy, and she’s been kind enough to warm my bed while you’ve been gone.” I don’t miss the spark of arousal his words bring to his eyes, or the wistful hope of even a small amount of jealousy from me. I mask my emotions as best I can, and the only thing I feel for Tammy is pity. When he doesn’t see what he was hoping for, his other hand wraps round Tammy’s slender neck. He begins to squeeze as she begs him to stop, but if anything, it just makes him squeeze harder. I learnt the hard way that begging for mercy does nothing but bring more pain to you and more pleasure to Sean.

I can’t believe that I ever loved this man. Sean’s not a man. He’s worse than the devil himself.

I hear groaning over to the left of me, turning my head a fraction, I see Russ. His clothes are torn and dishevelled, hair matted with blood from a gash on his head, and he appears to have a dog bite to his leg. I cast my eyes over the rest of the room, but quickly turn back to Sean as Tammy lets out a wailing cry.

He’s let go of her hair but is still holding her throat, and he has torn open her dress revealing her nakedness to the room. Tammy’s body is almost completely covered in bruises and among them are small scars and recent slashes to her skin that still weep blood. Sean leans forward whispering in Tammy’s ear, and her eyes widen in fear and shock at whatever he said.

Not able to watch anymore I look away, scanning the faces in the room. Some of the men I recognise, but a few I’ve never seen before. Standing at the back of room, arms folded and leaning back against the wall is Lewis’ brother, Lincoln, his signature toothpick hanging from the corner of his mouth. His eyes primed on me and burning with pure hatred.

A shiver of fear cascades down my back at what he will do to me if Sean allows him to get his hands on me. Lincoln will be out for my blood in vengeance of his brother’s death. He pulls the toothpick free from his mouth then points it directly at me in a clear threat. Dropping my gaze from him, I see Sean throwing Tammy to the floor with a kick to the ribs before walking back to me.

Sean must have removed his belt at some point, and now folded in half, it hangs from his fingers as he approaches. Taking the other end in his hand he pulls sharply, snapping the two halves together and causing a crack to splinter the air.

Sean walks around me before stopping at my back, and I can feel his breath on my neck as he speaks.

“Russ, come forward,” he calls out, and I watch Russ as he awkwardly climbs to his feet before stepping forward a few paces. “Tell me, Russ, how many times has Kasey allowed herself to be fucked by Ryder fucking Hawkins? The fucking thorn in my side for so pissing long.” He spits Ryder’s name, and a frown creases my brow at Sean’s barb at Ryder being a thorn in his side. What the hell does he mean by that?

“I’ve lost count, boss,” Russ replies, chuckling while his eyes remain on me. He licks his lips, and the bulge, in what’s left of his trousers, is clear.

“That many you can’t even remember, wow. That’s impressive work for only a few weeks, hey, Kasey?” A hand trails up my back, gripping my neck. “You made me wait longer than you’ve known that cunt Hawkins.” The whoosh of the belt as it flies through the air is the only warning I get before it strikes the back of my legs. My body lurches forward, and my legs lift from the ground putting pressure on my shoulders, that causes more pain to ripple through me. I scream internally, grinding my teeth together to keep from letting it break free. “But no matter, I’ve heard he has a taste for whores, seen it myself. Does he know you’re a whore, Kasey?” He strikes me again with the belt, in the same fucking place, and it burns. Oh, my god, it burns. Sweat beads on the back of my neck as I try to control the pain. “Answer me, cunt!” he roars, striking me a third time.

“I’m not a whore,” I grit out between panting breaths.

“Wrong. Fucking. Answer.” Each word is punctuated with another strike, this time to my back. Sean has released my neck, and with each hit my back arches, pulling at my wrists and shoulders. “You are a whore. You’re my whore and guess what?” he whispers in my ear. “He knows all about it.” He roars with laughter as he lands another blow to my back.

My heart sinks. Sean must be lying because there’s no way Ryder knows. I scramble to understand how that could be true as my body and brain drown in pain from Sean’s blows. That last strike split the skin as blood begins to run down my back beneath my dress, and as if he knows, Sean tears the back of my dress open. I hear him hum out his satisfaction at his work, and the tiny beads of sweat that formed on my neck, roll down my back. As they reach the welts in my skin, mixing with the blood there, they sting like a bitch.

“What’s the matter, Kasey, don’t you believe me?” he sings, loving what he’s doing to me. “Lincoln, would you do the honours, please.”

Raising my head, I watch Lincoln fiddle with a phone as he walks closer to me. Then Ryder’s voice fills the room.

“Cam’s broken, Sully, she’s a fucking whore. You’ve seen her file. Fuck, she’s just a job.”

Thirty-Four

Camryn

The pain on my back fades to nothingness as Ryder’s words play out. Time seems to standstill, and his words are all I can hear as the room and everyone in it continue around me in slow motion. I can hear laughter, but it sounds far away.

I drop my head to my chest as the first tear begins to fall, and I curse myself for opening my heart to another man.

My body becomes limp, and I don’t even flinch as Sean takes up lashing my back again. I’m numb. I’m broken.

Lincoln plays the recording on repeat, but I don’t need it. It’s etched into my brain.

Men begin to move around the room, and I can faintly hear screaming. A hand brushes up my arm, but I barely feel it, continuing its path to my shoulder. I think it’s Sean, but I don’t know. The hand moves to my breast, squeezing painfully as another hand trails up my thigh.

“Cam’s broken, Sully, she’s a fucking whore. You’ve seen her file. Fuck, she’s just a job.”

“Cam’s broken, Sully, she’s a fucking whore. You’ve seen her file. Fuck, she’s just a job.”

Over and over, Ryder’s voice fills the room, drowning out the laughter, the chatter, the screams and grunts and groans of pleasure. It would normally make me sick, but I don’t think anything can make me feel sicker than I already do. How could he?

I always knew that my past would stop any man from loving me. Sean was right all along, I’m nothing but a whore. He’ll make me his wife, only in name and on paper, then he’ll turn me into his incubator, and he won’t stop till I give him the heir he so desperately wants.

As Ryder’s words continue to play, I notice the slight pause between some of the words, and as I listen harder, I notice a small, barely audible click after some of the words too. It could be nothing but during my journalism degree we had a guy on the course that could edit recordings, and I remember him mentioning this as a sign of an edited recording. Poorly edited at that. If Sean has been listening into Ryder’s conversations, and he’s gone to these lengths, which I don’t doubt for a second knowing what I do about him now, then he must be worried.

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