Page 12 of Pretty Vengeful Queen

And for what he’s stealing from me.

I haven’t seen Sienna again after that first day, and other than the neckless wonder who escorts me to and from the bathroom down the hall from this windowless hell, Austin is the only person I’ve seen since they brought me here.

He brings me paperwork to sign periodically, pressing a cocked gun to my temple while he stares at me with an even cockier grin, and it’s not just the fact that I’ve been signing over the fortune I inherited to my new “husband” that’s fed my hatred of the man. It’s the sick pleasure I can see he takes in how much power he has over me.

I’ve got no choice, though. Not if I still want to live… which I do. Bit by bit, Austin is forcing me to give him access to all of it. All I can do with my overflowing anger and the choking sense of helplessness that comes over me every time the door opens to reveal his gloating face is store it up inside and promise myself that I’ll use it later.

I won’t make it easy for him to “get rid” of me the way Sienna said. Not without a fight.

I look up as I hear the locks disengage. I’m not surprised to see it’s Neckless. Now that they’ve fed me, they usually give me a bathroom break.

I force myself to shove the last bite of the meat I’ve been toying with into my mouth before standing up, briefly letting myself fantasize about smashing the plate over his head. But then what? On my brief walks to and from the bathroom, I’ve seen far too many gang members hanging around—and heard the voices of even more—to think I’d have any chance of getting very far even if a dumb move like that actually did anything more than piss my guard off and give him an excuse to hurt me.

“Coming?” he asks gruffly. “’Cause if you’d rather piss in the corner and stink this place up, that’s on you, bitch.”

I don’t bother replying, and as soon as I get within arm’s reach of him, he grabs my arm and digs his fingers in, keeping me close as he turns and marches me down the hallway.

Out here, there are at least some windows I get to walk past. I can tell by the light outside that it’s probably sometime in the afternoon, closing in on evening. I’ve also been able to piece together the little glimpses I get of the world outside this fucking house, enough to realize that it’s not in any part of Halston that I’m familiar with.

It’s got to be another safe house he keeps hidden, like the one Maddoc saved Chloe from. Somewhere he plans on keeping me squirreled away while he works through all the legal bullshit to get my money transferred into his name.

It’s a straight shot from the room they’re keeping me in to the bathroom, but since we pass a few other rooms along the way, along with an open entry to what looks like the front of the house and a stairway just past the bathroom, I’ve done my best to make a mental map of the layout of the place. It may not be totally accurate, but at least I won’t be running completely blind if I ever get a chance to make a break for it.

We reach the bathroom, and Neckless follows me into the small room. It’s another windowless one, and they’ve taken out every single amenity other than the roll of toilet paper and a single, thin hand towel. There’s no way my guard is under orders to watch me like this. I’m not going to escape if I’m out of his sight for a few minutes while I pee.

No, the sick bastard does it—every single time—purely because he gets off on having power over me.

I’ve known plenty of bastards just like him and used most of them to pay our bills back when I was stripping at Club M. My skin should be thick enough that his lascivious stare doesn’t bother me, but the truth is, I hate it.

Being stuck here is wearing me down. I don’t want that to be true, but I can feel it.

What I can’t do—won’tdo—is show it.

I ignore him and do my business, quickly peeing and then washing my hands at the sink. I don’t flush. It’s a small rebellion, but it’s one tiny fuck-you that I have control over, so I take it.

As soon as my hands are dry, Neckless puts his clammy hands on me, meaty fingers splayed across my lower back as he starts to usher me back to my room. I don’t give him the satisfaction of reacting, but his touch makes my skin crawl, and when two more gang members exit one of the rooms near mine, turning toward us in the narrow hall, my heart starts to race with an anxiety I fight not to show.

For a split second, they look surprised to see me out of my room. Then their expressions quickly morph into leering sneers, and they saunter closer, blocking the hallway.

“I thought she wasn’t supposed to be out of her room,” one of the new guys says to Neckless, licking his lips as his eyes rake over me. “The boss know you’re having a little fun while he’s out, Tony?”

“Yeah, real fun,” my guard—Tony, apparently—says sarcastically. “All I’m allowed to do is take her to the bathroom and back.”

“Sounds risky,” says the lip licker, staring down at me. “You never know what she might cook up in there. You sure she hasn’t snuck anything past you?”

“I watch her,” Tony grunts, fisting his hand in the back of my shirt and yanking me back against his ’roided up chest like he’s trying to prove that he can keep me from making a break for it.

“That’s good,” purrs Lip Licker, taking another step toward me, standing so close that I have to tip my head back to glare up at him. “But do youcheckher?”

His hand lashes out with no warning and he grabs my pussy, grinning when I flinch.

“Fuck you,” I spit out, hating myself a little for showing any weakness.

“Maybe I’ll do that when the boss is finally done with you,” Lip Licker says like a sick promise, groping me with rough, demanding fingers as his breath speeds up with excitement. “I can fill this hot little pussy up for yourealgood.”

Not if his dick is broken.

Old instincts kick in fast, and I slam my knee up, aiming for his balls.

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